ASP is certainly no newcomer to the less lethal field. They’ve made the world’s most popular collapsible batons since the beginning. They’ve also had their Defender line of keychain pepper OC sprays out for a while now. Due to police officer and agency demand, ASP has now introduced the Defender LE. The Defender LE is a duty OC line of premium pepper spray aerosols that will be available to civilians as well as law enforcement personnel.
ASP Defender LE
According to ASP, the Defender LE OC sprays boast an industry-leading 1.4% major capsaicinoid potency, UV marking die, and omnidirectional dispersal with a 15-18 foot range. The OC sprays are nonflammable and CEW (Conducted Electrical Weapon) safe.
The Defender LE’s come in two sizes, a 2.68-ounce MK-3 and a 4.3-ounce MK-4. It comes in stream, gel, or fog formats. Inert training sprays to correspond with each type are available as well.
ASP doesn’t just drop new products, either. They make sure that law enforcement knows how to use them.
According to ASP, “Defender LE is supported by a new, police-designed, tuition-free law enforcement training program to set officers and agencies up for success on the street.”
That program is run directly by ASP for the police. Civilians aren’t left out, though. ASP has partnered with the USCCA (United States Concealed Carry Association), which is offering a “Non-Lethal Tools for Self-Defense Course.” The USCCA runs those classes, and it covers other less lethal tools as well.
The Defender LE actuators (trigger button, basically) feature flip-top safeties. The actuators and canisters are both color-coded to make it easy to tell active contents from inert ones. The canisters also have a serial number and expiration date. That’s great for department issue inventory and evidence control, but handy for civilians to know how current their spray is as well.
Prices are a very reasonable $19 to $21, depending on size. The trainers are a couple of bucks less.
If you don’t have a less lethal option in your toolkit, you really should. Pepper spray isn’t a cure-all, but it’s a good tool to have. ASP’s new Defender LE makes it an affordable one, too. Grabbing some training if you don’t have it through something like the USCCA is a good idea, too.
