anyone have thoughts on expandable batons? also brands? etc?

ASP, and before you buy one, find a good instructor in Kali or Escrima.

There's few things in life more fun than watching a dojo ballerina get his a$$ kicked, after pulling out a weapon and not knowing how to use it in a real life situation.

Misanthrope

IMHO - VERY EFFECTIVE

Description MSRP
ARM F16B BATON BLK CHR $65.00
ARM F16A BATON AIRWEIGHT $77.50
ARM F21C BATON SLV CHR $70.00
ARM F21B BATON BLK CHR $70.00
ARM F21A BATON AIRWEIGHT $82.50
ARM F21F BATON FEDERAL BLK $70.00
ARM F26C BATON SLV CHR $75.00
ARM F26B BATON BLK CHR $75.00
ARM F26A BATON AIRWEIGHT $87.50

The lengths are 16, 21, 26.
The finishes are silver or black.

They have their application. They do well on windshields, windows, dogs and most two legged problems. You may run into smart asses and their dogs that SAY they can take it away from you. Drop the baton and your wallet and pull your Glock.

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Monadnock batons. they are the ASP upgraded.

Gotta go with the ASP unless you want somthing not made of metal. I taught PPCT for years and they made a composit version of the ASP real tough I have one that I have had for 15 years and it still kicks @$$, but I don't teach it anymore so I don't know if they even sell it anymore

Against some [censored] who has a knife or thinks that he's Mr Ninja-san they are reasonably effective.
A couple of points to remember:
1) Confine your blows to his extremities. That means his arms and legs. NOT HIS HEAD! Your trying to discourage him, not kill him.

2) Batons are, correctly used, none-lethal weapons. Yes you can kill someone with one, but so can anyone with a club. This has the distinct advantage to you of being able to meet an attack with maximum force. A shattered wrist or elbow joint will take the fight out of anyone real quick, and give his associates pause.

3) LEO's (except in the U.K.surprise, surprise) tend to get less upset about baton's than about knives, guns etc.

Two items:

Check your local laws. In CA a baton is a felony, handgun is only a misdemeaner.

If you get one, get some real instruction in its use, and then practice all the time. Get an old GI duffle bag, stuff it full of rags or something, then hang it in your garage as a dummy. If you don't practice you will forget how to use it effectively...

Go for the side of the knees. Start from up at your shoulder, stike down & across. Follow through. Repeat as necessary.

also remember that the baton has two ends. jabbing the butt into a thigh or shoulder drops someone real quick. I've had 2 days of baton training with our Atlantic Area boarding teams. Stay away from the head or neck unless you want a corpse on your hands. They make foam batons for training and practice, might want to look into those to keep current w/o breaking limbs.