My wife is feeling like it's time to carry some sort of basic personal protection for when she is out in the city for work and sometimes has to get to her car alone.

Anybody have any specific recs for a basic level device that might be good for her to carry either on her keychain or in her purse? Mace? Pepper Spray? Loud alarm type of thing?

Haven't ever even considered something like this so open to all input (though she's not looking to actually weaponize). We are in California if that has any bearing on product availability.

One of those personal alarms is low hanging fruit.

If you go the spray route, I suggest practicing and have a clear plan for how and when to deploy.

CA has a 2.5 oz max for mace spray. Also look into a kubotan.

The 2.5oz limit applies to OC (pepper spray) as well.

OC is more effective on more people than Mace™ (CS).

Mace once required a permit for civilian use, but I believe that stopped around the time OC was sold.

Letter carriers carried it under the brand name of Halt!

Situational awareness always applies to keeping one safe.

The long standing advice of having one's keys at the ready, to avoid a delay of getting into a car, also applies to personal defense devices, short of a firearm.

Having the canister in a ready position in hand, in or out of a coat pocket is better than keeping it it a purse or pocket "just in case".

And yes, some practice is in order.

I would advise against any kind of actual weapon unless one is going to put in some real effort to learn how to use one, and has the presence of mind to actually use it.

This means getting up close to a potential attacker.

One can use a spray or a weapon, but odds are - not both.

People like to bandy about "fight or flight" but seldom mention the most common reaction to sudden attack – paralyzing fear or shock.

Fear is the mind killer, and after that it's all downhill.

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I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

This

Somethings she can’t lose.

Bo,

Find out what personal protective devices and/or sprays or legal to carry in your area. What is legal in your state as a whole might be illegal in your county/city and/or town/village. 'course, if something like pepper spray isn't viable, there are alternate solutions.

I know someone who lived in an area where mace/pepper spray was frowned upon and to get around the issue, kept a travel size can of hairspray in her purse. Small enough to keep in a purse and likely effective enough in the event of an emergency. Getting anything sprayed in your face is going to stop someone in his/her tracks temporarily. Even just water. Hair spray, disinfectant spray, insect repellant, etc? Yeah. It'll work.

Robert

Situational awareness is the key to all personal defense. A self defense class is a great idea as well. It may feel like paranoia, but planning scenarios and being aware of everyone around you and how you will react is the basic key to self defence.

"Big van pulling up. I will run to the right if they try to scoop me up."
"Woman with shopping cart. I will run to the left if she tries to push it into me".
and so forth.

Weapons are just an added feature to good situational awareness. And the #1 personal defense technique ?

RUN LIKE HELL.

It's legal to own bear spray in California also your car alarm should already have a panic button available on the remote.

Bear spray may be more effective that pepper spray.

There are numerous cases where pepper spray has been ineffective. There's a reason that a lot of police departments have gone to tasers as they are more effective, especially against those that are under the influence of drugs, etc. Even tasers aren't 100% effective and there are ways to quickly defeat them if one knows what to do.

As mentioned above, situational awareness is the first line of defense. Most people these days are easy pray. They're distracted or so engaged with their cellphone that by the time they're threatened its too late to do much.

The other thing is to only bring/carry what is needed. Avoid flashy items, keep phone in pocket, etc. Don't be an attractive target and walk with confidence. Look like you belong and know where you're going. Doesn't hurt to have a bluetooth earpiece in for voice dialing 911. Wear shoes and clothing that enable you to move at speed.

When I started traveling to third world countries on business decades ago, I ditched the briefcase and switched to a backpack. If I wasn't going to meetings, I dressed as a tourist as I didn't want anyone to think I was worth much.

.....black pepper........or white pepper......???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Thanks all!

Situational awareness is obviously #1 and she's pretty good about that. I think I'll look into the various compact spray options as people have suggested. I think that is about the appropriate level for her. Will also remind her of the car alarm panic button.