Pepper Spray Concentrations

[rambone]

Any comment on the Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) content of various pepper sprays? I've seen it vary from 3% up to 18%.

Buying this for my girlfriend to keep in her purse. Is going with the highest concentration of OC the way to go?

Anything to avoid?

[public servant]

If you want something that will burn the eyes out of satan himself, go with Freeze +P. The next best would be Fox.





Don't waste your time with anything from First Defense. And don't buy foams that can be thrown back at you.

Also buy her an ASP or Monadnock expandable baton...in case the CS/OC doesn't work. And get her trained to use it.

[AR Maker]

The % in O.C. is the dilution of the O.C concentration. I.E. the lower the %, the lower the dilution, the "hotter" the spray. So the 5.5% spray Armor Holdings (Def-Tec) makes is rated and 750,000 scoville heat units, which is Hot. compare that to say taco Bell's Hottest sauce which is approx 50 scoville heat units. Before I received a "voluntary" hit of 5.5% O.C. for training someone described it as dipping your face in hot bacon grease. Now the person describing this sensation to me was NOT horribly burned and disfigured from dipping their face in hot bacon grease so i figured they were FOS. Then I got hit by the stuff and I realized that is the best way to describe it. I belive that as far as less lethal defense sprays go O.C. is the best way to go. The mixed stuff (freeze+p, Fox) contains a higher % O.C dillution and there for is less effetcive. And the other ingredient in those sprays weather it be C.N or C.S effect a smaller percentage if the population. So if the main ingrediant in a defensive spray (C.N. or C.S.) is less effective and the minor ingredient (O.C.) is watered down then why bother with the weak stuff. Plain old O.C. FTW IMO.


There is my 2 cents.

[public servant]

Originally Posted by AR Maker

The % in O.C. is the dilution of the O.C concentration. I.E. the lower the %, the lower the dilution, the "hotter" the spray. So the 5.5% spray Armor Holdings (Def-Tec) makes is rated and 750,000 scoville heat units, which is Hot. compare that to say taco Bell's Hottest sauce which is approx 50 scoville heat units. Before I received a "voluntary" hit of 5.5% O.C. for training someone described it as dipping your face in hot bacon grease. Now the person describing this sensation to me was NOT horribly burned and disfigured from dipping their face in hot bacon grease so i figured they were FOS. Then I got hit by the stuff and I realized that is the best way to describe it. I belive that as far as less lethal defense sprays go O.C. is the best way to go. The mixed stuff (freeze+p, Fox) contains a higher % O.C dillution and there for is less effetcive. And the other ingredient in those sprays weather it be C.N or C.S effect a smaller percentage if the population. So if the main ingrediant in a defensive spray (C.N. or C.S.) is less effective and the minor ingredient (O.C.) is watered down then why bother with the weak stuff. Plain old O.C. FTW IMO.


There is my 2 cents.

Fox is rated at 5.3 million SHU. I believe Freeze +P is greater...I think. I know it felt as if it burned more...personally.

[lawrra]

Originally Posted by public servant

Fox is rated at 5.3 million SHU. I believe Freeze +P is greater...I think. I know it felt as if it burned more...personally.

The only rating I found for Freeze +p was 2 million SHU, but it contains CS and OC.

What kind of legal repurcussions, if any, would someone face if OC spray was used in a situation that merited its use?

[2ADMNLOVER]

Originally Posted by lawrra

What kind of legal repurcussions, if any, would someone face if OC spray was used in a situation that merited its use?

INAL or LEO , but I'm pretty sure that if you felt in your heart / gut that you REALLY , ABSOLUTELY HAD TO USE IT to prevent something bad from happening to you , then it's self defense .

And hey , at least everyone can live past this experience , unlike shooting someone .

[KokomoDave]

Originally Posted by AR Maker

The % in O.C. is the dilution of the O.C concentration. I.E. the lower the %, the lower the dilution, the "hotter" the spray. So the 5.5% spray Armor Holdings (Def-Tec) makes is rated and 750,000 scoville heat units, which is Hot. compare that to say taco Bell's Hottest sauce which is approx 50 scoville heat units. Before I received a "voluntary" hit of 5.5% O.C. for training someone described it as dipping your face in hot bacon grease. Now the person describing this sensation to me was NOT horribly burned and disfigured from dipping their face in hot bacon grease so i figured they were FOS. Then I got hit by the stuff and I realized that is the best way to describe it. I belive that as far as less lethal defense sprays go O.C. is the best way to go. The mixed stuff (freeze+p, Fox) contains a higher % O.C dillution and there for is less effetcive. And the other ingredient in those sprays weather it be C.N or C.S effect a smaller percentage if the population. So if the main ingrediant in a defensive spray (C.N. or C.S.) is less effective and the minor ingredient (O.C.) is watered down then why bother with the weak stuff. Plain old O.C. FTW IMO.


There is my 2 cents.

Don't forget a couple things about o.c. First-learn how to deploy it w/o becoming a victim yourself. Second-it doesn't work on everyone.Some people are naturally immune and persons under the influence of PCP/methamphetamine/Ecstacy will not be dramatically effected by o.c. or o.c./cs sprays. The only true way to incapacitate someone is by disruption of the central nervous system either by electrical stimulus such as Taser or by injury.

[rambone]

Thanks for the info guys. I discovered this explanation on the internet:

OC Concentration

Pepper Spray Concentration

Confusion abounds concerning the efficacy of various pepper (oleoresin capsicum "OC") sprays because of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's labeling system. Often a consumer of civilian OC defense spray will see "5%" or "10%" pepper spray claims on a canister. Unfortunately, these percentages do not correlate with efficacy because they only measure the percentage of OC relative to the other ingredients in the canister. These other ingredients include the carrier for the OC, a propellant, and often marking dyes or other chemicals. An over-the-counter "10%" spray contains 10% Oleoresin Capsicum relative to the rest of the ingredients. What the OC concentration does not measure is the concentration of the active ingredients (Capsaicin) in the OC formulation. OC concentration therefore, only represents the amount of OC (oily resin) in a canister and not its strength. The heat or strength of OC is measured by the quantity of an active ingredient called Capsaicin*. Therefore, the higher the Capsaicin amount, the hotter the OC. * Capsaicin is the ingredient within the OC that causes inflammation of mucous membranes. The reason some peppers are hotter than others is due to the amount of capsaicin. Capsaicin percentage changes depending on the pepper species, geographical origin and climatic growth conditions as well as upon oleoresin extraction and formulation processes. For example an OC spray with 5.5% concentration can be 5 times hotter than one with 10% OC concentration.

I like the baton idea. I might look for one.


Now for selecting a brand, I have heard others promoting Fox & Freeze+P. I was surprised to hear one member say that they were more diluted, and less effective.

[Glock21]

I carry the Fox brand.

...and it has completely incapacitated me everytime I've been hit with it.

[public servant]

I had a gentleman one night who was extremely intoxicated ball up his fists and assume an aggressive stance. I took out my can of Fox and began shaking it slowly, hoping that would diffuse the situation. It generally did.

He then proceeded to exclaim that he was immune to 21 different chemical agents. I gave him one more opportunity to turn around to be cuffed up. He declined the offer and I had already decided that I was not going to wrestle around with him.

We'll just say that apparently Fox was not one of the 21 chemical agents he was immune to.

The bad thing about the old Fox was they used a chemical that was commonly used as a brake cleaner as the propellant. It seems there were a couple of documented cases of people's clothing bursting into flames if the Fox got on them and then they were tased.

That would just ruin your whole evening. They have since corrected that flaw.