For an older person, opening an expandable to fully locked position may not be easy to do. It's a lot of wrist/forearm action. My wife couldn't reliably open or close mine. She now walks with a long walking stick made of solid Hickory. Much better at fending off dogs.

Closing the baton is the other issue as mentioned but of lesser concern. The baton will only be effective to the length of the baton and length of arm. That's to close.

Have you looked into bear spray? Stronger than pepper spray and has a heavy stream that can reach out beyond a baton.

small fixed blade knife is worth looking at too.

TDI LE Knife is a winner with my wife.

I bought her an ASP and sent her through the cert course so she could carry it legally in the state/city we lived at the time. But by the end of all that she had very little confidence in the baton.

She loves the sneaky knife.

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
She has pepper spray.

Is it Fox Labs, Sabre Red, or one of the ones carried by law enforcement and prison guards? If not, there is room for improvement.

The manufacturer that sells the most police tasers also has consumer tasers:

Taser Pulse+

Taser strikelight

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

I appreciate all the replies. Not sure if she has changed her mind after reading this thread, but the cost of these things will probably help change her mind. Neither one of us has ever looked at batons or done any research on them. I always thought they looked flimsy and useless. I knew there would be good feedback from LEO’s and private users in this forum. Cane would be the much better option, but neither of us would be seen in public with a cane. We are both in our 70's, but still in good shape.

She has a Spyderco Delica that I gave her years ago. It is always in her pocket, but more of a tool rather than self defense. She keeps pepper spray in her car, but maybe a small bottle in her purse would be a good addition for her. Again, thanks for the very helpful replies.

It's admirable that you're doing research. Our neighbor recently said he was going to buy a gun for self defense but he had no plans to shoot it or learn how to use it. His wife was opposed to the idea. He asked me for suggestions. I told him I thought it was a bad idea.

In the end he purchased bear spray and a KIMBER pepper spray gun. The more distance you can put between yourself and a threat the better.

While a don't think it's a great idea as a weapon for a woman. A woman being attacked doesn't have a list of places she isn't supposed to hit people with it.

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
She keeps pepper spray in her car, but maybe a small bottle in her purse would be a good addition for her.

I have an even better suggestion. My ex lives in an apartment, and was followed across the parking lot and up the stairs. She was able to get into her apartment and the door locked without anything happening, but it freaked her out to realize she had nothing self-defense related on her.

I inquired if it was OK to buy her pepper spray and she said yes. I narrowed the search down to:

the brands (Fox Labs, Sabre Red, Vexor, etc) carried by LEOs and prison guards since I wanted it to be effective

I wanted a pepper spray keychain since she already had the good habit of walking across parking lots with her keys in her hand (does your wife have this good habit?)

They had to sell an inert training unit.

Sabre Red's Pepper Gel Kit met all 3 objectives for under $15.

Next, I invited her over and had Sabre Red's practice target set up in the garage. First, we watched Sabre Red's video together and then we moved out to the garage where she practiced with the inert training unit until it was empty. Most of the reps were with her spraying and "getting off the x" so she was used to spraying and not being where the guy last saw her.

Finally, I personally attached the keychain to her keys so she wouldn't put it off and never do it. She told me that she walks across the parking lot with it in her hand (i.e. improved her already good habit) and the only issues she has had was remembering to take it off to fly commercially.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

I was a defensive tactics instructor back in the day and have never been a fan of the ASP. It takes a lot of power to swing that thing and get an effective strike. The tonfa (PR24) was a great tool for LE but the ASP became a fad that overtook it. There is a mini version but the tonfa is not really practical for non uniformed personnel. If used as a yawara stick the collapsed ASP can be effective in getting someone to back off or let go of you with strikes to the solar plexis, wrist, elbows, eyes, nose, mastoid and throat. A yawara stick is low profile and may be a good choice if she is set on an impact weapon.

I would just about carry that self defense pocket sand (literally a bag of sand in your pocket) than carry a concealed ASP. It takes a good amount of force to get them open. Not to mention the lack of mass does not provide a very solid strike.

The worst part of an ASP is the damn jingling sound they make. I can identify the one guy at work by his ASP as he walks down the hallway.

I think the others have nailed it. They're hard to open, ineffective to hit with, hard to close, and heavy to carry. A kubotan with a bunch of keys, sinkers, and whatever else used to thrash the face would probably work better.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I would just about carry that self defense pocket sand (literally a bag of sand in your pocket) than carry a concealed ASP. It takes a good amount of force to get them open. Not to mention the lack of mass does not provide a very solid strike.

The worst part of an ASP is the damn jingling sound they make. I can identify the one guy at work by his ASP as he walks down the hallway.

Huh? Jingle? Mine don't do that. Are you sure the guy doesn't have a cheap knock off? Also they are not difficult to open but yes you need to give it a good swing to cause some damage.

My 21" ASP baton weighs a little over 8 oz. I have folding knives that weigh almost that. I also have a steel 21" ASP as well as a 26" ASP baton. If you connect with the big one you can cause some damage. Around most places hitting someone in the head with a baton is lethal force. You might be better off just shooting your assailant. Once again, for an older lady, not such a good choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:
Huh? Jingle? Mine don't do that. Are you sure the guy doesn't have a cheap knock off?

Mine certainly does, and it's genuine. The middle section rattles against the front and rear sections while collapsed.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:
Huh? Jingle? Mine don't do that. Are you sure the guy doesn't have a cheap knock off?

Mine certainly does, and it's genuine. The middle section rattles against the front and rear sections while collapsed.

Well, it does make some noise especially if you hold it in your hand and shake it. If I am walking with it in my waistband I don't hear any rattling, jingling, or singing from it.

For all saying the ASP sucks, I agree. I’ve witnessed people take over 20 blows with one without effect other then bending the baton.

We’ve switched to the RCB from Peacekeeper. It’s a FAR more substantial product. It is much heavier and heavily weighted at the striking tip, very dissimilar to the ASP. It is far more effective when properly swung and leaves quite the evidence of its strike. I am 100% confident if I give it a proper swing into a non-meaty area like a forearm or shin that I will break the bone. No doubt in my mind.

That being said, not an appropriate choice for the stated purpose. They are difficult to deploy and put away. Difficult to use effectively. And expensive for what you get.

I also have a Monadnock 22" Autolock baton with a Hindi cap and power safety tip that is a good striker. It is an interesting impact weapon. It's a little bulky to carry though.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by wingspar:
She keeps pepper spray in her car, but maybe a small bottle in her purse would be a good addition for her.

I have an even better suggestion. My ex lives in an apartment, and was followed across the parking lot and up the stairs. She was able to get into her apartment and the door locked without anything happening, but it freaked her out to realize she had nothing self-defense related on her.

I inquired if it was OK to buy her pepper spray and she said yes. I narrowed the search down to:

the brands (Fox Labs, Sabre Red, Vexor, etc) carried by LEOs and prison guards since I wanted it to be effective

I wanted a pepper spray keychain since she already had the good habit of walking across parking lots with her keys in her hand (does your wife have this good habit?)

They had to sell an inert training unit.

Sabre Red's Pepper Gel Kit met all 3 objectives for under $15.

I ended up ordering this for her. Anyone know what is in the practice unit?

I can’t remember what it said on the label but I do remember the training unit was a gel too

3 years in Law Enforcement

A baton is great for smashing windows, and using them for some joint locks, and that is for the steel ones versus the aluminum ones you break real easily. Outside of those two things where I get the advantage of having backup coming, and can still go to a gun, my baton is completely useless.

Pepper spray you are going to want it to be a stream is the best way I can describe it, as that one is the worst. Gel and foam can be easily wiped off and thrown back at you, and the mist can just go away pretty easily with all this last three being little effective to the target. But that damn stream one sucks ass.