The Best Self Defense Products for Students

Going off to college is the first time many children are away from their parents and their homes. This is the time they have officially left the comfort and the familiar surroundings of their homes. Students should carry pepper spray with them when they are traveling on or around campus to protect themselves from muggings and other forms of personal attacks. Pepper spray is one of the best self defense products for students because it is legal, non-lethal, concealable, and above all effective.

The most popular self defense products for students are pepper spray and rape whistles. They are often given out by colleges during orientation week, especially in areas of high crime like big cities. This is in an effort to drive home the point to the students that personal protection is important and sometimes necessary.

Stun guns are another effective form of personal protection, but they are not as suitable for students. There is rarely an instance on campus when a stun gun is needed for an attack that cannot be handled by pepper spray. These are instruments that cause more damage to an attacker and they are generally more dangerous self defense products for students.

Students often travel alone throughout campus when they are changing classes or walking to the library to study. Often, they are walking around late at night to and from study sessions or back to their dorm room from social gatherings. Whenever a young person travels by themselves in the dark, they should consider carrying self defense products for students.

When children leave the safety bubble of their parents homes they are often unaware of the threat of crime that exists in everyday life. In order to protect themselves, they should carry self defense products for students. Hopefully they will never have to be used, but these portable and concealable tools are effective for achieving optimal personal protection.

What’s In Your Go Bag?

In prior articles we’ve emphasized the importance of preparedness when it comes to effective self defense. Protecting yourself from a hostile human being is just one aspect of self defense. It’s at least as important to think of other kinds of emergencies that arise from extreme weather, getting lost and other incidents that don’t involve a violent individual but can affect you just as adversely.

One handy concept is the go bag (or “bug out bag”): a gym back or backpack filled with everything you need for short term survival. The go bag has become a more prevalent idea since the rise of regular, extreme weather in the southern US. Hurricane Katrina made it obvious that it pays to have the necessities of life on hand, and the ability to take them with you to a safe place.

Here’s a set of guidelines for an effective go bag:

Food and Water: Prepare enough food and water to last for 72 hours. For water, one gallon per person per day is a good guideline. For food, goods that won’t spoil and don’t require heat or water to prepare are the best choice. In addition, pack water purification tablets, cutlery and cooking equipment. Camping supplies are a good source for these.

Medical Gear: Pack a first aid kit along with a supply of any medications you regularly take.

Radio and Lights: Get a radio and light with a fresh, ready supply of power. Our safety light is one compact option. In any emergency where you have to retreat from your home, you need access to the radio for important announcements, and enough light to get you through power interruptions.

Bedding and Clothing: Carry enough bedding for your family and three sets of clothes per person. Clothes and bedding should be appropriate for the worst weather the region has to offer.

Money: Store cash, because in an emergency, ATM and debit may be unavailable.

Tools: Your go bag should include a compact set of tools, including a knife. This category also includes self defense products. This isn’t just to deal with people; you may encounter wild or feral animals in a severe emergency. A can of bear spray is not out of the question. Finally, make sure you have a way to easily make fire. We recommend strike-anywhere matches and a set of lighters. Each of these excels in different situations.

Once you’ve gathered the required materials, pack them neatly and make sure it’s light enough that you can lug it around for a few hours without any trouble. If necessary, split an overly heavy bag into two, or more, but make sure that each one includes every item, so that if you lose a bag, you don’t lose an entire category of necessary items. Check your go bag for expired components (such as food or medicine) every few months. If you never need to use it, that’s great! Take it camping in the summer, restock it when you get home and remember that preparedness is never a waste.

Vacation Safety

Thieves look for opportunities. If you're going on vacation this summer, take a minute to check the list to protect yourself and your home.

* One of the times your home is most vulnerable is when it is left empty for an extended period of time. Darkened windows, mail or newspapers collecting and closed windows in hotter weather all advertise your absence to a potential burglar.

* The best protection for your apartment during your absence is to have a house sitter. A friend you trust staying at your house can take care of your pets and/or plants in addition to making sure the house is inhabited.

* Have a neighbor check on your apartment while you're away -- turning on lights, radios or TVs and opening and closing curtains will give your apartment the appearance of someone home.

* If you don't have a friend or neighbor to housesit or check your apartment while you're away -- perhaps even if you do -- you should keep not only lights but a TV or radio on a timer. If you're like me and have your TV on almost all the time you're home [I don't watch it, it's just background noise.], the absence of the sound and that glowing light in the windows announces that you're not there.

* Make sure whoever is checking your apartment while you're away knows how to work your alarm system and who to call in case of a problem.

* Unless you have a house sitter, stop your mail and any newspaper or other delivery. Nothing announces an empty apartment better than a stack of newspapers or an overflowing mailbox. Ask a nearby neighbor to pick up any packages delivered while you're gone.

* If you have a garden or plants on your balcony, make sure someone is watering the plants regularly or put the plants where they can't be seen. Plants slowly dying due to lack of water may announce your absence.

* Check your lease. Many landlords require that you notify them if your apartment is going to be left empty for any period of time (this is so they can enter in case of emergency even if they can't reach you). If you've got a house sitter this isn't necessary.

For the summer: Boating Safety

During the summer, we enjoy tips to the lake or to the beach. Don't let your family outing turn into the day you became a victim of crime!

Thieves are always on the lookout for easy targets. Don't make yourself an
easy target. Always follow these simple steps.

* Never leave anything valuable on display, however small and insignificant it may seem. Thieves steal first and think about value later.
* Don't leave anything loose in the cockpit or on deck.
* Don't leave your engine key in the ignition - always take it with you.
* Keep your boat keys separate from your engine keys.
* Always keep your boat locked when no one is on board, even for a short time.
* Use strong padlocks or rimlocks on all your hatches, entry points and cockpit lockers.
* Constantly check and improve the security on your boat. It's a good idea to fit an alarm and use a visible sticker to say that one is fitted.
* Make sure your cockpit lockers can be properly locked, and check that your main hatch and fore-hatch are strong.
* Also think about having a strongbox down below. If you don't think something is secure, get it fixed.

IMPROVE YOUR SECURITY
Once you've tied up alongside, always do a quick security check before going ashore.

Always:

* Lock anything valuable out of sight in a strong locker secured by a strong padlock;
* Lock up emergency money away from other valuables;
* Keep your curtains closed so that no-one can look in;
* Keep unused ropes, fenders and other items out of sight in your cockpit, lockers and cupboards - and always lock them;
* Make sure that your life raft and outboard motor are secure, as these are valuable and attractive to boat thieves.
* When you go ashore from a dinghy, always remove your oars or paddles, rowlocks or pump, and secure the dinghy with a strong chain and padlock.
* If you are the victim of boat theft, call the police immediately and tell the harbour master or boatyard manager. Check to make sure that your boat is still seaworthy and hasn't been badly damaged.
* And, if you can, check that neighboring boats haven't been broken into as well.
* Get to know other boat owners in your marina and work together to keep the marina secure. You can do the following.
* Keep an eye on other boats, as well as your own.
* Report any strangers at the marina to the harbour master or yard master.
* Don't give your marina access card or key to other people.
* Never tell anyone else the access code to the marina.
* Don't let strangers into the marina, however genuine they may seem.
* Keep the marina gate closed at all times.

Videos on Pepper spray and Stun guns

Basic Moves for Women's Self Defense : How to Use Pepper Spray on an Attacker...
Learn about using mace pepper spray on an attacker and some basic moves for women's self defense in this free video clip.

The Nevada Sagebrush tests a Stun Gun:
Watch as a college student demonstrates the effectiveness of a stun gun on an attacker. The Nevada Sagebrush is the college newspaper for the University of Nevada, Reno.

What type of Pepper Spray or Mace® is Best?

The most popular, non-lethal, personal defense product on the market today is self defense sprays like Pepper Spray or Mace®. But which type is best? The terms are confusing.

Most defense sprays now contain Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) which is not an irritant. This is the best ingredient so make sure the one you purchase contains OC.

OC is an inflammatory agent that creates a couple of things to happen. When a person is sprayed with OC, two things happen without delay. First, the person's eyes clamp shut, hard. Even if they do manage to open them they still can't see well because the OC dilates the capillaries of the eyes and causes temporary blindness. Second, an uncontrollable coughing fit doubles the person over and often sends them to their knees. The OC causes an instant inflammation of breathing tissues, restricting all but life support breathing. The condition is temporary but very debilitating. Whoever is sprayed with it stops what they're doing, stops what they're thinking - so it gives the victim a chance to escape! It works on persons on drugs, drunk, or psychotic.

OC is a natural chemical, a derivative of various hot pepper plants. OC takes about 20 to 45 minutes to wear off. The assailant makes a complete recovery and suffers no harmful effects.

Now, should you purchase a spray, gel, stream or foam version of pepper spray? The best for home use is the pepper gel spray because it has a range of 15 to 20 feet. The pepper gel is recommended for home or vehicle protection. However, the smaller ½ oz size of pepper sprays are effective because they fit easily on your key-ring and will be available quickly when needed even though their range is only 5 to 8 feet, which is usually all the distance you need when walking or hiking.

How can I compare one unit to another in its strength? Defense sprays come in concentrations of 1%, 5%, and 10%. But, due to a number of differences in the formulation, these percentages are not a good indication of the effectiveness of the spray. A 1% spray can be just as effective as a 10% concentration. Three formulation factors: the heat rating of the OC, the type of carrier agent and the spray density, combine to determine how effective any given spray is. The heat generating capacity of OC is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU's). OC is derived from hot peppers. Peppers range from 0 SHU's for standard bell peppers to 5,000 for Jalapeno peppers up to 300,000 SHU's for Habaneros peppers. As you can see, a 10% concentration of Jalapeno peppers is not going to be nearly as effective as a 1% concentration of Habaneros peppers. So compare the Scoville Heat units (SHU's) of a pepper spray not the percentage of the pepper concentration.

To summarize, only purchase self defense sprays with OC (Oleoresin Capsicum). The sprays that attach to a keychain are effective even though they have a range of only 5 to 8 feet. But for home defense purchases, the pepper gel formulas are best because they have a range of 15 to 20 feet. And compare the heat of the various sprays with the SHU (Scoville Heat Units).

Safety Tips to Help You Avoid Being a Victim!

These are some common sense tips that you can follow to help you avoid being a victim of random crime. You may have heard some of them before but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate them!

1. Be Alert! Keep your head up. Be aware of your surroundings. Wherever you are on the street, in an office building or shopping malls, driving, waiting for a bus or cab, stay alert and tuned in to your surroundings.
2. Vary your routines. Predictability makes you a more likely target.
3. Lock it! Home, car, office – locks are your first line of defense.
4. Make your home a tough target. Use floodlights, motion sensors, a security system, deadbolts, etc.
5. Foil Car-jackers. Keep windows and doors locked. Check mirrors and blind spots when stopped. Stay one to one and a half lengths away from the car ahead of you. Sound your horn and flash your lights if you think you’re being approached by a car-jacker.
6. Avoid Car Theft. Lock it. Use an anti-theft device. Turn the wheels when you park. Never leave a spare key inside the car. Park in a well-lighted place. Put packages in the trunk.
7. Trust your instincts. If something or someone makes you uncomfortable, avoid the person or leave.
8. Know your neighborhoods where you live and work. Check out the locations of police and fire stations, hospitals, and restaurants, or stores that are open late.

Cell Phone Stun Guns

How does a Stun Gun Work?

Stun guns use high voltage and low amperage to temporarily disable an attacker for several minutes. The stun gun does not rely on pain for results. The energy stored in the gun is dumped into the attacker's muscles causing them to do a great deal of work rapidly. This rapid work cycle instantly depletes the attacker's blood sugar by converting it to lactic acid. In short, he is unable to produce energy for his muscles, and his body is unable to function properly. The stun gun also interrupts the tiny neurological impulses that control and direct voluntary muscle movement. When the attacker's neuromuscular system is overwhelmed and controlled by the stun gun he loses his balance. Should the attacker be touching you, the current will NOT pass to your body!

Does the Stun Gun do any Permanent Damage?

No. The assailant recovers 100 percent within 45 minutes. There is NO permanent damage. The whole purpose of a stun gun is to allow the user time to escape and get help.

How to protect yourself?

Surprise your attacker! Be prepared by walking with a cell phone that is really a stun gun. So many people carry a cell phone in their hands these days that it doesn’t even look strange. When someone comes too close, switch it on and be prepared to stun the attacker and bring them to their knees. As they fall to their knees, stun them again in the back of the neck and this will ensure that they remain disabled for a short period of time to allow you plenty of time to escape.