Fox Labs Pepper Spray?

[heypete]

From discussions with other individuals, I understand that Fox Labs pepper spray is extremely powerful stuff.

I have been commissioned by my mother to purchase pepper spray for my college-age little sister (I say "little" when she's 20 and I'm 22. Shaddup.) who goes to college in DC. My understanding is that if one purchases pepper spray in DC, it must be registered with the police, but as long as it's purchased elsehwere, there is no such requirement.

What sort of spray (both chemically, size of dispenser, and shape of the spray itself) would be recommended? I doubt she'll be carrying a big 4oz canister on her belt, but would probably have the spray on her keychain or in her purse. She's not terribly likely to practice with it (I know, I know! But that's her...), so I'd like to get something that's intuitively obvious when it's not pointed at the bad guy (I don't want her spraying herself... ).

Any recommendations?

 

[DigMe]

Just get the keychain canister. It seems the obvious choice for her.

brad cook

 

[SJG26]

FOX - 2oz - Spray-stream

More shots than the purse unit - spray more direct than cone - less blow-back.

Fox 5.3 - "Hell in a Can"

 

[carpettbaggerr]

ASP Key defender. Pepperspray and Kubotan rolled up together. Use it as a keychain and you can walk anywhere with it right in your hand.

 

[Seven High]

Pepper Spray

Does anyone know of any brand of pepper spray that is effective on both animals and humans?

 

[akluvr]

Carpettbaggerr has the best suggestion. Can be used as a ranged weapon and if the SHTF, you've got that base covered too. Just remember, you don't have a lot of spray in the canister (I'm used to the 4 oz. canisters) but it should do the trick to get out a bad situation. Seven High, from my experience, pepper spray will work on the animal kingdom too. Just depends on how big of an animal you're using it on. I stopped a pit bull in mid charge with a blast of Fox. I was also running like heck getting out of there. But the dog did stop and was not really interested in me anymore.

 

[DT Guy]

Just don't spray an animal that is already 'clamped down' on a bite--the pepper can make them refuse to release, since the pain causes muscular contraction.


Larry

 

[baker1425]

Some ideas on OC

I hate training people on Fox 5.3 (it eats me alive when I spray trainees)

The key to Dogs and OC is to spray into the dogs mouth. I sprayed several dogs, with Aerko Freeze+P (CS/OC) and with DefTec MK3/4. The stream itself into their eyes will distract some, but into their mouths distracts more. As I understand it, dogs have many more nerve endings in their mouths than people do.

For your sis, the key to her safety would be to teach her situational awareness. A keyring is probably okay as long as she actually uses and carries it. I would reccomend that you get two units of whatever kind you buy and make her spray some outside onto a paper plate or b-27 target with short bursts at the face and use up one unit with training.

As long as you get a police formula, and a good strong stream (as opposed to a cone spray) the brand really doesn't matter. All of that stuff that you see on the can (Scoville Heat Units, Percentage, Concentration, etc.) is subjective and/or advertising.

Ed Nowicki sells a good video "OC Use in Law Enforcement" that your local agency may have that would be good to watch as well.

Good luck

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Carpettbaggerr has the best suggestion. Can be used as a ranged weapon and if the SHTF, you've got that base covered too. Just remember, you don't have a lot of spray in the canister (I'm used to the 4 oz. canisters)

Unless the 20-year-old little sis knows how to hit with a pocket stick, effectively, having the little ASP won't do any good. And, with the ASP, as you've pointed out, you're sacrificing volume, not to mention range and most importantly, heat. Unless she's a great hitter with a pocket stick, I'd say stick with Fox, with its super hot formulation.

Joe

 

[mics357]

for my wife and daughter in law i got them 4 oz pepper foam all the fun of oc plus the added fun of expandable foam similar to (great stuff ) very sticky and blocks eyes nose and mouth as it expands also less chance of aerosal blow back. downside slightly reduced range but effective and with idiot proof thumb guard ( no offense intended) easier to aim thats just my opinion, that and 50 cents can get ya a cup of coffee in town. and strongly recommend buy two one for practice.

 

[Coronach]

Thoughts:

1. Sweet Lord in heaven, Fox Labs stuff is evil. I have no reservations recommending that as a chemical agent. It is 100% pure Devil in a Can.

2. Get her two units. One is her carry can. The other she should go out and practice getting into action. This way she can see how long it takes to get into hand and deployed. Spray stuff. Repeat a few times.

3. Ideally, she should get sprayed with the stuff she carries. This way she can see how long it takes for the stuff to take effect (people expect immediate results. Don't.), and how you can fight through it. Plus, if she sprays an attacker with it, she'll get some on her. She needs to be able to deal with that. If she refuses to be sprayed (can't say that I blame her), at least try to encouarge her to stand in the area for a bit after she's practiced spraying things.

4. As always, mace is not the be-all-and-end-all safety device. You know this, but she might not. Same goes for your dad. Common sense, situational awareness, and the willingness and ability to be aggressive in one's own defense are more important the SHU rating of what's in your can.

Mike

 

[Coronach]

Heck, if you're really bold, do this:

Give Sis the can, tell her to carry it how she will carry it on the street. Now, you "attack" her, and she sprays you. Keep grappling with her until you cannot fight any longer. You will both learn a lot about the capabilities and limitations of chemical mace.

Mike

 

[Surefire]

Where are the best online stores to buy the Fox pepper spray?

 

[dpesec]

http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/pepper.htm
I've had excellent service, shipping and price. What more can you ask for

 

[jwmoore]

I'd probably stay away from the ASP defender - the effective range is only about 3 feet, and you only have about 2-3 seconds of spray time. (My wife carries one - best I could get her to carry.)

~W

 

[pax]

I took an OC class last weekend. One-day class, talked about the pluses & minuses of pepper spray, then those who were willing (most were) got sprayed.

Interesting notes from class:

1) Foams are probably a bad idea. Fellow classmates, prison guards from two different facilities, said they were no longer allowed to use foam, because prisoners had developed the habit of scraping the stuff off and throwing it back at the sprayer. That's probably a Bad Thing. They recommended stream rather than spray for enclosed environments where cross contamination is an issue. Otherwise the spray appears to be best.

2) Not everyone responds to the stuff. One woman in the class basically just shook her head and sneezed a couple times, then said, "Is that it?" Asked what it felt like, she said, "Kind of like an instant sunburn. Not too bad." She hadn't held her breath, so there should have been some in her lungs, but she wasn't coughing. Her eyes appeared to be very mildly irritated, but didn't close. And yes, she got a good faceful, because I watched the instructor spray her twice more before everyone was satisfied.

3) Not everyone who does respond is incapacitated. One guy took a couple of pretty solid hits, was obviously affected, but was able to simulate getting a knife out of his pocket and completing an attack on the instructor before the OC shut his eyes (and then he held one eye open with his hand so he could see to walk to the decontam area). His comment was you just had to want to keep going.

The instructor pointed out that probably the most reliable effect of OC is the blinding that occurs several seconds after impact. Therefore, if you use OC, you should always always always step off the line of attack and keep moving after using the stuff. Don't stick around to watch and see if it works; just get away.

Oh, one more thing. It was pretty obvious that people don't decontam without water. The stuff doesn't "just wear off" -- it's either there or it isn't. If you get some on you, you're going to be hurting until you can wash up.

pax

 

[Jamesmark72]

The Vexor is 15 million SHU before they mix it. They even say on their site that the SHU is meaningless. Fox does pretty good but if your using stream it takes awhile for it to do any good on someone wearing glasses. I use to sell nothing but Fox although i've tried many, if not all brands. I had a few friends wear safety glasses and hold their breath and close their eyes to try to find a stream that would work as i got tired of the blowback from oc cone and foggers. The Fox would burn their face and take about 45 seconds to shut their eyes. I also tried DPS. Most of you probably never heard of it, but it's got almost twice as much pepper in it as Fox and the the Carrier is Perchlorethyene-it opens up the pores and breaks down the oils of the skin. It had about the same results although testers did say it was a little hotter and took alot longer to decontaminate them. I also tried V4"s Shotgun Stream by ETGI. It starts out as a stream and at about 6ft starts to spread apart into a shotgun splatter, At about 15-20ft it covers an area about 2ft across. Every tester said immediately they couldnt breathe and couldnt open their eyes and asked if they could have rushed me they said their was no way. The weird thing was they all also said it was much more intense than even the Vexor which i've tried in the past and this company claims only 1 million SHU. I also testify to this as i try it on my arms and count the seconds it takes to work and intensity and the V4 is absolute instant burning with the Fox and DPS coming in a tie for 2nd taking about 15 seconds. Another awsome thing is, this stuff is a real confidence builder, not only because it works but because of almost no blowback unless there's some serious wind and because every bottle i have tried has sprayed head on of at least 23ft and just under 35ft if arching the bottle.