I carry one of the small mace things in my pocket all the time. I've used it twice and it worked beautifully both times. I'm still not comfortable carrying the .380 anywhere I end up running around with kids (soccer practice, parks, etc). I'd also be worried about the temperature extremes in the summer with leaving bear mace in the car. At one point I tried to buy a fire extinguisher for my car. Only the full size industrial ones were rated for the temps my car sees 30 days of the year.