Our editors independently select the products we recommend. We may earn a commission on items bought through our links.
Carrying a weapon — especially one that can take a life — is a heavy decision to make. But there are ways to make yourself more secure in a variety of situations, including physical ones, that minimize the risk that a fight will become a life-ending battle.
Non-lethal weapons, as well, are often legal in many places — even ones that have significant restrictions on knives and guns. Still, it’s wise to check your local laws on specific devices before buying anything that could be used as a weapon.
However, some items, like a good flashlight, can be vitally useful in everyday life — and can double as valuable self-defense tools.
Self-defense with any tool is more about your mindset and training than the particular weapon. But Sifu Anthony Fontana, a self-defense expert and instructor in Jeet Kun Do, boxing, Muay Thai, and several other fighting systems, has a few specific recommendations for people who want to arm themselves with the best tool for a given situation.
Fontana usually recommends a knife for most self-defense situations, but there’s a huge level of risk, for both the attacker and defender, in using a blade. Still, he has plenty of ideas for different devices and different tactics for keeping yourself safe without using lethal force. The best weapons for self-defense, Fontana says, are “everyday tools you already walk around with.” When I asked him for specific products, for instance, he immediately rifled off a list of tools that included a pen and a rolled-up newspaper. That may sound absurd, but the philosophy is the same: Weapons are an extension of your hand, and anything solid enough or stiff enough to extend your ability to hit something is a valuable tool. However, there are some everyday items that do it better than others.
BEST OVERALL
Fontana personally uses and reps the Self-Defender tool, a kind of all-in-one device that’s both a weapon and a life-saving tool. It can function as a seatbelt cutter or glass breaker, and has several devastating applications that can make it a serious weapon in a pinch. While it’s certainly dangerous, it’s not explicitly designed to kill someone but will certainly make any attacker think twice.
BEST TACTICAL FLASHLIGHT
Best For: Guys with tool belts, an easy pocket carry, a backpack, or school bag. Fontana says it’s something he used to carry regularly, though he now prefers the simplicity of a knife.
ROI: Look, even if you never use it in a fight, it’s a great flashlight.
BEST TACTICAL PEN
Best For: Office workers, job-site foremen, or anyone who works with their hands but who still needs to write. A tactical pen offers a hardy self-defense tool and a perfectly useful everyday object, all in one. You’re definitely going to carry a pen at some point — why not have it be able to save your life?
Low Profile: This is definitely the least obtrusive self-defense weapon you can carry. While not everyone carries a flashlight on a daily basis, most people carry a pen — and most people know how to grip and hold one, something Fontana says is essential to helping use it in a survival situation. Plus, no one will notice that you’re carrying a weapon.
The unfortunate reality is none of the items on this list are particularly useful without proper training. “Awareness without skill is anxiety,” Fontana says. If you’re scared of threats on the street, but not prepared to deal with them, there’s not a lot you can do. Start taking classes.
Fontana immediately recommends the humble cane to everyone of a certain age. A solid-wood cane — in various different formats, from an Irish shillelagh to a simple walking stick — is “excellent for the elderly.” Swinging a long stick at someone is a time-honored and always-effective way to make people think twice.
Look, it’s possible. But the key to being armed is both training and self confidence. If you’re carrying a tactical pen and a flashlight — unless you’ve got a whole Batman utility belt — most people probably won’t think twice. And they might even appreciate it, even if all you do is use the knife to slice cheese at a picnic.
