Self Defense - The Four Most Dangerous Places For Assaults

We frequently get asked by our female customers where they should be carrying their self-defense products. You don't have to be a distributor of self-defense products and write articles and blogs about stun guns, pepper sprays, and other products for self-defense to know where attacks on women occur. Of course they can occur just about anywhere, but the four most dangerous places for assaults on women are parking lots, in and around college campuses, the workplace and the home-not necessarily in that order.

Women need products for personal safety and personal security much more than men because they are the targets of assaults and other violence in close to 90% of all cases. Female self-defense is a major concern, especially to younger women who may be just entering the workplace or who are off to college and on their own for the first time.

Self-defense items can improve the personal safety and personal security of women by providing them with a nonlethal self-defense option.

Let us elaborate on this a little bit more.

1. Believe it or not a commercial parking lot is a prime place for perverts to assault women. There actually is a reason for this. The bad guys know that women who have been shopping in a store of any kind are usually very distracted on their way to the car either by talking to friends, taking care of a young child or talking on a cell phone and so on. "Men" who specialize in assaults count on that distraction factor to sneak up on women and assault them. Throw in the fact that many parking lots are not well lit and it makes a dangerous combination.

2. Young women who are off to college for the first time are subjected to many new experiences. They want to blend in and be social. So their guard may be lowered when they are invited to their first fraternity party or post-football game celebration. For this reason and others, many colleges have made sexual assault awareness classes mandatory for all incoming freshmen. College campuses are not necessarily the serene places administration officials want you to believe they are.

3. When we talk about the workplace as a potentially dangerous place for assaults on women, we are primarily talking about women who may get assaulted in a darkened stairwell or darkened parking lot in the case of shift workers. There is hardly a week that goes by when you don't read about an assault on a woman who is coming home from work at two o'clock in the morning.

4. And finally the last place, believe it or not, that's so dangerous for women is the home and we're talking about domestic violence. Unfortunately, most domestic violence incidents do not get reported.

So for women the best places to use products for female self-defense to help improve their personal safety and personal security are the home, workplace, college campuses and parking lots. That's where the vast majority of assaults occur. But to be on the safe side, women should carry a self-defense product with them basically all the time.

Self-Defense: Ways to Measure Effectiveness Of Pepper Sprays - Are You Confused Yet?

Recently we did an article on some of the considerations you should take into account when choosing a pepper spray. In that article we touched on the amount of product in the canister, the range of the spray, the shelf life, cost and the safety devices of the pepper spray.

In that article we also touched on the percentage of major capsaicinoids, the percentage of oleoresin capsicum and Scoville heat units. In this article we will talk about those three in particular in much more detail. The reason these are more important is because they determine the ouch factor-how much pain is inflicted. That is a key reason people but defensive sprays for personal safety and personal self-defense.

And this discussion in no way diminishes the importance of checking the contents of the spray to see how many shots it has, what the range of the spray is, what the shelf life of the product is, to see what, if any, safety devices there are. Those are all very important considerations for a self-defense product,

But I have to admit for years we only judged the effectiveness of a pepper spray by the amount of oleoresin capsicum in the product, assuming that the hotter it was, using that as a criteria, the more effective it was. That assumption as it turns out is incorrect or better said, it doesn't present the whole picture.

First, let's define some terms. Scoville heat units or SHU is a common term of measurement of the relative hotness of any particular product. Almost all pepper sprays are at least 2 million Scoville heat units. Oleoresin capsicum or OC for short is the main ingredient in all pepper sprays. Usually the minimum amount in a pepper spray is 10%. And CRC-Capsaicin and Related Capsaicinoids-is the actual heat-producing elements in the spray. Are you confused yet?

It gets worse because as it turns out the oleoresin capsicum gets mixed with emollients to make it a spray, foam or whatever the disbursement method is-it could even be a gel. What that does is dilute the oleoresin capsicum percentage so that the OC percentage right from the get-go is a misleading measurement.

There is one independent laboratory that has been used by the US government for over 40 years called Chromtec LLC. They perform independent tests on a variety of products. For pepper sprays they came up with something called the CHR or certified heat rating. This measures the effectiveness, in terms of hotness, at the point of impact when it hits an attacker. It is the pain producing component of OC.

One problem associated with this is that, as far as we know, there is the only one major manufacturer of pepper sprays that uses this methodology for documenting the hotness of their products so there is nothing to compare it with.

Self-Defense - What Are The Most Effective Personal Defense Products?

Self-defense products have been around for literally thousands of years since the Chinese first came up with pepper products to disable their opponents. Kubatons are an old oriental weapon that have existed for centuries. Stun devices have been around since the 1930's and development of tasers began in the late 1960's. So these self-defense products have stood the test of time - one measure of their level of effectiveness.

We will limit our discussion to pepper sprays and stun devices to include tasers. These are by far the most popular items for personal defense and are both nonlethal products for self-defense. Let's look at their effectiveness a little bit differently. How popular are they? How cost-effective are they? And what are their results?

Pepper sprays use the resin of one of the hottest products in the world. The basis for all pepper sprays is oleoresin capsicum or OC for short. The capsaicin and related capsaicinoids (CRC) strength is one way to measure how hot it is. Scoville heat units is another measurement. The old way of measuring hotness was the percentage of OC but is not really accurate because the OC gets diluted with other products to make the spray viable.

How It Works-once the spray makes contact with the skin, usually the eyes and face, it causes debilitating pain and makes the eyes water so uncontrollably that the eyes may actually swell shut. It also causes shortness of breath and makes breathing difficult. The effects last for about 45 minutes with no long-lasting injury.

Pepper sprays are by far the most popular self-defense product in the world. One reason is that they are the least expensive. You can get a good pepper spray for as little as five dollars. The most expensive pepper sprays are pepper guns which sell for $60-$70. They are on average about 90% effective but their effectiveness can be diminished by weather conditions such as wind and rain.

Regular stun devices use an electrical charge produced by batteries or stored up energy. Two prongs on one end of the device conduct the electrical charge which must be applied to an assailant.

How It Works-once the electrical charge makes contact with an assailant it causes the muscles to over work in a very rapid fashion. This rapid work cycle depletes the body's blood sugars that are needed for energy so the assailant is left too weak to do any harm.

Stun guns are the second most popular self-defense product and are also 90% effective on average. They sell for as little as $15 up to $70. They are not legal in all states.

Tasers are a form of stun device that are nearly 100% effective. They are used by literally thousands of law enforcement agencies in the performance of their duties. Civilian tasers are expensive with prices starting at nearly $400. You must be able to pass a background check in order to have a taser activated by Taser International. Like other stun devices they are not legal in all states either.

The most effective personal defense product is the taser. The Taser C2 is the civilian version and is nearly 100% effective.

Self-Defense: Cheap Stun Devices - Three Under Twenty Dollars

Of all the major self-defense product groups that people use for personal safety and self-defense the second most favorite personal defense items are stun guns. Stun devices have been around for decades as a favorite personal defense and personal safety product. They have zoomed in popularity in the last decade or so as prices have dropped mostly due to increased price competition and improving technology.

I can remember a time when the most powerful stun gun was close to 1,000,000 volts and required three batteries to power it up. And by today's standards it wasn't cheap. Batteries and high prices have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur-they are a thing of the past.

Today cheap stun devices can be powerful and reliable which is why they have increased in popularity. One of the main reasons that pepper sprays are more popular is because they are cheaper. Both pepper sprays and stun guns are on average close to 90% effective at disabling an assailant. Pepper sprays disable an assailant for close to 45 minutes while stun guns will only disable the bad guy for five or 10 minutes-still long enough for you to get away and seek help.

Most stun guns now are rechargeable and require no batteries. Here are three cheap stun devices that are all under $20 each. They are a good example of what we've been talking about.

The first is a mini high voltage stun gun. It comes in pink or black and is 7.5 million volts. It has a slide out plug for recharging into a standard wall outlet. It includes a bright LED flashlight and a safety pin and safety switch for double protection against accidental discharge. It sells for $14.95, an unbelievably low price for such a powerful personal defense product.

The second one is a stun gun flashlight that's also rechargeable. It is 300,000 volts and includes a super bright LED flashlight. It also has a safety switch and includes a recharging cord and nylon holster. The rigid handle provides a sturdy grip. A stun gun flashlight is a great product to carry in your car for those emergency situations. It sells for $17.95.

And the third cheap stun device for under $20 is a 1.2 million volt rechargeable cell phone stun device that uses a wall plug cord to recharge. It is only 4 1/2 inches tall and is powerful enough to stop any assailant. It also has a safety switch and built-in flashlight. It includes a suede carrying pouch.

Those are three powerful cheap stun devices for under $20 each that many people prefer for their personal safety and self-defense.

Self-Defense: Flashlight Stun Guns - Three Popular Models

As you may already know, most people love multi-purpose, multi-use products. Flashlight stun devices fall into those categories. Stun devices are one of the most effective and second most popular self- defense products in the world. They use high wattage and low amperage to disable an assailant for 5 to 10 minutes allowing you time to escape a dangerous situation. They cause no long-lasting damage.

When applied to an assailant for as little as 3 to 5 seconds the electrical sparks on one end of the device cause the muscles to over work in such a rapid fashion that the assailant has no energy left.

In this article we will take a look at three of the most popular flashlight stun guns. Each one is very powerful and comes with a lifetime warranty. They are favorites for personal safety and self-defense, especially female self-defense.

First is the "Security Guard" 6,000,000 volt flashlight stun gun by Streetwise. Like many of its competitors, not only is it a stun device but it has flashlight and a loud personal alarm. This model has two levels of safety built-in so you can't accidentally hurt yourself. It has a protective rubber coating for the entire stun flashlight which ensures a great grip in any kind of weather.

The second is one of the most popular in the marketplace. It is made by Stun Master and is 2.5 million volts. It is a telescoping stun baton that extends to 21 1/2 inches from 13 inches when collapsed. It is fully rechargeable so no batteries will ever be needed. It has a built-in safety device that will prevent accidental discharge and comes with a free nylon holster. The alarm is a very loud 120 dB, which works at scaring human assailants away. We have been recommending this telescoping stun baton for years now as an effective way to defend yourself against dog attacks and dog bites which is a huge problem in this country.

The third model is also by Streetwise. It's a mini nightstick. It is 4,000,000 volts and is also rechargeable and has two levels of safety built-in. It comes with a free durable belt holster. It is relatively lightweight at 13 ounces.

All three of these flashlight stun guns are rechargeable and have lifetime warranties. There are subtle differences between them, but they can all disable an assailant with the stun device or scare away an attacker with the alarm. They are favorites for personal safety and self-defense, especially female self-defense.