Batons are a very basic defensive tool. Any manner of stick or pipe of the appropriate dimensions can be pressed into service as a baton. The real issue is that most people do not realize how much force (in the legal sense) apply a baton to someone is. The standard junior high school home defense plan includes hitting intruders with a baseball bat, tire iron, or length of pipe. The police use 'batons', but the thugs use 'pipes'. ASP makes a collapsible baton that is simply a telescoping metal pipe. When you read "ASP Baton" just go ahead replace that mentally with "collapsible metal pipe."

A police officer can hit you with his ASP Baton (collapsible metal pipe) when you are combative. If you fight the police you can expect to get hit with stuff. Now the police officer has been trained to hit people with his ASP Baton (collapsible metal pipe) in a way that it will not cause permanent injury, or death. He tries to hit large muscle groups, and avoids hitting joints and the head. The criminals have no such training, and the expected result of getting hit by a pipe is death or serious injury.

As a defensive tool for private citizens batons are of limited use. Because most citizens lack the training of the police to make the ASP Baton (collapsible metal pipe) a less lethal tool, its use can only be justified in deadly force situations. If I got my choice of deadly force tools I would probably pick a firearm over an ASP Baton (collapsible metal pipe.) If I can't legally hit anyone I can't legally shoot then the baton is less useful to me than a firearm.

Of great concern is the semi-professional security people armed with ASP Batons (collapsible metal pipes) or big flashlights that they intend to use as clubs. Nightclub bouncers generally do not understand that hitting people with stuff is a huge liability, and not justified in most cases.