The world is sometimes a mean and dangerous place. There are all kinds of situations a person might find themselves in where some form of alarm or defense would be helpful. A whistle can work—but only as long as you can actually continue blowing it, and if you’re blowing it you can’t also be screaming for help. Pepper spray is useful, but you typically have to dig that out of a purse or bag, and then you need to have good enough aim to disable the attacker. The BASU eAlarm offers a simple and cost-effective alternative.
Form
The BASU eAlarm looks basically like a slightly bulkier-than-average USB thumb drive. It has a loop on one end so you can put it on a keychain, and it comes with a metal carabiner as well so you can attach it to a purse or backpack.
The device is 2.79 inches long by 1.22 inches wide, and just over half an inch thick. It weighs less than an ounce, and comes with batteries pre-installed that are good for up to five years.
The eAlarm is TSA approved for air travel, and comes in a variety of colors—blue, purple, red, yellow, and American flag pattern in case sounding a personal alarm makes you feel extra patriotic for some reason.
Function
It doesn’t get much easier than the function of the eAlarm. You simply pull the black pin out of the top like you’re arming a hand grenade. You ear drums—and those of your would-be attacker—are immediately assailed by an ear-piercing alarm.
You can stop the alarm by simply re-inserting the pin. The device is good for about 30 minutes worth of alarm before the batteries will be done. The battery compartment is sealed for safety reasons. It’s crucial that the device work when you need it, so it is designed to be water-resistant and childproof. Sealing the battery compartment also means that an attacker can’t remove the batteries to silence the device.
The down side is that after your 30 minutes of use (or five hours of sitting around not being used) are up, the device is done and you’ll just have to replace it. BASU does have a replacement program, though, and will send you a new device if your eAlarm is dead from being used in an emergency. Don’t ask me how they plan to validate that your situation was actually an emergency or what the criteria would be for making that determination.
My Experience
My experience? Simple. It’s the easiest thing in the world to use and it is ear-piercingly loud. I mean, really loud.
The world is sometimes a mean and dangerous place. There are all kinds of situations a person might find themselves in where some form of alarm or defense would be helpful. A whistle can work—but only as long as you can actually continue blowing it, and if you’re blowing it you can’t also be screaming for help. Pepper spray is useful, but you typically have to dig that out of a purse or bag, and then you need to have good enough aim to disable the attacker. The BASU eAlarm offers a simple and cost-effective alternative.
This isn’t my own experience, but according to anecdotes shared on the BASU website, up to 68 percent of criminals will leave a crime scene immediately once an alarm is heard. The website also claims that even bears are repelled by the alarm 81 percent of the time. Hopefully you have a backup plan for the 19 percent of bears who are unfazed.
The Verdict
The BASU eAlarm is small, cheap, and effective. For $16, I can’t see how or why you wouldn’t get one—and get one for all of your friends and family while you’re at it. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do, this device will work as advertised.
There is also an eAlarm+ model for $20 that BASU claims is more for outdoor use such as camping and hiking, and an eAlarm911 that includes a SIM chip and will automatically contact 911 as well when activated.
Go buy one right now.
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