Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc. (ASP, Inc.), is an offensive compliance weapons manufacturer providing equipment to law enforcement and private security companies. ASP is perhaps best known for its telescoping batons.

History

ASP 21" tactical baton in expanded and collapsed states.

Products

ASP's collapsible tactical baton is used internationally.^[2] Besides the tactical baton, the company has a wide range of restraints (e.g., handcuffs, plastic ties), flashlights, watches, and other weapons accessories, including customization options.

ASP Telescopic Baton

ASP's most well-known product is their line of telescopic batons. The batons come in 4 sizes: 16", 21", 26" and 31" and have a wide number of variations, such as color (black being the most common, but some have nickel-plated shafts), grip pattern and material, and metal composition, the most common being 4140 high carbon steel, though the "airweight" line uses a light-weight alloy with a combination of steel and aluminum. Until recently, all ASP batons were friction-lock in design, and were opened by swinging the handle forcible through air. To close this type, the baton's tip is driven into a hard surface to break the friction. A new product line introduced in 2010 is the "LeverLoc" baton, which are opened the same way was as friction-lock, but can be closed by twisting the shafts carefully with both hands. LeverLoc batons are slightly longer than their friction-lock counterparts when in a collapsed state due to the requirements of the mechanism. A specialized type of LeverLoc was released in early 2011, called an "Agent," which is designed for plain-clothes concealment.

ASP's batons enjoy a great deal of market saturation, having been adopted by most major law enforcement agencies in the US, UK, Canada and Australia since the early 1990s. For this reason, expandable batons in general are sometimes erroneously referred to as "asps," similar to how the tonfa was nicknamed "PR-24s" after the product made by Monadnock. The ASP baton is famously enjoyed by law enforcement due to the ease with which it may break surface bones and the ability to rapidly flick and unflick it, allowing the wielder great intimidation through direct threat of physical harm. ^[3]

References