Thanks again!
No personal experience, but a good non-lethal alternative.
This is one of the best for what I understand:
http://www.foxlabs.com/html.html
YMMV
I’m not convinced a food seasoning is really an effective deterrent to a drugged up thug ... whereas anything with a “4” in the caliber designation works wonders.
Pepper spray works for dogs. Mace works for humans. Problem is, I doubt mace is legal in your jurisdiction. In the slight chance that it is, however . . . .
On crack.... it doesn’t do much, same for some other narcotics...
Don’t discount pepper spray. The real benefit to pepper spray is that you can carry into places that you cannot carry a firearm. For example, you could leave a bar at 1:30am armed with pepper spray, while you’d be either disarmed or a felon if you relied solely on a firearm. Ditto for hospitals and other locations where it’s not legal to carry in most jurisdictions.
In the future, note the FR sidebar is reserved for FR business and not this.
Why not just kill the perp?
Perhaps a candy-gram would suffice? 
Mongo like candy
An important thing to remember about pepper spray is its limitations. It has to get to the mucus membranes to be effective. It does not work well into the wind, or in close spaces like in a car, where it as likely to incapacitate the sprayer as the person being sprayed.
If the perpetrator is at all familiar with pepper spray, they can hold their breath and wear wraparound sun glasses to divert the spray from the eyes. This is relatively effective armor against pepper spray.
It’s better than a flashlight for defense.
Get a CCW permit.
OC spray is a distractant and not a deterant. It will give you time to beat feet, at best, and that’s it. Shelf life is good, effectiveness in cold weather is reduced because it does not vaporize as much in cold air as it does in warm. In warm weather a chest hit will vaporize and hit the lungs much better than in cold. A face hit in all weather does the job.
Some people can handle OC with little effect. Others it drops them to their knees. In any case extreme emotion can override the pain. On the whole, its a limited tool and is in no way an all around solution.
On the other hand, since it is not lethal people are more inclined to actually use it and use early. People who won’t use a gun or taser will use OC spray and will use it early enough to make a difference. I recommend it because of that factor alone. I tell people who ask about it that if they are even approached in a threatening manner such that they fear for their safety they should spray first and ask questions later. You can’t really say that with guns or tasers.
My 2 cents.
Eventually, sooner or later, the thing will go off in your pocket. If some day you actually have to use it you will spray yourself as much as the bear. Your screaming will collapse the bear in laughter.
You can say that again! When we got the dose in Boot Camp, I had snot coming from orifices that I didn't know could produce it.
I took a LTC course a couple of weeks ago and the instructor touted the use of Pepper spray.[We were there to cert for Pistol carry]
Some reasons to carry were interesting:
*Not harm/kill surrounding people
*Spray and run- if you see an out
*If your weapon was turned on you- you wouldn’t be shot
But in the long run he suggested we could/should carry pepper spray on the left side and a gun on the right.
In the long run every situation will be different, course training and practice is a must, with a gun or spray.
{Know what both of them can/will do]
Personally I'd rather have something with a lengthier dispersal trajectory. You have to be close for spray.
I wouldn't want to depend on pepper spray alone for some of the reasons given by previous posters.
First, a small spray can is unlikely to be a visual deterrent. A rapist probably would not see it as a threat.
A gun is ALWAYS a visual deterrent to everyone but the totally enraged and insane.
Second, you have to hit the attacker IN THE EYES to get full effect.
Hit them with a bullet most anywhere and they will most likely stop and flee or at least slow down enough for another shot. Even if you miss, the BANG! may bring an attacker to his senses and cause them to flee.
Third, it may not incapacitate the rapist, it may only enrage him, at which time the victim is much more likely to be serious harmed. If the attacker has already broken into your house, they may just gut it out and attack anyway, holding the victim down while they recover.
While a bullet shot may not be incapacitating, a second, third, fourth, and fifth will most likely put them down for the count.
Fourth, viable usage life while in your purse? Who knows? It may work, it may not after being carried for a year.
A good carry gun, like a hammerless S&W 38 Special loaded with hollow points will be ready to go for years. Just take it out, wipe it off, and clear the barrel and it is good for another year.
So If you can run faster than the bad guy for fifteen minutes, maybe you can rely on OC. I always have some, but I don't depend on it.
Pepper spray is a good deterrent for stray dogs, but I would never depend on it against a person, because it is haphazard.
However, guns are for sensible minors and adults, not liberals. For them I would recommend Tasers, for several reasons.
First of all, they are legally “less than lethal”, so it is unlikely that anyone suing *everyone* because of their use will have much luck.
Second, because I would never expect a liberal to fire a gun when appropriate, or in the right direction, or with any care and attention to their downrange area.
Third, because in a Mexican standoff, a Taser will often win against a handgun or a knife.
And fourth, a Taser fills that great big gray area between doing nothing at all and lethal force. Any number of things can go wrong in a confrontation, and the worst you can get from a Taser is “sorry”.