this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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A Boring Dystopia
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Two rolls of quarters are entirely legal to carry, and act as makeshift brass knuckles in a pinch. The additional mass will make you break your knuckles, but you'll be shattering their bones as well.
Shattering your knuckles sounds like a bad idea, especially if your initial defense does not incapacitate your attacker, as it may render you unable to continue to fight back.
As Despoticruin mentioned, a 'tactical' style flashlight or pen would be better options, and you can temporarily blind or disorient the attacker(s) with a flashlight as they close the distance.
Should be mentioned any close-in physical defense like that should be a last resort tactic if you cannot escape, and in those situations, a defender would massively benefit from being physically fit and somewhat knowledgeable on how to fight, preferably from classes where you learn to both dish out and take a punch.
Even then, those tools won't give you much of an edge if you're outnumbered. Pepper spray is still the best non-lethal option for areas that allow you to carry it.
If you go this route then hammer, don't punch. I hear that those small steel flashlights with the castellated heads are perfect for exactly that kind of swing.
You can put a bit more force into a punch from a standing position because you can use your legs, but using a weapon that adds mass to your hands can very easily cause permanent damage if you punch. Using strikes takes advantage of the weapon itself to take the majority of the recoil. The combination of the added mass usually makes the weaponed strike hit harder than an unassisted punch either way.
Fitspacks are always a bad idea. If you want something legal to carry, start keeping your keys on a locking carbiner rated for rock climbing. If it has a kilonewton (kN) rating stamped in it, it is suitable. This won't collapse on your hand and no amount of force any human is capable of generating will break it, but anyone whose nose you drive it into at maximum effort is likely to remember the experience. This should also be legal to carry anywhere.
Definitely not a bad way to go in a pinch.