1 - Effectiveness

Always consider the effectiveness of a collapsible police baton or rather any self defense weapon before making a purchase. That said, an expandable baton is pretty for jabbing and striking on the right areas and with the right amount of force.

If you aren't a law enforcement officer, chances are you haven't had formal training in a collapsible police baton. How can swinging a bat may be? You might ask. Well, depends upon the attacker really. If you are dumb or weak in your grip, chances are your retractable baton will be taken away from you.

But a collapsible police baton may prove fatal if deployed at the 'no go areas'. That is, no go for police as the law enforcement just uses batons for containment purposes. But if you strike with a 4041 steel collapsible baton on the head or groin area, chances are your attacker might be knocked out for hours.

This makes collapsible police batons highly effective weapons for self defense. But you need to practice your batoning skills for a better strike rate.

2 - Price

The price of a self defense weapon varies considerably. A $10 pocket knife might be considered a 'will do' defense tool but why then would one invest in a $150 dollar gun or an expensive knife? Quality speaks for itself. Collapsible police batons are no exception to this rule.

So you may get a cheap baton made of wood with a basic design but chances are it will be a fixed baton with no distinguishing tip of cap and without baton accessories. If you want a collapsible police baton, a steel one with specialized rubber tip, foam handle, weighted cap and anti lock system, you will have to spend a little more money.

That said, a collapsible police baton is still significantly cheaper than a gun or high end knife. You may get a nice deal at under $100 and we think it is a steal given the durability of this self defense weapon. But more on that later.

3 - Deployment

You just buying a collapsible police baton and practicing swinging the stick for a few items ain't going to do any good for you. If you want to use an expandable baton as a self defense tool you need to learn how to deploy it properly.

There is a reason why police officers get baton training before they are actually allowed to carry a collapsible police baton with them at all times. You need to practice different baton draws (yeah that's a thing). You need to learn how effective an over the shoulder strike would be compared to a sideway jab.

Another thing to keep in mind while deploying a police baton is the striking angle. You need to practice striking your collapsible police baton at 45 degrees for maximum impact. Another thing is the area of deployment. 

Under the shin is excellent to get your arch enemies on their knees. Packed muscle areas like abdomen or back are only for minor pain but are used by officers of the law as standard protocol.

Since you aren't following a standard protocol and want to inflict more damage through your collapsible police baton, you may hit the head or pressure points that might result in permanent injuries.

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4 - Safety

The benefit of using a collapsible police baton as a self defense tool is that it won't cause you any harm during the attack process. Whether you are actually using it in real life threatening situations or just practicing from it, you won't be putting yourself in harms way.

Unlike a knife or a pepper spray that have significant chances of self harm while deployment, a collapsible police baton is pretty benign. A pepper spray has chances of blowing back to your face if you use it on a windy day. A bad knife attack might have you grabbing your own bleeding fingers, but not with your good old baton.

A simple expandable baton would not ever cause you harm unless it is taken hold of by your attacker. That is why practicing with a collapsible police baton is highly advised. Nowadays, modern police batons are coming with reinforced weighted tips so that chances of your opponent grabbing hold of your baton are likely to be very less.

Moreover, unlike a knife, pepper spray or gun, a baton is relatively harmless if it does fall into the hands of children. Keep the collapsible police baton in a collapsed position so that whatever teeny tiny danger there is to this situation is gone out of the window.

5 - Reachability

A self defense weapon needs to be within arm's reach as the danger doesn't come knocking on the door. A collapsible police baton can be easily kept behind doors, on a mantelpiece or the glove compartment.

A fully collapsed baton is hardly 7"-8" long. With this length, not only it becomes ideal to carry it on you with the help of a belt loop usually supplied or just be kept in extremely big pockets. This is why collapsible police batons are so popular with cops on patrol as they can just swing batons over their waist.

You can do the same with your collapsible police baton. Just keep it fully extended within the house or closed inside a car at all times. There is no hassle of keeping your self defense tool with you at all times.

6 - Durability

Another pro of a collapsible police baton is that once bought, this stick will last you for a long time without any need for maintenance. A pepper spray needs replacing every few months since it expires, a knife rusts or looses its sharp edge overtime.

If you are someone who doesn't like to keep tackling these issues with a self defense tool, a collapsible police baton may be your best bet. The telescopic steel baton with alloy shafts won't need much maintenance. They shall collapse over each other when the cap button is pressed.

Apart from the locking mechanism, a collapsible police baton doesn't have many movable bits and bobs that have chances of chipping away. Your sturdy expandable baton will stick with you through thick and thin unless you strike it against Thor's hammer.

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7 - Lethality 

Why would most people prefer a collapsible police baton as their self defense weapon? The obvious reason is that it is a non-lethal weapon that most ordinary citizens are comfortable enough to use over another human. With collapsible police batons, you won't be leaving your target with bloody streams or permanent injuries.

This is a good thing but that doesn't mean that collapsible police batons won't cause significant pain or even broken bones when used viciously and repeatedly at the same spot. There's a reason why cops aren't allowed to hit certain areas and you need to keep in mind those no strike zones too before brandishing your baton around.

8 - Legality 

Unlike other weapons such as guns or knives, one needs to be extremely careful with the legal laws surrounding the weapon. The legality of a weapon can be really painstaking to evaluate since it varies state to state. Same goes for collapsible police batons.

Just like blank guns are allowed in some states and banned in others; switchblades are banned from many states but spring assisted knives are legal to carry in almost all, a collapsible police baton may or may not be allowed in your state. Check the legal clause before buying yourself one.

If you are planning to carry a baton with you in a scabbard across the waist, it might be best to check if it is legal to do that. While carrying a collapsed baton should be no issue, fully expanded baton is a public space by a non-security person might be a cause of concern.

9 - Inexperience 

The cost of using a collapsible police baton as a rookie might cost you. While batons are used as compliance weapons by police officers, if you find yourself having to use a baton to defend yourself against an attacker on a deserted street corner, chances are you might do more damage with your baton.

If you have no idea how to strike, jab or block off attacks using your collapsible police baton, your attacker might snatch it off you. This is the worst case scenario for anyone. So practice is the key. Here is how to not allow inexperience with a baton to get in the way of warding off the intruder.

If the miscreant does get hold of the tip of a collapsible police baton, then hold your nightstick handle with two hands and try to rotate the baton at 360 degrees. Whatever happens, don't let go of the baton even if you feel the attacker is stronger than you can completely snatch the baton off you.

When you rotate the collapsible police baton, the tip and the upper shafts become loose. Another sneaky way to throw the attacker off is to push the cap button and let each shaft come tumbling down. Don't let the attacker get away, use the collapsed baton to strike with a tip and try to open it again when you get some precious seconds.

We know fighting with a baton may be tricky and another con of using a collapsible police baton for self defense is it is pretty tricky to get the upper hand if your attacker has a sharp blade on him. A steel or hardwood baton may feel pretty useless in the face of firearms or blades.

10 - Multi-Purpose Use

Perhaps the best thing about a collapsible police baton is that you can use it for many other things besides striking an enemy. For example, a baton is a powerful weapon to break windows in emergency situations. 

A fire in the building or a car accident may require a hard stick to crash glass safely and a collapsible police baton can serve you well. Another use of a tactical baton is that together with the right accessories such as flashlight or stun gun, a baton can become a powerful weapon for rescue and high level operations by police forces.

A collapsible police baton may not have to be fully deployed at all to act as a self defense weapon. A closed baton can act as a threatening tool or warning signal for petty street troublemakers. You might be able to deescalate a situation just by waving your baton to show who's the boss. You need no expertise to do that either.

So these were our views on the various pros and cons of collapsible police batons. Hope you found the information useful and incisive. Now when you are looking to buy a baton for yourself, you would know what you are getting yourself into.

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