Upon getting her first pepper spray canister my friend was wondering about the effectiveness of the spray she asked if she could try it on me which she did. It took her 3 tries to get around the childproof trigger then after spraying it took 45 seconds for the spray to take effect. With her standing 10 feet away the spray hit her too causing her to cough and dry heave. As to the effectiveness the device caused partial-thickness chemical burns across my face and eyes. It was partially incapacitating but if I had the drive it would not have dropped me. I reccomend getting a stun gun if you actually want to get away from an attacker. This is best used for stopping a gunman when you have no other option.