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As adventuring best friends, Kelly and Sam often find themselves in situations one of sound mind might often find less than safe. We do not feel as such thanks to Kelly’s can of pepper spray, which is not as relevant in this situation as Sam’s personal alarm from Sabre.
Sam: The personal alarm is pictured in the header, and functions as an inconspicuous key chain. While it’s bright red color is not subtle, the size and shape is roughly that of a flash drive, causing nobody to think twice about what it might be. If you are under duress and need to bring attention to yourself, you simply twist the pin, which is attached to the key chain, and pull it out, activating an alarm at 110 decibels. This is 10 decibels shy of the “threshold of pain,” which is about the loudness of a jumbo jet (although that’s on a logarithmic scale. To make sense of that, 60 decibels is not half of the loudness of a jumbo jet but rather millions of times less). There are two large round impressions on the device, which almost look like buttons that could activate or deactivate the alarm, but the only way to shut it off is to replace the pin. Should an attacker grab at it in an effort to silence it, his distraction will give you a head start in running.
Kellyrose: I often have conflicted feelings about “Personal alarms.” I was eighteen when I took my very first big road trip to Tennessee and before leaving my father proudly presented me with a pink can of pepper spray. I was slightly offended by the fact that he didn’t think I could defend myself, but I saw where he was coming from. He told me, “It’s not that I don’t trust you… I don’t trust all the other people.” I wish I lived in a world where I didn’t need a personal defense alarm of some sort, but the unfortunate truth is that, especially for women, such products are often necessary.
The Sabre Personal Defense alarm is more inconspicuous than pepper spray or any of the larger alarms on the market. Sam and I tested its sound and found it to be very effective but before you feel you may need to use it, make sure you test that the sound works! It took us a few tries after pulling the battery protector out of the slot before the alarm worked for us. The decoy buttons (as pictured in the title photo) also prove to be effective, being that if an attacker should try to push them, the alarm will not turn off.
The videos below show the activation of the alarm, as well as our friend Shayne trying to deactivate it without the pin, and the replacement of the pin to silence it.
You can purchase this alarm in particular for $9.99 here. If you’re somebody who lives in a big city, sketchy neighborhood, on a college campus or if you’re traveling alone, it’s a handy tool to have on hand (ha!) to scare away danger, provide a distraction, and/or draw attention to yourself for help.