Tactical Combat Umbrella | Hacker News Reader

Tactical Combat Umbrella

thepreparednessexperience.com

58 pointsCHB040308548245 comments

To anyone disappointed by these effectively regular umbrellas, maybe you'll be more interested in the traditional Basque makila. Most of the time it's just a walking stick. But when you're in a pickle it unsheathes into a spear. They're still fairly common among the more traditional types in the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makila

My dad had one! Another interesting about them is that the wood is decorated with patterns that are carved on it as the wood is alive and still growing. They're beautiful, I have never seen that technique anywhere else.

I assume the downside is that the Makila is significantly more illegal in many public places vs these umbrellas.

You wouldn’t part an old man from his walking stick?

I’ll save everybody their time: it’s just a bunch of Amazon links to strong regular umbrellas you can use to hit people.

I was hoping for something out of Kingsmen, like kevlar, retractable blade and single shot blow dart!

I've had a hard wood walking stick umbrella from James Smith & Sons[1] for almost 20 years and I have never once thought of it as tactical. The reason I have one is it was a generous gift, and it's just amazing that a company is almost 190 years old. The Morris principle of "never have anything in your home that is not either beautiful or useful." is reason enough to get a nice one. They are a pleasure to have, and if you do need to hit someone with it, at that price they had better deserve it.

[1]https://www.james-smith.co.uk/

Im disappointed too. Well, I have a couple of realistic suggestions below as food for thoughts ... (some amateur experience with Kendo in the childhood)

* Add jagged ribs that prevent the attackers from grabbing your unbrella by bare hands. When grabbed, pulling it will cut their palm

* Make the fabric shark skin that similarly damages their palm when rubbed

* Make it actually heavy not light

* Make the grip thicker

* Make the grip longer enough for both hands

* Add a grip guard. This actually cause a stronger piercing force because it pushes against the grip guard rather than relying on the palm friction

This [1] may be indeed practical.

[1] https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%A6%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A...

I have one that has a heavy wooden end.

Some of those suggestions like the jagged ribs and shark fin fabric are not realistic advantages. Perhaps instead of kendo, should think of this more like a mace, cane, or short staff. If the other guy is grabbing it, then you are effectively grabbing him, and all sorts of options related to controlling structure opens up.

I have the city umbrella and it’s a great umbrella. It basically a baton with a heavy wooden knob on it. You hit someone with it and they are down. Less auspicious than walking around with a metal bar or a baseball bat.

Some of them have a reinforced steel tip that is as useful as the heavy wooden knob on the other end.

Mine does have that as well as a rubber tip do you can use it as a walking stick. It’s also a great umbrella that does not flip easily

> Less auspicious

Less conspicuous

I read the url as "the preparedness sexperience".

I don't know what I was hoping for but this wasn't it.

The torch-singer from Fallout IV?

I’m surprised to see this on the front page. It’s just an affiliate link site with “roundup” style reviews containing no more information than summary of product pages.

Warning: if the review does not include the author’s own pictures and just regurgitates marketing-speak, the reviewer likely never even used the product.

Do not trust these lists and reviews.

A concealed pistol is far more effective than trying to beat someone with an umbrella. And you don’t look like an idiot carrying an umbrella around when rain clouds are nowhere to be found. Anyone who has been in actual hand to hand combat knows that swinging effectively a big stick around isn’t going to end well. For those unable to carry a gun, a collapsible baton is highly effective and much more agile.

You can do fairly well with a big stick in a fight, but you have to be trained very well.

A pistol is the great equalizer - anyone has some chance of ending the fight decisively. You can and should improve that chance with training, but it starts out non-zero.

God created all men, Samuel Colt made them equal.

> A pistol is the great equalizer - anyone has some chance of ending the fight decisively.

This may be true if the pistol magically appears in your hands just when you need it. In statistical practice you‘ll have to handle it safely for thousands of days till you finally might need it. Enough time to hurt yourself and your loved ones.

Concealed pistols and collapsable batons are illegal to carry in many countries. As are other practical tools such as pepper spray, tasers, etc.

Which leaves you with the options of "good running shoes" or "plausibly deniable" items such as a big stick.

I think you have it around the wrong way.

There are a vanishingly small number of countries where it is legal. If you want to know which ones, spoiler: look at stats for most homicides per capita.

Freedom!!!

What's weird is the handful of European countries that permit concealed handguns are among the safest places I've ever spent time - and some of those places a LOT of people are carrying (eg: Czech Republic has a rather large number of people who carry).

Then again, they do have pretty stringent controls on even acquiring the handgun in the first place, such as proficiency exams, mandatory safety (and marksmanship) classes, background checks, and requirements for a medical certificate that says you aren't completely insane.

Just y carrying around an umbrella in sunlight people will leave you alone as they will assume you are not right of mind :)

Both are illegal to carry in my country.

What 1984 of a country bans umbrellas? /s

Who needs this? Mary Poppins in a bad neighbourhood?

I walk 20 mins every day to work in Baltimore and was slightly interested.

But then I realized I'd rather just give someone my cell phone and wallet instead of a fight to the death with an umbrella..

I think this is my favourite unlikely HN comment of all time

you don't have to fight to the death though, most perps would be deterred by most victims if they actually fought back or even gave the impression they'll fight back

Meth.

You don't understand 'most perps'

Just run

If you bring an umbrella to a gun fight, I know which way to bet.

I mean, Mary Poppins came to the house of an English banker in the early 1900s... I can't think of a worst neighborhood in terms of criminals...

Who needs this?

a) People who want to discretely carry a weapon.

b) People who realize most umbrellas are hot garbage, and understand that an umbrella that won't break if you even stand on it are probably going to last a while.

I don’t know about the latter. Living in NYC, my umbrellas either break because of the wind, or, because I forget them somewhere.

But maybe others have had better luck?

In Chicago they sell some pretty heavy duty umbrellas because the wind is very strong. I've since left Chicago and do cherish the umbrella I got there for how heavy duty it is and the fact that even monsoon level winds will not flip it inside out due to the reinforcement in the frame and fabric.

Bartitsu: The Gentleman's Umbrella https://youtu.be/CEu5_v1iv-k?t=126

This is affiliate blogspam. Why is this on HN?

the "hey! i'm walkin here!" of the internet.

This is just an affiliate link farm.

Some type of object push someone away can be life saving in an unprovoked knife attack. Usually very fast and very hard to deal with from a self defence standpoint, noice news from London of late. A little bit of space and some time stretch could make a big difference. Some study indicated that such attacks usually last less than 10 sec. if you can stretch out encounter time 30 to 40 sec often perp will disengage. Not taking about risking your life for a wallet or phone - just surviving and unprovoked attack.

All I want is an umbrella strong enough I can use it as a coracle. Is that too much to ask?

Why would I carry an umbrella on sunny days? And how is this on front page?

As a parasol :)

Especially useful in the coastal cities of California

It seems like the word "tactical" no longer holds any particular definition, I'm hard-pressed to even come up with a coherent suggestion of what it kinda suggestion. It's similar to the word "fascist", which now seems to have no definition any more specific than "political ideology at odds with my own".

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