The top three self-defense tools that I carry daily are my gun (currently a Springfield 1911), a knife (Benchmade, Kershaw, or one of several others), and a Tactical Pen.
However, I realize not everyone is comfortable carrying a gun and I would never recommend someone do so who isn’t comfortable and well trained. Also, some people don’t carry a knife for self-defense and maybe not even a tactical pen although it’s a no-brainer to carry one in my opinion.
Therefore, if none of the above appeal to you (or your spouse) another option you may want to consider is a collapsible baton, often referred to as an ASP because ASP is the company that makes most of the batons for law enforcement agencies.
When I was a police officer I carried one of these batons on my belt and they’re a great self-defense tool. You can deploy them quickly, and being that they’re made out of metal, they can do some serious damage. You can use them to stop an attacker by “whacking” them with it and you can also use them to smash out windows in an emergency.
Collapsible batons are relatively lightweight and they can be carried in a laptop bag or purse, and I know of several people who carry one in their vehicle.
If you do decide to get a collapsible baton I would spend the money for the ASP brand. They make the quality batons that will last you a long time, and you obviously don’t want to go cheap when you buy your self-defense products.
Just make sure you know your state law before you decide to purchase one of these. I know in California (big surprise) it’s illegal for civilians to have one of these. I’m sure in other terrible states it may be illegal too.
Even if you don’t want one of these for every day carry, you could get one to throw in an escape bag in the back of your car because when they’re fully collapsed they hardly take up any space at all.
Also, if you’ve got a son or daughter heading off to college next year, a Tactical Pen and a collapsible baton would be a good combination if a gun or knife are not viable options.
