For all you FMA baton fans...
Here's a take on my 22" Monadnock Autolock Baton. I have used numerous expandable batons including Monadnock PR-24FX, ASP 16", ASP 21" Airweight, Monadnock 24" Ultralight, and a German "Sipo".
The 21" ASP Airweight and Monadnock Auto-Lock are my favorites, and I believe they compliment each other.
The Autolock is a well made unit. It is obvious a lot of engineering and thought has gone into its design and manufacture. It is a heavy duty unit and structurally robust. I have dropped it many times onto concrete, ashpalt, tile, gravel, etc. with no effect. It offfers three fdeatures which I have not seen in any other products: Locking shaft segments, true non-slip grip and a weighted/protected tip.
The locking shaft is a nice feature; it offers more techniques such as jabs, and the security of knowing the baton will not collapse. It also allows the operator to open or extend the segments in a passive manner without flicking the wrist. I have been in marginal situations where I wished to open the baton but flicking it open would have been obnoxious and confrontational. The autolock feature also allows closing the baton without slamming the tip onto a hard surface. I once deployed an expandable baton inside a fugitive's residence. After he was in cuffs, I could not find a place to close the baton; he lived in a wooden house with carpeted floors. When I got outside, there was only grass and gravel. I finally threw the baton in to the back seat and closed it when I got back to the office. With the autolock, you push the button on the butt and close the segments with your other hand. Now, should you need to snap out the segments, it is done in the traditional manner, and the sound is even more pronounced than that of friction batons. The effect is almost like a hydraulic piston.
The nonslip grip is made of hard rubber with linear gooves extending from butt to tip/ I would have prefered circular grooves going around the circumference, but it still works. My baton's grooves make a slight spiral in a helical fashion. I do not know if this is intentional, but it provides even more purchase, and I like it. This feature is optional and is called "Supergrip". I understand it is not any thicker than the normal grip. The hard rubber is very nice. As a reference, the foam grip on my 16" ASP started to peel away after I carried it for a while in my blade tech kydex open front holder.
My baton also features a "Power Safety"tip which is a 2" weight that is enclosed in hard rubber. Monadnock claims the weight will enhance striking effects, which is a reasonable expectation. I suspect it also helps extend the baton during kinetic openings when the baton is flicked open. The hard rubber tip does protect the tip, and I can attest that my other batons, noteably my 24" Ultralight, have had their metal tips pretty nicked up, dented and scratched as a result of closing on hard surfaces. These dents and nicks could easily cause lacerations if the tip were to contact flesh.
I see one downsides to the Autolock. The segments have slight play when extended. This may be disconcerting to those accustomed to the rigid lock up of the friction batons, but it really does not make much difference. The owner's manual acknowledged this issue and states the play is necessary for the locking mechanism to function. Engineering is matter of compromises, and I think it is a fair trade off. Whatever the reason, this has never effected my confidence in the unit.
All in all, the 22" Autolock is a winner and strongly recommended. It is a little too heavy for plain clothes applications, but it has a permanent place on my raid and SWAT duty belt. By all means get the optional supergrip and power safety tip.
An image of a similar baton (a 23" non Autolock) is located at:
www.police-batons.com/mlp/images/0523pstsg.jpg
Here's a take on my 22" Monadnock Autolock Baton. I have used numerous expandable batons including Monadnock PR-24FX, ASP 16", ASP 21" Airweight, Monadnock 24" Ultralight, and a German "Sipo".
The 21" ASP Airweight and Monadnock Auto-Lock are my favorites, and I believe they compliment each other.
The Autolock is a well made unit. It is obvious a lot of engineering and thought has gone into its design and manufacture. It is a heavy duty unit and structurally robust. I have dropped it many times onto concrete, ashpalt, tile, gravel, etc. with no effect. It offfers three fdeatures which I have not seen in any other products: Locking shaft segments, true non-slip grip and a weighted/protected tip.
The locking shaft is a nice feature; it offers more techniques such as jabs, and the security of knowing the baton will not collapse. It also allows the operator to open or extend the segments in a passive manner without flicking the wrist. I have been in marginal situations where I wished to open the baton but flicking it open would have been obnoxious and confrontational. The autolock feature also allows closing the baton without slamming the tip onto a hard surface. I once deployed an expandable baton inside a fugitive's residence. After he was in cuffs, I could not find a place to close the baton; he lived in a wooden house with carpeted floors. When I got outside, there was only grass and gravel. I finally threw the baton in to the back seat and closed it when I got back to the office. With the autolock, you push the button on the butt and close the segments with your other hand. Now, should you need to snap out the segments, it is done in the traditional manner, and the sound is even more pronounced than that of friction batons. The effect is almost like a hydraulic piston.
The nonslip grip is made of hard rubber with linear gooves extending from butt to tip/ I would have prefered circular grooves going around the circumference, but it still works. My baton's grooves make a slight spiral in a helical fashion. I do not know if this is intentional, but it provides even more purchase, and I like it. This feature is optional and is called "Supergrip". I understand it is not any thicker than the normal grip. The hard rubber is very nice. As a reference, the foam grip on my 16" ASP started to peel away after I carried it for a while in my blade tech kydex open front holder.
My baton also features a "Power Safety"tip which is a 2" weight that is enclosed in hard rubber. Monadnock claims the weight will enhance striking effects, which is a reasonable expectation. I suspect it also helps extend the baton during kinetic openings when the baton is flicked open. The hard rubber tip does protect the tip, and I can attest that my other batons, noteably my 24" Ultralight, have had their metal tips pretty nicked up, dented and scratched as a result of closing on hard surfaces. These dents and nicks could easily cause lacerations if the tip were to contact flesh.
I see one downsides to the Autolock. The segments have slight play when extended. This may be disconcerting to those accustomed to the rigid lock up of the friction batons, but it really does not make much difference. The owner's manual acknowledged this issue and states the play is necessary for the locking mechanism to function. Engineering is matter of compromises, and I think it is a fair trade off. Whatever the reason, this has never effected my confidence in the unit.
All in all, the 22" Autolock is a winner and strongly recommended. It is a little too heavy for plain clothes applications, but it has a permanent place on my raid and SWAT duty belt. By all means get the optional supergrip and power safety tip.
An image of a similar baton (a 23" non Autolock) is located at:
www.police-batons.com/mlp/images/0523pstsg.jpg
