Mace Keychain

A simple project these days is destined to become a major endeavor.
If before it was enough to go to a store, ask a clerk about something you want and buy the model he recommends, right now with Google and other helpful sources on the web the choosing becomes half-science and half-art.

Let's take my latest project for example. For my Friday-Saturday clubbing night I decided to get myself some Mace spray to carry on the keychain in a pocket or a purse.
Instead of just checking the work hours of the closest sporting goods store, a la 1997, I went to the Web for information.
I ended up with a mighty list of retailers selling and recommending defensive sprays, like mace on the keychain.
Although Google these days does an outstanding job filtering out junky websites, I still spent hours zeroing in on the mace spray on keychain I wanted.

I am sharing the results of my research here.

Why Mace?

Yes, I realise that Mace is just a brand name and is not that much different from other pepper sprays. Other brands are probably cheaper and as good and reliable as Mace but nothing appealed to me more than this name.

What about the keychain?

I needed something small to carry in my pocket on Friday night and keychain was not really necessary for that. But on weekdays, I would carry it in my purse and chaining it to my keys will make it easier to find.

For one reason or another, Mace with keychains are the most popular Mace sold.

Where on the Web?

Pepper sprays have become a commodity nowadays: dozens of stores and thousands of websites sell them.
Real stores tend to charge 25-30% more which is not a big deal in real numbers ($5-$7) but you can get the same Mace on the website for less, so why not?...

What I did not realise was that

1) I would be presented with a choice of 12-15 Mace cans that all looked pretty much the same.
To add to the confusion: although the photos showed different cans, the descriptions on the websites were exactly the same;
Here you can see just a small portion of the real selection you have to deal with.

2) Some cans are marked as "Pepper spray", some - as "Tear gas", some - "Pepper Gard", some - "triple action", etc., etc.

3) The same can and model would be priced totally differently from one website store to another, so you could not select anything just by price alone.

After you saw 3 webstores -- it's a complete mess and your thrifty mind was totally confused;

Here is what you are going to do to accomplish this impossible mission quickly and successfully:


A) Keep in mind that you are looking for 1/2 oz Mace can. The same canister is sometimes marked between "14 grams" or "17 grams".
B) All canisters of this size come with a keychain, so staying with this size will guarantee you get your Mace on keychain.
C) The canister could carry any name: "Pepper Gard", "Pepper Spray", "Triple Action Pepper" and could be pocket, or personal, or police model -- they all do the job, i.e. giving you extra 30 sec to escape from a dangerous situation.

I will keep it really simple.

You can see my 2 choices on the photo:

Both -- PepperGard by Mace.
The red one is the Pocket model,
The black one is the Police model.
Both are 1/2oz (17 gram) cans, both come with a keychain (plus a belt clip and a velcro).
The prices are anywhere between $17 and $22.

So to what site would you go to get them?
Here are my 2 store recommendations:

1) If you are a woman I would recommend:
www.PepperSprayCenter.com (I used this one)

2) Another good one:
www.DefenseMakesSense.com

Why these two?
I used the first site: they carry things for women, had everything I was looking for and the price was right.

Do you know what really tipped the scale in their favor?

-- The special price if you buy 2 cans.

I was buying 2 cans, not one. One -- for practice, to see how to spray it and how far it shoots. The second can would be in my purse for the next 12 months for my personal protection.

If you've never shot pepper spray before -- by all means, buy 2 cans.

Spend one practicing.
Keep the second can with you at all times!