You’re walking through a dark car park, on your way home after a long day. Footsteps ring behind you but when you turn around, no one is there. You rummage through your bag trying to find something, anything that you can use to defend yourself but come up short.
If this scenario seems all too real to you and you’ve been curious about how to defend yourself in an emergency then pepper spray could be just the thing you’ve been waiting for. This tiny tool could be the key to helping you feel safe but in the wrong hands, it can be just as much of a hindrance as a help. Read on to find out how to use pepper spray the correct way so you’re not left in the dark when defending yourself.
Keep Your Pepper Spray Easily Accessible
One reason why pepper spray fails is when the rare instance hits and you actually need to use it, it’s not easily on hand. This can be particularly true for women who often find their pepper spray buried at the bottom of a handbag. Defending yourself means you need to be prepared so it’s important to think about where your pepper spray is kept.
This doesn’t mean that you need to keep a canister of pepper spray in your hand at all times. There are many types of pepper spray that can help with this problem including keychain versions and ones that come with a clip so you can attach them to your pocket or purse. Click for more on the best pepper spray to use in different scenarios.
Hold Your Pepper Spray Properly
When learning how to use pepper spray, one of the first things you should do is to familiarise yourself with your canister. Take a firm hold of it to see what it feels like in your hand, practice taking it out of the compartment you’ll be keeping it in, and identify any safety locks that you may have to discharge when using it.
The correct way to hold pepper spray is to place it in the palm of your hand and form a firm grip with your fist around it. You’ll use your thumb to deploy it so you should also practice discharging the safety.
Know Your Pepper Spray’s Dispersal Pattern
When it comes time for using pepper spray, it’s important to know what and how it’s actually going to come out of the canister. Some are surprised, for example, that pepper spray can come out in a foam or mist instead of the stream you might see in the movies. Each spray is different in how it operates but some key points to research include:
- How far the spray will go out
- The amount of chemical in each canister
- Where to aim at
- How the spray is impacted by environmental conditions
Learn More About How to Use Pepper Spray
Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s important to keep practicing so your newfound skills don’t get rusty. When learning about using pepper spray it’s easy to become confident in your ability but freeze when it’s time to actually use it. Continue learning about how to use pepper spray and how to defend yourself in general in our Lifestyle section.
