If you are like me, and have watched Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, you are sitting there in your chair thinking of TASER FACE, and then laughing hysterically.
I will try to stay on topic, but it is so hard not to think of it! We need to look at what a stun gun vs taser is, then discuss why a taser is so much better. When looking for a reputable product to recommend for the defense of your family and home, there is one name that sticks out. That is Taser.
Stun Gun vs Taser – Only one on the market
Taser International, now known as Axon, is not just the name of the handheld electroshock devices. It also the name of the company that Police Officers trust and use in the line of duty. That is why it is the product I recommend for self and home defense. That, and the company Taser owns all the patents to the taser, or Conducted Energy Weapon as it is officially called. Minor details, eh?
You might be thinking that there are plenty of companies that sell stun guns vs tasers. Truth is, plenty of companies sell stun guns. Only one makes the taser. The CEW (conducted energy weapon) that shoots the electrodes out at an attacker is known as a taser, and you can only find them at Axon.
That naturally makes Axon the supply chain leader for law enforcement. Axon has expanded their product lines to body cameras and other cutting edge technology, but the taser is still a sought after less-than-lethal weapon to carry when lethal means are not required.
Stun guns on the other hand, have fixed electrodes that arc a high voltage of electricity across them. This is painful needless to say, but much less effective than a taser. Let me explain the important differences of stun guns vs tasers below.
How a Taser Works
To explain how a Taser works actually has quite a bit of scientific study behind it. A microcoulomb is just a measurement that is used to know exactly how much electrical power is being delivered to a subject. The higher the microcoulomb, the more powerful the take down. The company Taser has built in smart chips in their products that deliver electricity in the form of a wave. Just as your microwave works on your homes AC “wave” power. This wave the taser delivers interrupts the brain signals to the muscles, creating a new signal that pulses the muscles. If you have ever received shock therapy at the chiropractor, you understand how a simple shock can take total control of your movements.
The microcoulomb rating has to be powerful enough to subdue the victim. If it is too weak, the victim can get back up or walk through the shock. Too powerful of a microcoulomb rating, and the shock can capture the victim’s heart and cause it to race at an exceedingly fast pace. There are a dozen variables that play in to the effectiveness of the taser, including thick clothing, placement of the electrodes on the body, tangled wires, just to name a few. If a criminal is wearing an extremely thick jacket, the electrical arc may not reach the body, even if the electrode sticks to the jacket.
Not the same as a stun gun
The stun gun may seem similar, but the biggest difference is HOW the electricity flows through the body. For the taser to be absolutely effective, the electrodes have to be at least 12 to 15 inches apart on the body to induce involuntary muscle movement through the entire body. Smart chips help determine how much voltage needs to be sent to the threat and for how long.
The stun gun has fixed electrodes that are but 2 inches apart. The electricity only conducts through the body at that specific spot, causing a lot of pain on that area and some involuntary muscle movement in that spot. Since the electricity is centralized to one area, the rest of the body is free to operate as normal, which means the threat can stop you from stunning them.
This is why tasers are a prevalent option with authorities. They preserve the life of the threat while protecting themselves.
A Controversial Issue?
The Taser X26P, and other current models, have been re-engineered to insure the safety of both the victim and the user utilizing the device. We do not want to cause a cardiac event on the victim. More importantly, we want to make sure the victim does not cause harm to the person utilizing the taser.
The company originally was facing dozens of lawsuits claiming that the original taser was too powerful. This resulted in deaths from the heart racing too fast. More recently, these lawsuits come due to officers resolving to guns because the taser didn’t stop the threat. Axon changed their products to safer, smarter weapons that had lower microcoulomb ratings. Axon studies showed them to still be as effective. Now the company is facing some allegations that the product is not powerful enough, as some police officers have lost their lives when the taser did not subdue the victim.
Solving the problems
Why would I still be recommending such a controversial product you might ask? The taser tries to solve a very challenging and complex problem: to subdue a threat through non-lethal means for both parties involved. We are valuing human life over anything else here, on both ends of the spectrum. There are countless cases where guns are not necessary (and plenty that are). So how do you stop a threat without harming yourself or the threat themselves? What if the person has a knife? Going in to hand combat without some kind of weapon to defend with can lead to very unfortunate situations on your part.
Anything can be turned in to a weapon if you need it, but tasers solve a lot of problems in the non-lethal realm of weaponry, including but not limited to:
- Keeping a safe distance from the threat
- It is more effective at taking a person down than most other alternatives like gas bombs
- It is easy to carry on your person
- The cartridges are reloadable, offering back-to-back use
- Quickly disable the threat so they can be cuffed or disarmed
- Is less-than-lethal (some reports state they are very safe and pose no risk of harm)
- Most importantly: preserves life
Why You Need One
What the most important thing to remember here, is what lengths are you willing to go to protect your family? Regardless of the stipulations and studies of CEW’s, wouldn’t you rather be prepared in the event a threat crosses your family? All we do know, and all we NEED to know, is that the taser is still a very viable unit for self and home defense. Life is worth protecting, even if that threat is infringing on your family.
When you take a look at the landscape that is self defense, there are not a lot of “effective” tools or weapons out there that will give you the advantage. Sure pepper spray will slow a guy down, but what if it blows back in your face? Now you are blinded yourself.
The stun gun will cause pain, but it may not stop the attacker. They could swipe it away from your hand since you are so close to them.
A baseball bat, when landed correctly, will cause a lot of pain too. Although I know a lot of people that do not have the upper body strength to make it very effective.
Stun gun vs Taser – Final Verdict
The taser is the best bet for self defense if you are not willing or able to carry a gun on your person (by choice or legality). A taser has been proven to be extremely effective, and makes for a very lightweight and powerful weapon to keep close by. It should be treated as such too, a weapon, and not a toy to be zapping your buddy with. The taser gives even the feeblest of a person the power to take down a giant, so give it the respect it deserves.
The tasers come with a lot of great features too. You can read about these unique features in the next taser pulse review. And do not get me wrong, each self defense weapon on the market has its place, but you need to pick what is best for the safety of your home.
Last but not least, some states do carry restrictions on the purchase or use of a taser. Taser has fortunately put a nice map together that lists the restrictions for each state, which you can view on Axon’s website.. Be sure you are aware of the restrictions of your state before making a purchase.
What do you think? Will you be purchasing a taser? What alternatives do you feel are better? Let me know in the comments, I would like to hear them!
This is a very interesting topic you have given here to be sincere. The issues of having at least a teaser for projecting oneself at home is a very crucial idea. There are cases here a house is under attach and the house owners have absolutely nothing to project themselves. Such situations makes you want to cry. I totally agree with the idea of buying a teaser for oneself in case such situations occur. Thanks of sharing.
Don’t you think that the laser is little bit over, I mean I am fan of self defence but I prefer my pepper spray. They don’t have any controversy like the taser guns. Well, it depends on who is wielding them. From this post, I have learnt about the stun gun and the taser. I think the taser is actually better by being able to deliver both desires of the user of not killing the harassed and whom is harassing. Nice post I must confess.
Pepper spray definitely works! I do not rule it out entirely, just when you start to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each, pepper spray can potentially come back in to your own eyes. Especially if you use it in the house, the spray will linger in the air and make it hard to breathe and see. If that is what you are comfortable with using, then please do! It is better to have some form of self defense than none at all.
Thanks for coming up with this beautiful post, I’m glad you have taken your time to put it up. The importance of a teaser is one I can’t over look. I for example can handle a gun so I would always go for taser. There are situations that may occur where one would need to defend himself/herself and that’s where the teaser comes in. I wouldn’t mind getting the ones whose charges are enough to knock some one out by the way.
Great input Cody,
I was watching Marvel’s Agents of Shield and man their stun guns were so cool, I had to look it up! On Netflix, they were shooting bullets that stun people but both the taser and stun guns I noticed, are short-ranged am I right? Do you think there’s a reason why they don’t do it in the form of bullets? It would be a lot safer too since we don’t have to go near the threat.
Hey Riaz! Glad you found the article intriguing amd relatable. I have no doubts that a taser with longer range capabilities is possible to build. There are two main issues I can forsee with it. First being the cost of the device. The more tech you build in to the unit, the more expensive it gets. This would make it unrealistic for purchase for your typical citizen. Second is accuracy. While we want to keep threats at a distance, too far and it makes it much more difficult to hit your target. The object being closer obviously takes up a much larger field of view, making it easier to aim and land on your target. Hope this helps answer your question!
Nice comparison you have here. For me I think both of them are good enough. Although, how a person in possession of any of the two can effectively handle and utilize it matters too. Well, it is still not a bad idea for a person to have both and also learn how to use both of them effectively.
I agree, learning how to utilize multiple tools is the best thing any person can do. Having first hand experience will help you make the right decision for your arsenal. You never know when or where a threat may come across your path, or what you will have available to you to defend yourself.