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Whether you’re commuting, camping, or just on a solo run or walk, it’s always good to stay be prepared for any kind of emergency. The rise in unprovoked attacks have made it even more imperative to stay alert and mindful of where you’re going — and who you might be encountering along the way.
One of the best ways to arm yourself is with a personal safety alarm, which can instantly attract attention to ward off a potential threat.
How Does a Personal Safety Alarm Work?
These days, a number of companies are making portable safety alarms, that are no bigger than a keychain (some of them also double as keychains). Whereas smoke alarms, for example, can be big and bulky, a personal alarm is designed to be discreet.
if you’re looking for a personal safety alarm, all you need is something that can fit on your keychain. With the best keychain alarms in your hand, one movement is all it takes to trigger a loud alarm and LED lights, with the goal of either scaring off an attacker or getting the attention and help from nearby pedestrians and police.
Personal Safety Alarm Buying Guide
The best personal safety alarms, for the most part, are all affordable, and are a small investment that can have a major impact when it comes to safety. Here’s what to consider when searching for the right keychain alarm.
Sound: You want these to get seriously loud, and most of them do — screaming into the upper ranges of 140db, way louder than thunder and more on par with standing next to a police siren. By comparison, a human scream is only about 100db. Not only can this alert anyone in the area who can help, reaching up to a range of up to 1000 feet away, but can also be enough to scare off an assailant on its own. It shouldn’t be too easy to activate though, which could set it off at totally inappropriate times.
Size and Style: This should be small enough to fit in your hand, pocket or bag, and ideally disguised as a car remote, jewelry or something similarly discreet.
Battery Life: With such a small item, batteries can last a while at up to a year or more. But be sure to do a periodic check to make sure they’re still working, otherwise it just becomes a keychain… which defeats the whole purpose of a keychain alarm.
Other Uses: Take this in your tent when camping to scare off predatory animals, or give it to an injured or elderly family member in the house to call for help when they need it. A built-in LED light can also be a big benefit, both for finding your way through the dark, and flashing while it beeps to bring more attention. For the models with the pull-out chain, these can even be hooked on a door, ready to blast the alarm if someone opens it.
If you’ll be traveling, be sure the one you want is legal to carry on planes, and in the place you’re headed too. Finally, test these out immediately as soon as you get them to make sure they’ll work in an emergency.
