Alright. a one week hiatus still doesn’t mean that I am going to talk about this subject every week again. I think that it means I am going to put it in if I have something to say. Today I want to talk about less than lethal self protection.

I am going to try and make the case that there is a place for carrying less than lethal options on a daily basis or at least in certain scenarios. The term less than lethal means as it says that these would be weapons that provide a deterrent rather than a potentially deadly outcome. Ideally, a person would carry multiple options because not everything works or is appropriate for every situation.

To compare and contrast the advantages, let us start with the positives. First of all, it is not desirable to use lethal force in every situation. It may be too crowded or unsafe for some reason. It may also be that you do not want to use lethal force. For instance, the idea for this post came from me walking the dog the other day. I carry pepper spray for the express purpose of walking the dog tends to draw other dogs toward us. I have had a pit bull attack my dog (before I was carrying pepper spray) and the owner had to beat the other dog off. Fortunately he was there to do it.

It probably seems evident that the downsides are that there is a chance that less than lethal works definitively. It is also the case that you often need to be closer than you want to be to use it. Last, it may not be the right tool for the specific scenario meaning that there are lots of different options and one might be more appropriate than another.

Speaking of options I thought that I would bring some up. When it comes to adding do-dads to carry on your person, I prefer to have items that can perform multiple roles or at least most effective.

  • Flashlight – I try to carry the Streamlight Stylus Pro pictured above. It is a useful tool, like when you need a light. A bright blast of light can be temporarily blinding or at least distracting. It can also be used as an improvised kubaton.
  • Pepper Spray – This comes in different sizes and concentrations. Based on anecdotal evidence interviews that I have heard from field biologists, bear spray (a form of pepper spray) is as effective of deterrent as there is.
  • Striking weapons – These would be things such as kubatons, batons or even improvised weapons like bats, golf clubs, walking sticks, etc.
  • Shocking weapons – There are various forms up taser or stun guns that provide momentary impairment.

There are others, for most practical purposes the list above is what are commonly available and appropriate for the everyday civilian. You could get into other chemicals like smoke or tear gas or even bean bag projectiles fired from a shotgun. You can see what I have, it is not that I don’t see value in the other things, it is mostly that I haven’t really had a need.

End Your Programming Routine: In the end, weapons are a subset of tools. There is an old saying that if the only tool you have is a hammer, then every situation is a nail. When you get into tools, there is always a specific widget for an application and it always works better for that one case. But, it is not practical to always carry everything so pick what you like.