Best Pepper Sprays

I’m a heavy believer that a nonlethal weapon should be carried alongside your lethal weapon. A nonlethal option is just that—an option. It opens up even more avenues for self-defense. One of the most popular options, and the option I carry, is pepper spray. Pepper spray delivers a short-range chemical agent that acts as an irritant to the eyes, nose, mouth, and even your ability to breathe comfortably. Pepper spray is an affordable, potentially life-saving option. 

Sadly, it’s also a market that is rife with fakes and frauds. Lots of companies produce pepper spray, and lots of them aren’t up to par. Some of them have weak chemicals, others have containers with poor design, and some just don’t do what’s advertised. The good news is you found your way here, and while we’re called Gun University, in this article, you’re taking Pepper Spray 101. 

Why You Should Always Carry Pepper Spray 

Pepper spray offers you a ranged, effective, defensive weapon that’s not lethal. It doesn’t have the same downsides as your firearm. The spray-like design of pepper spray makes it easy to use instinctively and doesn’t require precise aim. It’s a tool that’s great in situations where a gun is not appropriate. 

Let’s say I’m in that creepy parking garage. It’s dark, and maybe some unsavory folks are hanging around. If I draw my handgun and just keep it by my side, I’m brandishing and breaking the law in most states. If I have pepper spray just hidden in my hand, I’m ready to act, but also likely not breaking the law. (State laws will vary; I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice.)

Put yourself on a busy sidewalk in a big city. You are being harassed and maybe followed; you’re calling the police, but the threat is only escalating the situation. The situation becomes violent. Now, your options are to pull your gun and engage, but it’s a crowded city street. If you miss, you’re going to seriously injure or kill another person. If the bullet goes through the threat, you could injure or kill an innocent person. 

If you deploy pepper spray, you can throw an effective chemical irritant into the eyes of your attacker without risking serious harm to other people. Unless the people on this street are shoulder to shoulder with your attacker, the likelihood of harming someone else with pepper spray is low. 

That’s just one situation where pepper spray makes sense. In a situation where you’re facing a vicious dog, a dog might be tough to deploy effectively. Hitting a rapidly moving dog can be difficult. Hitting them with a stream of pepper spray is a bit easier due to its spray-like nature. We could just keep coming up with scenarios where pepper spray makes sense. 

Ultimately, it’s another tool. 

What Are We Looking For With Pepper Spray 

Pepper spray is unregulated. I can take some Tabasco, slap a new label on it, and call it pepper spray. There isn’t an agency to stop me. Pepper Spray will often use certain terms in its marketing. You might see something like ‘8 million Scoville Heat Units!’ yeah, that doesn’t matter. Neither does something like OC percentage. 

What you want to look for is the term major capsaicinoids or the initials MC, follower by a percentage. The percentage you want to look for falls between .7 to 2%. Major capsaicinoids are the chemical components of peppers that make them hot and produce pain. It’s the best way to judge the strength of pepper spray. 

Range And Capacity 

Another feature we want to know is the range. The advertised effective range of pepper spray is a lot like the advertised effective range of a walkie-talkie. You have to take it with a grain of salt. Sure, you might get twenty feet of spray, but the last four feet are at belt buckle height at 20 feet. It also doesn’t account for wind or air currents of any kind. More range tends to be better than less range, but I’d always buy two cans of pepper spray so you know exactly what range you can get out of your weapon. 

The same goes for the capacity of the device. Capacity is measured in ounces, but what’s really important is the amount of time it will spray. This is usually measured in seconds and half seconds. The pepper spray might advertise 12 seconds of continuous use or 24 half-second bursts. That’s a great way to understand the capacity and usefulness of the device. 

Stream Vs. Spray 

Pepper spray deployment methods come in two varieties: stream or spray. If you’re reading this, you’re likely a gun guy, so let me break it down in gun terms. Stream is more like a rifle. It offers you more range but has a tight pattern. If you miss, you miss. It’s easy to direct, and you typically have time to adjust and fire again. 

Sprays are more like shotguns. They have less range but tend to open up wider, making it easier to hit your target. Sprays are at the mercy of the wind and tend to be used in smaller pepper spray applicators. 

Gel Vs. Liquid 

A gel pepper spray is thicker and tends to be slightly more liquid than Vaseline. The gel-like chemical sticks to the threat and tends to be heavier in its design. The benefit of gel is that it is less affected by wind. It’s less likely to blow rearward or sideways with air movement. Another big advantage is that gel tends to have a little more range. 

Liquid offers a lighter, looser spray pattern. It is more affected by air movement, but it has respiratory effects. It makes people cough and choke a bit, which is serious discomfort. 

The Best Pepper Sprays 

The Best Pepper Sprays

1. POM Pepper Spray Flip Top		Easy EDC Option  Multiple Canister Configurations Water-Based Trainers Available	Check Price
2. Sabre Advanced Pepper Spray		OC, Pepper Spray, and UV Dye All In One Sliding Safety 1.3% MC	Check Price
3. Sabre Pepper Gel		Flip Top Safety Gel Type Fluid 1.33 MC	Check Price
4. ASP Metro D1 Defender Pepper Spray		Super Small Aluminum Body Trainers Available	Check Price
5. Defense Technology First Defense MK-6		Cone Like Stream Easy to Use Independent Lab Tested	Check Price
6. SABRE Pepper Spray Pen		Ultimate Concealment Easy To Use Flip Top  15 bursts	Check Price
7. POM MK3		Hybrid Formula Professional Use Design 1.4% MC	Check Price

The Best Pepper Sprays 

POM Pepper Spray Flip Top 

POM is my first choice for concealed carry pepper spray. It’s a jack of all trades that provides an effective option that’s convenient and easy to carry. POM is a known brand with a long history of success and reputable applicators. It’s small enough to be concealed by anyone and provides a surprising amount of spray and a very effective range. 

POM Pepper Spray is one of the more honest companies. They temper their advertisements not to reflect the best possible stats but to do a great job of providing real-world use specifications. When POM says it shoots 10 feet, then it shoots ten feet effectively and isn’t spraying the bad guy’s knees at ten feet. 

The POM container delivers 12 seconds of spray, which is a lot for a small, easily carried device. This gives you multiple sprays and allows you to miss completely without running out of pepper spray. The spray itself is 1.4% MC, so it will cause some serious pain to the end user. 

POM is a small, discreet container that’s easy to carry. It has a side clip for easy attachment to a belt, pocket, or inside a purse or similar bag. There is also an option for a lanyard loop for retention or to make it easier to draw. You could hook it to a keychain, but it’s a bit large for that. 

POM is also affordable, and you can pick up a dose for less than 20 dollars. Its flip-top safety is easy to defeat and fast to use, but it also makes it safe to be carried concealed with a pocketful of pepper spray. POM is likely the best overall option for the average person. It even comes in a multitude of colors! 

Pros and Cons

Sabre Advanced Pepper Spray 

Sabre is one of the top chemical irritant companies. They are largely credited with creating the modern formula for pepper spray that every smart company uses. Sabre makes pepper spray for law enforcement and military forces, as well as some smaller units for concealed carry. The Sabre Advanced Pepper Spray is a 3-in-1 formula that combines pepper spray with CS and a UV dye to mark perpetrators. 

CS is the same chemical used in tear gas. The use of CS in pepper spray is slightly controversial. You have limited room in a pepper spray container, so adding CS and dye dilutes the pepper spray slightly. The benefit of adding CS is better respiratory effects. It causes coughing and hacking, making it a knockout punch when combined with severe eye pain. I’m not sold on the dye as useful and think it dilutes without much advantage. 

The Advanced formula does allow for a little more inaccuracy than normal pepper sprays. Even a chest hit could create the coughing and choking effect. With that said, you really want an eye shot for maximum effect. 

Sabre’s Advanced Pepper Spray gives you ten feet of range and up to 13 seconds of spray. It’s powerful at 1.3% MC. The range is also properly advertised, and Sabre is another trusted brand that tends to be non-nonsense about its advertising. The Sabre Advanced Pepper Spray has a belt clip to keep it oriented, easy to carry, and easy to conceal. 

The design keeps the device small, but it’s a bit bigger than pocket-sized. The Sabre design incorporates a sliding safety device that seems easy to use. It can slide left or right, and use your thumb to slide the safety and spray the pain.

Pros and Cons

Sabre Pepper Gel 

If you prefer the gel type of pepper spray, then Sabre also has you covered. The ultra-small Sabre Pepper Gel blaster provides one of the few easy-to-EDC pepper gel options. There are other somewhat small options, but this option is easy to toss in your pocket or onto your key chain. It disappears into your pocket and still gives you all those pepper gel advantages. 

The advantage of gel is that it has extra range and less dispersion. This tiny canister of fluid offers 12 feet of range, which is about two more than the average EDC-sized container. Plus, the gel-like nature makes the chemical heavier. A heavier chemical results in less wind dispersion. Wind, A/C, fans, and other sources of air can disturb or even blowback a standard liquid spray, but they don’t disturb gel. 

The gel itself doesn’t offer the same aerosolization as liquid spray and does require more accuracy. This unit is much better for indoor use than more traditional pepper sprays. How often are we indoors? Likely most of the time, so pepper gel might be the better choice for your needs. 

The Sabre micro-sized container has a simple flip-top safety device that prevents negligent discharges. It’s easy to beat by just pressing upward and sliding your thumb over the firing button. It’s protective but easy to defeat. The mini pepper gel container is a versatile option for a wide variety of situations. Gel has its downsides, but it’s a great option in office situations, especially if you plan to be on the move. 

Pros and Cons

ASP Metro D1 Defender Pepper Spray

Most of the options I’ve listed so far are EDC-sized but not micro-sized. The ASP Metro D1 Defender is a micro-sized device about the size of a pen. This little thing is truly pocket-sized and attaches to your keychain with no one being the wiser. The little device is 4.5 inches long and weighs only 1.8 ounces. The ASP Metro D1 Defender can be worn on a lanyard, ride in your pocket, or anywhere it’s convenient. 

The ASP Metro D1 Defender is no high-powered, long-range option. A device this small can’t give you a lot of power or range. It maxes out at three feet, so the attacker has to be on top of you. It’s a last-ditch weapon that uses a true spray of aerosolized pepper spray. It’s a cloud of disbursed gas that makes it tough to miss. Point toward the face and press the button, and it’s tough to miss. 

The downside is a lot of potential for blowback. The close range and aerosolized sprays mean it’s a real possibility. This formula has an effective 1.33% MC formula and provides six half-second bursts. The device is a two-part system. We have the all metal aluminum body, and then we have the insert. With the insert, you can refill the carrier, which keeps the cost low. 

Additionally, ASP makes training cartridges so you can get some real practice and perfect your technique. You can also get a good idea of the tool’s range and effectiveness. This metal body makes it a potential impact weapon and also helps prevent damage to the device if you’re involved in a scuffle. 

Pros and Cons

Defense Technology First Defense MK-6 

Specs never tell the true story. If you look at the size and specs of the Defense Technologies Mk. 6, it doesn’t look that impressive. However, when you get the unit in hand, it starts to make sense. Six seconds isn’t a lot of time, and you think it’s a fairly big container for only six seconds. You only get six seconds because this thing dumps a cone of spray with every burst. 

Your attacker will get a shotgun-like blast of spray per every burst. The big, wide cone makes it easy to hit your threat, even with a shaking hand or in low light. Unlike most other spray-type methods, you still get the stream-like range of 10 to 12 feet. In my experience, 10 feet is the sweet spot, and at 12, you’re more likely to hit them in the chest. 

It’s critical to realize that Defense Technologies typically makes pepper spray for Law Enforcement and Military applications. They have a ton of different MC options, including as low as .02%. You really want the 1.3% option, so be aware of that when shopping. Due to their popularity with LEOs, these are rigorously tested formulas that take ratings from independent labs. If it’s quality you’re after, the Mk-6 has you covered.

This is a smaller version of their duty spray. It’s easily pocketed and even has a pocket clip. A small thumb safety keeps things safe until it’s time to deploy. Firearms guys will be familiar with a company called Safariland, they also own Defense Technologies and I think that gives them major cred. 

Pros and Cons

SABRE Pepper Spray Pen

If you work in an environment where carrying any weapon is legal but frowned upon, Sabre has you covered. The Pepper Spray Pen takes a dose of pepper spray and disguises it as a pen. It’s very small and easy to carry, and its size, shape, and design lend to its ease of concealment. Additionally, if you have a spidey sense moment, then you can put this in your hand, at the ready, with no one the wiser. 

Sabre advertises an effective range of 8 feet, and maybe in a lab environment that’s possible. The real effective range is about five feet. That’s not a lot, and it’s a trade-off for a super small and compact container. You do get about ten seconds of pepper spray, which is impressive for the size. The Pepper Spray Pen uses a more aerosolized spray that creates a cloud-like stream. 

This makes hits easy, and you could cover someone’s face quickly. The downside is the ease at which the spray can flow backward into you, the user. It’s like pissing in the wind, but worse. The Pepper Spray Pen doesn’t have a manual safety, but the lid of the device acts as a protective safety device. One downside is that in a dark environment, you might not realize which end sprays. I suggest painting a small arrow on the top to remind you where the dangerous end lies. 

The Pepper Spray pen still packs 1.33% MC, so it’s a dose of pain per squeeze. This wouldn’t be my first choice, but if concealment is the guiding factor in your choice, then it’s the best option. 

Pros and Cons

POM MK3 

We started with POM, and we’ll end with POM. The other POM is small, sleek, and concealable. The POM MK3 is the professional model. It’s more aimed at uniformed folks, but it’s honestly not that big. It could still be concealed if you chose to do so. If you carry an EDC bag, a purchase, a laptop bag, etc, this might be a good option for that bag. The MK3 POM Pepper Spray gives you a professional-grade range. 

The MK3 can hit your target at 18 feet. That’s a lot of range and a lot of spray. The spray duration is about nine seconds, and you are throwing a formula of 1.4% MC at the threat. It’ll hit hard and fast and create a good bit of pain and discomfort. The spray cones out at the end and delivers a hefty dose of spray to the face. 

With this type of coned spray, a near miss isn’t really a miss. The canister uses the POM 360PROM head. This head can rotate, and you can spray from any angle. This ensures you don’t struggle to get the unit working when under pressure. 

POM uses a hybrid formula that also mixes UV Dye and O.C. The formula is 10% O.C., so you’ll get that choking and coughing effect from the threat. Like the Sabre formula, I think the UV Dye isn’t all that useful, but it is what it is. 

Pros and Cons

Packing Non-Lethal 

A good nonlethal tool is another tool for the box. It’s an option and an alternative to lethal force. Lethal force isn’t always the best option, especially when our ultimate goal is to defend ourselves without harming others. As with anything you need to train and practice how to use these tools. Just carrying it isn’t enough. Pepper spray is cheap enough to make practice easy and plenty of these options have alternatives for training purposes. 

Carry, train, repeat, and know a 12 dollar can of pepper spray adds a lot to your daily carry.