Fall 2019 - Inside Outdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | FALL 2019 53 Ingredients Perceived and actual personal safety is an evolutionary human need. In fact, according to Abraham Maslow’s seminal work, “The Hierar- chy of Needs,” safety is only slightly less basic a need than food, water and sleep. And, just as outdoor en- thusiasts make sure they are attend- ing to those basic needs, they also want to feel and be safe when they enjoy the outdoors. The anxiety people feel about their safety is real and can diminish par- ticipation in outdoor activities. In fact, surveys suggest more than 50 percent of people feel unsafe while running on trails or exploring the outdoors. As out- door specialists, it’s important for re- tailers to be familiar with pepper-based safety products, with knowledge to provide valuable counsel to customers’ individual safety needs. Concerns about wild animals invad- ing a campsite or human predators and aggressive dogs on running and biking trails are very real concerns. But there are many safe, effective and easy-to-use options that not only give people peace of mind but that can ef- fectively defuse a potentially danger- ous situation. Outdoor enthusiasts are a prime market for pepper spray prod- ucts as they generally prefer non-lethal protection that causes no permanent damage. However, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about pep- per spray and a need to provide edu- cation on the benefits. Pepper spray delivers a concen- trated burst of the natural oil found in peppers that provides the heat. The hotness of any pepper is determined by a naturally occurring substance called oleoresin capsicum (OC), which is made up of five major cap- saicinoids. It is the percentage of the total major capsaicinoids, rather than OC percentage or Scoville Heat Units, that is responsible for the strength of pepper spray. Concentrated capsaicinoids cause an intense reaction when they hit mu- cous membranes, including eyes, nose and throats, forcing eye closure and swelling them shut, a compromised respiratory response and an intense burning sensation. The inflammatory effects of pepper spray will incapaci- tate an attacker for up to 60 minutes, providing time to escape the immedi- ate situation. Exposure to pepper spray, while decidedly unpleasant, has no lasting effects, and the irritation wears off completely in a few hours. Pepper spray is an extremely popu- lar non-lethal personal safety option because it provides protection at a distance, can protect against multiple threats in a single encounter, the in- voluntary eye closure does not rely on pain to deter or escape the threat, it’s non-lethal and legal in all 50 states. While pepper spray is the catch-all term for pepper-based safety products, there are a variety of delivery mediums available. The active ingredients are dispersed through spray or gel, and there are advantages to each. In addi- tion to being easy to carry and simple to use, here are some basics of each: • Pepper spray is emitted as a stream or fog and can spray in a wide dispersal pattern to deter multiple attackers. However, because it is dispensed as a spray, there is always potential that some of it can be blown back at the user. Stream does reduce the potential of wind blow-back. • Pepper gel, a relatively new product in the personal defense industry, can travel 20 percent further than spray, putting more distance between APepper Spray Primer The right information is the first step to keeping customers safe By David Nance