The Best Improvised Weapons

/ hsoi

Low Tech Combat has an article about the 5 best improvised weapons.

What I like about the article is Adam first defines criteria of what makes a good improvised weapon — and what doesn’t. This includes dispelling some things commonly put forth as good improvised weapons (like car keys).

Then of course, they discuss the weapons and WHY they are good. I’d like to add a few comments:

#5 – loose change
#4 – backpack
#3 – a drink

Indeed these are good. They may not be damaging, but the key advantage (as a weapon) is it forces your attacker to reset their OODA loop. It doesn’t have to be loose change either. Consider Caleb Giddings’ coffee incident as an example of #3 (a drink) . Throwing things at your attacker makes them have to react to what you did —  their OODA resets, your OODA progresses.

#2 – a MagLite

I can’t deny a MagLite makes one hell of a club. But it’s a pretty crappy flashlight. 🙂 You could consider a model like the SureFire “Defender” (they have a few models in this flavor), which comes with a crenellated bezel made for striking things. Of course, that starts to make the flashlight look more like a weapon. I carry a SureFire E2L which has a mildly crenellated bezel, doesn’t look aggressive or weapon-like at all, but I wouldn’t want to get struck by it. And it makes a great EDC flashlight.

I tried using a MagLite in the past as a dan bong (Korean martial arts weapon, a short stick), but it’s just too heavy. Maybe a “C” cell version might work better. But the thing is, a MagLite is heavy. That’s an advantage, but it’s also a disadvantage (momentum).

#1 – umbrella

Even a small, compact umbrella could be usable (again, see dan bong). But yes, this makes a good weapon. There’s a lot these days about using canes and walking sticks for self-defense. You could use an umbrella, you could use a cane… maybe even have both, one for sunny days one for rainy (so you don’t look too out of place). Sometimes if I must enter a NPE, I’ll bring my cane.

That’s something else to consider: why carry an improvised weapon? If you’re a gun person, why would you want this? Well again, consider Caleb’s situation. Flinging the coffee into his attacker’s face bought him time — the OODA loop reset. As well, one point Adam stresses is sometimes situations dictate it and an improvised weapon is a fair choice due to situation or camouflage. A friend of mine likes to say “You don’t play golf with only one club in the bag.” That one gun may not be right for all situations.

Good stuff. Read the article for full details.

7 thoughts on “The Best Improvised Weapons”

  1. Coins?
    We’re in a fight. You stick your hand wrist deep into a pocket. I beat your ass.
    Coins as a weapon is just delusional. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a less effective strategy, unless, maybe, you’re a toll booth operator. (here in my kitchen, the ONLY improvised weapon worse than loose change currently within easy reach is half a bag of mini-marshmallows.)
    Sure, a sock full of pennies will deliver a buck and a half of *pieyow!* but now we’re in a fight with one shoe off _and_ a hand in our pocket.
    Coins as wrist rocket slingshot ammo are pretty effective, but if you’re carrying a wrist rocket you’ve also got a pouch of ball bearings.

    • Wait! If you’re being attacked with radar guided weapons then a sufficient volume of thrown coins could make a rudimentary chafe cloud, thus enabling your escape.

    • I guess, on a fractionally more serious tone, loose coins Fail the “Better Than Nothing” test in the article.
      Palm strike to the chin vs 16¢ to the face!
      The choice is pretty clear.

    • I would agree that coins aren’t a damaging weapon. Where I think they — or any thrown object — has a use is in distraction. Throwing something into someone’s face is going to induce a flinch response. You’ll reset their OODA loop.

      But you’ve got a good point. If you’ve lost the advantage, reaching into your pocket is going to be bad because of the loss of the hand.

  2. I have an umbrella with a wooden handle in the shape of a duck’s head. The usual response from people when I’m carrying it is, “Oh, how cute!”, but the the duck’s head makes an L, with the beak tapering to a nice little point at the end.

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