Pepper Spray is the most popular portable self defense product. It has many benefits, including being available in several sizes, formulation strengths and containers.
Pepper Spray has two units by which the effectiveness can be measured, The first is the Scoville Heat Units or (SHU's). Organic peppers have a range of 0 to 300,000 Scoville Heat Units. The active ingredient in pepper spray is Oleoresin Capsicum or (OC). OC is esentially concentrated oil extracted from peppers. Undiluted OC can reach a rating of up to 15 million SHUs. The species of pepper used to make the spray determines the heat generating capacity.
The higher the SHU number, the hotter the pepper spray is. Have you ever eaten, on purpose or inadvertently, a hot pepper? Some will just give you a slight burning sensation, while others will make your eyes water. Pepper sprays are basically created the same way, which is why you always want to choose a reliable manufacturer. The best sprays contain at least 2 million SHUs.
The second number to look for when choosing a defense spray is the percentage of OC. While the percentage does not make a difference on how hot it is, what it does control is how quickly the spray penetrates. The percentage of OC indicates how thick the formulation is. A lower percentage pepper spray will result in a quicker penetration, which means it will affect your assailant quicker. However, the lower percentages also dissolve quicker, which means a faster recovery time. A good percentage to look for is anywhere from 10% to 18% OC. This will give you a spray that has a rapid response and an average recovery time of 15- 45 minutes, which is plenty of time for you to get away.For more info: https://backyardmash.com/