Lots of great ideas there. . . keep them coming! 
Thoughts on stick for city walking, possible defense applications
I'm fortunate enough not to really NEED a stick to get around. . . but I'm 62, have a bad ankle, my eyesight isn't getting better, and I often walk my dog at light on potholed streets and uneven sidewalks, in an iffy neighborhood.
With this as background: what are your thoughts about a cane to use as a mobility aid with possible self defense applications? I'm thinking about woods, weight, types and shapes of handles, etc.
With this as background: what are your thoughts about a cane to use as a mobility aid with possible self defense applications? I'm thinking about woods, weight, types and shapes of handles, etc.
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Well, Cobalt, just in the past two years, within a two mile radius of my home. . . my dog and I were nearly run over by a mororist fleeing the police. . . a woman was confronted by a man with a shotgun at a major intersection at 10:00 AM. . . a woman was shot in the head while leaving a friend's house at night. . . there was another shooting 2 blocks from there, two weeks later. . . a man was tied up and executed in a home invasion. . . a man was confronted by a bunch of teenagers who demanded money, but managed to save himself with pepper spray. . . Yes, there's a real need for it! I already carry a small pistol (I have a carry permit) but am looking for something that I can already have in my hand. :sword:
surely you can walk safely is there a real need for such a stick, or do i live in a exceptional place? i dont think so. i have walked through many citys in europe and never felt the need for self defence .Yes there are places you need to be aware.Think the media has over done this.I have had people try to pick my pockets in Rome and lisbon but have always been confident in dealing with this as there more afriad of being caught.
It much nicer to stroll down the promenade with a stylish stick and enjoy life rather than looking over your shoulder
Cobalt, I love New Orleans! It's a great place to live or to visit. But I've lived here for many years, and I can assure you that there's another New Orleans right around the corner from what the tourists see. They're usually unaware of the high-crime housing project (now closed) just above the French Quarter. Or of what the neighborhood is like just a block above much of beautiful St. Charles Avenue. When you live here every day, you learn.
A healthy sense of my own limitations is why I'm interested in the stick in the first place. Even assuming someone got the stick away from me: in my case, the stick would have served its purpose, because while he's trying to figure out what to do with it, I'm drawing my revolver on a now-for-sure armed man who's launched a violent attack on me.Unless you are proficient and work out with the stick, the odds are that someone will take it away from you and reintroduce it to you elsewhere!I'm fortunate enough not to really NEED a stick to get around. . . but I'm 62, have a bad ankle, my eyesight isn't getting better, and I often walk my dog at light on potholed streets and uneven sidewalks, in an iffy neighborhood.
With this as background: what are your thoughts about a cane to use as a mobility aid with possible self defense applications? I'm thinking about woods, weight, types and shapes of handles, etc.
If you are not physically healthy enough to swing practice, hard, to be able to maintain your grip...
A false sense of security is more dangerous than a healthy sense of your own limitations.
Ever hear of the Zap cane?
Aluminum, with bright flashlight in the handle (a weapon in itself in confronted at night... blinding him for long enough to exit stage right!
And a billion volts from the prods at the bottom, if the light doesn't do it, the voltage will!
You would still have to become familiar with it and with your limitations! That is wisdom.
And still a young buck might feed it back to you.
Perhaps Faith will stand you better than other options?
I'll have to check out that Zap cane you mention.
This is pretty appalling what does this say about society insted of looking out of the window think what to wear your discussing what weapon to take ? It sounds like a war zone.
I very much doubt that your fellow americans think this way i am totally shocked by it and can only think that the obbsesion is feed by the gun culture
Its one thing hunting but surely this is going way over the top
I know this is going to upset a lot of you but please stop and think what messages this sends out
Cobalt, it says that society has many bad people in it, who prey on their fellow men and women.This is pretty appalling what does this say about society insted of looking out of the window think what to wear your discussing what weapon to take ? It sounds like a war zone.
I very much doubt that your fellow americans think this way i am totally shocked by it and can only think that the obbsesion is feed by the gun culture
Its one thing hunting but surely this is going way over the top
I know this is going to upset a lot of you but please stop and think what messages this sends out
My views are very common among Americans. They are also a lot more common in the UK than you hint. I have visited England four times, have many friends there, and am a moderator on an airgunning forum which consists overwhelmingly of UK members. The message I get from them is, "crime here is bad and getting worse! We envy the fact that you Yanks can own guns to protect yourselves: unlike those of us here in the nanny state. Don't ever give up your rights!"
sorry Rad but if crime is so bad here the police would carry weapons..Ido not know of anywishing to carry a gun
And like the gun lobbyist that type of argument is simple fed on fear not truth
but as i see i am annoying people hear with the truth i had better shut up
No we havnt given up our rights it was peoples wish
I know many people in England who have told me they wished they could carry a gun. Some 11,000 people in the UK DO have gun carry permits, by the way. Even though it isn't provided for by statutory law, it's possible by an action of the Queen.sorry Rad but if crime is so bad here the police would carry weapons..Ido not know of anywishing to carry a gun
And like the gun lobbyist that type of argument is simple fed on fear not truth
but as i see i am annoying people hear with the truth i had better shut up
No we havnt given up our rights it was peoples wish
As far as the police not carrying guns in England: this is not true! It's true that most police don't: but you have your Armed Response Teams. And I have seen Police Constables in London walking their beats with Glock automatic pistols on their belts. I've also seen police there carrying assault rifles, in May 2011 (President Obama was there at the time).
I started this Thread in the hope of getting some practical advice about a cane for mobility and self defense applications. I've received a bit of that, but I have to hunt for it among the responses about religious faith, the utility of faking a heart attack (I'm sure my friend who was mugged in the park while having a real heart attack could really have profited from this drivel), slurs about "the gun culture" - (whoever they are) - whatever they have to do with walking sticks - and comments about English police carrying guns from an Englishman who claims to have never seen a bobby carrying a gun, when I as a tourist have seen this.
I will leave you to your regularly scheduled programming.
I will leave you to your regularly scheduled programming.
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