Pepper spray (a.k.a. OC spray or Oleoresin Capsicum) is a chemical substance irritant to eyes and mucuous membranes of human and mammals. When applied it causes massive amount of tears, it swells affected membranes, causes pain and temporary blindness.

Pepper spray is not tear gas. It is naturally ocurring substance in common peppers only boiled down and made highly concentrated. The active substance is called capsaicin.

The process of pepper spray creation out of peppers is a short one. First you grind the peppers and then you soak them in an organic solvent, like ethanol. Then you discard the peppers, simmer the solvent and when it's evaporated the residue left is the "OC", or oleoresin capsicum in Latin. The next step is adding some anti-freezing agent, like glycol, to prevent freezing of spray in cans exposed to low temperatures. Then add some water, poor the solution in a canister, add pressured air and you are done.

The pepper sprays are commonly graded by two characteristics: - the percentage of OC in the pepper spray; and - the hotness of the spray, measured by Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The percentage is used in production, classification, and regulation of pepper sprays. The number does not tell you much about effectiveness of the stuff because a 15% spray is not necessarily "stronger" than a 2% one. The real measure you are interested in is the SHU, the Scoville Units (SHU). The more SHUs, the stronger the pain.

Pepper spray for consumers is commonly available in small canisters. They work like any other common sprays. Keep in mind, that some "sprays" do not spray mist, they rather shoot a stream of liquid pepper.

Recently some new systems of pepper spray delivery were developed: they literally shoot the liquid pepper with much higher pressure and much higher velocity.

The smallest canister that holds a single burst of pepper spray is a Pepper Spray Ring.

It is tiny, it stings only once but it could be a real savior because it can stay on your finger all the time even in bed when your purse or jacket is out of reach.

The good thing about this ring is that it is refill-able. If you use a normal pepper spray can, after you use it, you simply discard because there is no pressure left in the can. The pepper spray ring is different because after you use it once you can just pop another tiny canister in and it's ready to go again.

Several years ago, Kimber USA, started distributing a Swiss product called GuardianAngel. The Guardian Angel, unlike all previous pepper spray delivery systems does not use compressed gas mixed with the OC to propel the pepper solution toward the target. The Guardian Angel uses its own small pyrotechnic drive to shoot the pepper spray out. It has two nozzles (or should we call them "barrels"?) with two independent shots built-in. The pyrotecnic drive is, essentially, a small cartridge, similar to thse used in ammunition. When a trigger is pressed, the cartridge is engaged, and a shot of pepper gel (10% OC - Oleoresin Capsicum) is fired.

The device was known under different names: Kimber Lifeact, Kimber pepper spray, Pepper Spray Shooter, Kimber Guardian Angel, Lifeact pepper spray etc*.

In 2008, Kimber started using a different name for this pepper spray shooter: PepperBlaster Guardian Angel ™.

The main attractions of the PepperBlaster ™ are

• the high velocity of the pepper gel of about 90 mph -- dodging or blocking the shot is impossible, it happens so fast.
• due to the high velocity, any weather conditions, like wind or rain, have no effect of the precision of the delivery.
• since there is no compressed gas in the device, it can not lose pressure over time, which is a common problem with all regular pepper sprays.

Overall, it is a very good product, a step above all common pressurized canisters.

^{(All trademarks, whether properly marked or not, are by Kimber America)}