Guardian Power Blaster - Powder
Courtesy of Steven Forgues
21 April 2008
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In the past I have evaluated other products from Guardian Protective Devices, Inc. After the last evaluation, I was sold on Guardian’s products. I then had the opportunity to meet with Herb Schreiber, President of Guardian Protective Devices at the 2007 Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Expo, where he showed me some of their new products and products in development. One of those new products was their Power Blaster units that deployed a dry powder Oleoresin Capsicum (O.C.). Your probably thinking like I was, this is a gimmick. After discussing it with Herb and getting my hands on it for testing, I am sold on this product too.
Most officers are familiar with and carry the typical belt carried OC cans that disperse a wet O.C. formula. In most applications, the wet formula is going to suffice, but there are applications where the dry powder formula would be a better option such as for area denial or dispersing an unruly crowd. To understand the tactical differences, think of a simple spray bottle with water in it. If you spray it, the water sprays out and drops rapidly. Now think of giving a squeeze to a bottle of baby powder, what happens. It hangs in the air for awhile do to how light it is; same concept with the powdered O.C.
Like everything else, there are advantages and disadvantages to this product. Being in a powder form, it is affected by wind more than a wet formula. So when discharging these units, you need to be even more aware of wind. When I was testing this product, I was in an open area near a lake. I didn’t feel or see any signs of wind, but of course when I discharged it, Mother Nature decided to make her presence known in the form of a slight breeze coming from the direction of the lake, causing the O.C. powder to be blown right back at me and a few colleagues who wanted to check out this product. Needless to say, we were feeling the effects of the O.C. for awhile. I should have recognized the possibility of wind at the lake, but I didn’t. Over the years, I have taken several direct hits from O.C. in training, and although I am use to it as anyone can be, I don’t enjoy it. I had planned on exposing myself to the O.C. powder just to see how effective it was compared to a wet formula, so I guess Mother Nature helped out and removed that extra step, although not expected. The effects that we felt were the typical respiratory, burning and inflammation of the eyes and mucous membranes. I didn’t necessarily feel the burning sensation to the skin. I attribute that to the fact that it wasn’t a wet formula sticking to the skin. Because we didn’t have the burning skin sensation, our recovery period was much shorter. We coughed heavily for about five minutes with continued effects to the eyes and mucous membranes for about fifteen minutes or so. I’m sure that if it is hot out, and any subjects coming in contact with the O.C. powder are sweaty, the powder is going to stick to their skin and give the burning skin sensation. Every exposure will be different, but in general I perceive the recovery period will be shorter than with the typical wet O.C. formula.
I also went to a cinder shed that was about 20’x20’ with an open front for driving loaders into. I discharged the Power Blaster into the shed with a 1 to 2 second blast. I found that this short blast quickly filled the area with a thick cloud of O.C. powder. Although I had already been exposed to the O.C. powder, I decided to try and enter the shed. Of course I started to cough, and quickly realized things were not going to get any better by staying, at which time I removed myself from the shed for some much need fresh air.
The Power Blaster units are available in several sizes and come with a Fog/Cone spray pattern only. Because of the pressure within the can for discharging the O.C., it does kick back a slight bit, but not much more if not the same as your typical belt carried can. With the Fog/Cone pattern, it puts out a large amount of O.C., filling a room or covering an area very quickly. With more and more police departments utilizing Electro-Muscular Disruptor (EMD) devices such as the TASER™, agencies need to be cautious of using such devices with certain formulas of O.C. due to some formulas on the market being flammable. Guardian has recognized this, and has developed all of their products to be safe to use with EMD devices. Guardian also has Inert Training Units available. For quick identification between a live O.C. unit and an inert unit, Guardian has labeled their canister with a Black/White label for live units and a Black/Yellow label for inert units.
For those that like specifications, here you go. The 4oz Power Blaster unit that I received measures 7½” tall, and 1½” in diameter. It has an effective range of approx. 12 to 15 feet. This unit contains 10% O.C. at 2 Million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), with 1.25% Total Capsaicinoids. The 4oz can actually has a formulation weight of 3.53oz (100 grams), and has a warranty of 5 years from date of manufacture. For safety, there is an orange clip that must be removed for the trigger to be activated. With the design of the orange safety clip, there is no threat of an unintentional discharge of these units while packed away in a gear bag or tactical/raid vest. Every canister has a label that is wear and water-resistant and contains the following data: Individually Serialized Numbers, Lot/Batch number, Date of Manufacture, Date of Expiration, Active Ingredient, Stock Number and instructions for Post Exposure Cleansing.
For further information, visit Guardian online at www.guardpd.com.
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