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Originally Posted by The Reaper
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My daughter and all her friends got the Fox Labs key chain and a good, bright LED flashlight (60 lumen Cree using a single AA) when they went off to school. You have to keep the spray unit in hand or it does no good; bottom-of-your-purse carry is a non-starter. Get at least one extra of anything you order and practice with it. The key chain OC unit has a quirky 'stream' pattern...more like a squirt gun. Effective, but you have to know what to expect. In my experience you are better off getting a duplicate active vs. the inert practice unit -- the spray pattern is a bit different in the inert unit.
Expect to replace anything you get every 6 months; they lose pressure. If you get the key chain unit, replace the whole enchilada (holder plus insert), not just the spray insert. The weakest part of the setup is the plastic lip in the holder that acts as the "safety." In 3 months I've already replaced two because of broken "safeties." Gave one girl an excuse to get a new purse, as if she needed one.
No one's used one in anger yet, but my daughter's best friend was a hair away (U of Iowa). A male friend intervened with a palm heel strike before she had to.
Buy the tactical instructions pamphlet from those Fox Labs cheapskates. It's quite good (but should be free...it's a couple of photocopied pages).
Good luck and stay safe.
Edited to add: The girls were really happy when I handed these out and had a training session. I thought they'd think me paranoid, but the opposite was true. They all know at least one person who's had a horrible experience. It's a jungle out there.