OFFICER Labs: ASP Plus Cuffs

A long time ago, I had a Chief of Police who laughed when I said I wanted to take a lowlight class because, in his words, “What’s there to it? You turn the flashlight on, look around, turn it off when you don’t need it anymore.” That was when police flashlights were commonly driven by four D-cell batteries and produced, if we were lucky, less than 50 lumens from an incandescent bulb. Technology has brought us a long way, but some folks still cling to tools originally designed and manufactured with 1970s tech. Handcuffs are the biggest example I can think of, but ASP was not satisfied with that, and their Plus Cuffs line of restraints proves it.

Manufactured from 7075 T6 Aluminum, the same alloy used for many AR receivers and “rugged” tools, it’s lightweight but plenty strong enough for the task at hand (no pun intended). That alloy isn’t cut into pieces and then put together but is instead forged, something no other handcuff manufacturer does. This process eliminates sharp edges and provides optimal strength-to-weight ratio and repeatable precision. The absence of sharp edges or angles matters not only to the bad guys we cuff, but also to each of us. It means reduced risk of cuffing injuries and the potential liability that comes with them. It seems like a small design feature, but it is a big deal.

These cuffs sport dual-sided keyways (so you don’t have to pay attention to whether the keyhole is up or down when you put the handcuffs on an arrestee), keyless double locks (super easy and safer to apply), and flat contact bow surfaces for more precise placement and application on the wrists. The combination of these features makes application of the cuffs quicker and easier due to minimized detail orientation. Just get the cuffs on the wrists, appropriately tight (remember that “one finger inside the bow” rule), and double lock them by pushing the high-visibility button. This eliminates the need to have a key present when applying the handcuffs — a huge improvement in cuffing efficiency and safety. You only need a key for removal or adjustment.

And what happens if, as rare as it is, something gets into the cuffs that causes a function issue with the lock set? The ASP Plus Cuffs have replaceable/interchangeable lock sets that can be quickly and easily serviced at your agency by your armorer or quartermaster. Additionally, ASP makes a lock set that doesn’t use the common “universal” handcuff key and has a blue double-lock button. If your agency needs a higher level of security in their cuffs, ASP’s interchangeable lock sets allow you to meet your challenge without having to buy whole new sets of handcuffs. For training, if your agency doesn’t want to buy dedicated training handcuffs, ASP has their red lock sets available specifically for the training environment.

Plus Cuffs are available in chain, hinge or rigid models, with either steel or aluminum bows. They are also available in color coded identifier versions, training cuffs (as noted) and more. For testing on the street, we acquired five sets of cuffs: three color coded, one of them hinged, two chained, one red training set and one rigid set. The cuffs were carried using the ASP Exo Case and tested by a Special Assignment Team in a large metropolitan agency.

The team reported, after several weeks of use, that the cuffs seemed easier to put on arrestees than the agency’s issued cuffs (from a different manufacturer). Other observations included:

• Being able to put the handcuffs on an arrestee without having to have a key and without having to pay attention to whether the keyway faced up or down made handcuffing faster.
• Being able to identify an arrestee by cuff color code was sometimes a handy communication tool.
• The Plus Cuffs “felt smoother” going onto arrestees, with less resistance in the rotation and seemingly tighter engagement in the pawls.

Putting all of the above together, OFFICER Media Group is proud to award our “Tested – Field Rated” Seal of Approval to the ASP Plus Cuffs family of products.