Sabre Red Reviewed

This company has an excellent reputation, and also sports one of the highest (OC% * SHU) products on the market (while OC% * SHU is by no means an infallible guide to the perceived hotness or effectiveness of sprays, until the industry becomes regulated and is required to post contents of each of the capsaicinoids, it’s about as good as we can manage as an indicator). I tried three of their products.

The first was the basic black keychain product, HC-14-OC on Sabre’s web site, although to save money I got it as part of their product SRU-HAPK. It shoots a very narrow stream with a short (perhaps 6-8 feet) range. Spraying it on my forearm resulted in no noticeable burning sensation, and taking a deep breath near the site on my forearm resulted in no respiratory distress at all. I’m sure this product would still be most uncomfortable and perhaps quite painful if it gets directly into the eyes, but especially with a short range stream product like this one, relying on a direct hit to the eyes is not my cup of tea. Also, unlike Sabre’s other products, this one has no labeling indicating potency (it does indicate expiration). That’s a minor quibble, especially for a keychain product, but overall I am not thrilled by this product.

The next product was their Pepper Foam Home Self-Defense Spray, model # PFHM-80. It sprays in a very wide, shotgun type pattern that really couldn’t be that effective beyond 6 feet, in my estimation. It generated some burning on the forearm, but not much. When I took a deep breath above the spray on my forearm, it induced some coughing, but the effect seems to be limited to immediately after the spray is launched. I sprayed some into a bowl and inhaled a minute later and there were no effects at all. Altogether this seems to be a more effective product than the keychain version, with a wider spray pattern and slightly hotter formula, but it’s still not a product I’m particularly excited by. 

The next was their pocket unit, P-22-OC. It sprayed a narrow stream, perhaps a little farther than the keychain product. It generated noticeable, long-lasting, but mild burning on my forearm, but I never experienced any effects from taking deep breaths near the spray site. If you can get it on the eyes, this would definitely work, but again, you’d have to get it on the eyes.


One last curious note about the above is in order. While Sabre markets their Sabre Red formulation as being a 10% OC, 2,000,000 SHU, 1.33% major capsaicinoid product, and explicitly says that all Sabre Red product numbers end in “-OC”, the pocket unit tested above was labeled 2% OC and 0.67% major capsaicinoids. The pepper foam product was also labeled as weaker, with a 10% OC and 0.67% major capsaicinoid content. I called and left a message inquiring about this, and suggested they list the formulation used on each product's page, so that consumers don't have to guess about what formulation they're getting. Goodness knows whether I'll get a response.