Overview
For decades, not much had changed in regard to pepper spray products available for personal protection. However, everything changed in early 2019. Plegium released its Smart Pepper Spray, a Bluetooth-enabled personal protection device with a free app for both Android and iOS. When deployed with the press of one button, five functions are activated. Pepper spray is deployed, an alarms sounds, an LED strobe light flashes, emergency contacts receive phones calls to let them know you’re in trouble, and those same contacts receive a text message with a link to a Google map containing your exact location and GPS coordinates. The design, engineering and reliability behind Plegium products is unparalleled.
Riding on its success with the Smart Pepper Spray, Plegium now offers a complete line of self-defense pepper sprays with many options. Regardless of your self-defense requirements or budget, Plegium has you covered.
Top Pick: Plegium Genie Smart Pepper Spray
The Plegium Smart Pepper Spray was our top pick for 2019 and remains so in 2020. If you want the best, non-lethal personal protection device available, the Plegium Genie Smart Pepper Spray offers outstanding features and value. For less than $40, you get a Bluetooth-enabled pepper spray that will connect to your smart phone and last 4 years without recharging. The Plegium Genie Smart Pepper Spray also does the following five functions with the press of a single button:
- Pepper Spray: Maximum strength. Lab tested to maximum allowed 1.33% major capsaicinoids. Ten shots up to 10 feet.
- 3-LED Strobe: Triple LEDs light up when you fire the Smart Pepper Spray, helping you aim in the dark. The LEDs have a 19 Hz strobe effect (meaning they blink 19 times per second), which has a proven disorienting effect on the human brain.
- 130db Alarm: A 130 dB sound pressure alarm is activated, stronger than most stand-alone personal alarms. The siren has been tuned to resonate at frequencies where the human ear is the most sensitive, to maximize discomfort and attention to the scene.
- Emergency Phone Calls: When the Smart Pepper Spray is fired, the free app also makes phone calls to all of your emergency contacts. A voice informs them that you are in danger and that they have received a text message showing your location.
- Location Texts: The Smart Pepper Spray connects to your phone. When you fire the Smart Pepper Spray, the free app sends a text message with your location (a Google Maps link) to your emergency contacts.
The Genie Smart Pepper Spray by Plegium offers an unparalleled feature set at an incredible price and remains our top pick for 2020.
Compact: Plegium Genie Smart Mini Pepper Spray
The Genie Smart Mini Pepper Spray by Plegium is a compact version of their full-sized Smart Pepper Spray. In addition to pepper spray, the unit has location text messages as well as emergency phone calls.
Although all of the Bluetooth-enabled “smart” features are in this unit, the alarm and strobe light are not. If a compact size and smart features are your priority, the Smart Mini Pepper Spray is your best option.
Combo: Plegium Genie Combo Pepper Spray
The Plegium Genie Combo Pepper Spray is a full-sized unit that has no “smart features” such as location texts and emergency phone calls.
This unit is a combination of pepper spray, strobe light and alarm. It is important to note that all three of these features are best-in-class. If you were to go out and individually buy pepper spray, an alarm and a strobe, you would easily spend over $40 and have to activate each separately. With the Plegium Genie Combo Pepper Spray, you activate all three functions with the press of a button and the cost is under $25.
Single Function: Plegium Genie Premium, Basic & Budget
If you’re looking for a bare bones pepper spray unit, Plegium has you covered. The Plegium Genie Premium is a full-sized unit with an excellent flip top safety. The pepper spray is some of the hottest available and is effective against those under the influence of drugs and alcohol, as well as animals.
If small size is a requirement, check out the Genie Premium which includes Plegium’s break-away keychain so the pepper spray can be easily deployed. No need for the keychain? No problem. Plegium offers the same unit, the Genie Budget, with no keychain.
Conclusion
Plegium has done an outstanding job of bringing to market a full line of best-in-class pepper spay devices that provide innovative features not available elsewhere.
The Plegium Genie Smart Pepper Spray is our top pick for 2020 and offers an innovative feature set, battery life and value. If you’re looking for the most advanced non-lethal personal protection device available, we highly recommend the Plegium Genie Smart Pepper Spray.
