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Thread: Hinged vs chain handcuffs

  1. #1
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    Dec 2011
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    Hinged vs chain handcuffs

    Which do you prefer and why? Is there a brand that stands out as the best?

  2. #2
    Member Gadfly's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Texas
    Smith and Wesson, Peerless, Haits.... All are good.

    Chain are easier to get on in a fight, but hinge allows you to really crank down on a wrist for pain compliance. I typically use chain. I just want to get the guy secured asap. We can always make the cuffs look pretty later. I think I currently have 10 chain and only 2 hinged...
    “A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” - Shane

  3. #3
    I used Hiatt's Hinged cuffs my entire career. I briefly tried a set of Peerless hinged, and it was the only time a had a suspect slip a cuff (very small female, the Peerless hinged had a larger oval than standard cuffs). Hiatt's because the triple teeth inside are almost impossible to pick with most tools crooks use. They held up well, including regularly getting boiled and soaked in hydrogen peroxide. I liked the control over crooks. The crooks hated them...which was fine. I got an immediate control hold the second they went on. Also, I didn't get contraband dumped because it hurt too bad to wiggle in them. I saw plenty of officers injured with hands caught in cuffs,mas well as a loose cuff pulled away and used as weapons due to a lack of control on chain cuffs.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

  4. #4
    Site Supporter 41magfan's Avatar
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    Mar 2011
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    I personally never cared for hinged cuffs as a primary/initial means of restraint as they can be very difficult to apply when the resistance is violent. I do think they provide an added level of security but I only applied them after some level of control/compliance had been gained.
    The path of least resistance will seldom get you where you need to be.

  5. #5
    Member Gadfly's Avatar
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    I also recommend at least one pair of the Smith and Wesson oversize cuffs. They go about 20% larger, and just as importantly they go about 20% smaller for wiry little meth heads or females....
    “A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” - Shane

  6. #6
    Site Supporter
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    TEXAS !
    Chain cuffs are usually easier to apply on a resisting suspect. They also allow use of belly chains for longer transports.

    I prefer Hiatts, S&W and Peerless in that order.

  7. #7
    Member Lyonsgrid's Avatar
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    Mar 2014
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    North Carolina
    I use Hiatt 3103's

    http://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/hiatt-handcuffs/

    17% larger and 40% lighter chain style. The weight savings is very real and I've never had any strength/security issues.

    I'm always trying to shave weight on my gear.

  8. #8
    Chain. Had a pair of hinged Peerless and traded them. As mentioned, the hinged cuffs are good for cranking down on a suspect to gain compliance after theyre on. Gotta get them on first. Chain works best when dealing with a combative suspect.

    S&W model 100's and Peerless are all I've ever had. Ive carried the same set of S&W's since 1995. The Peerless are my backups should some thing go wrong with the Smiths.

    ETA: stay away from the Peerless 730c superlite series. They are pure shit. One of our rookies applied them once...ONCE...and the stud (key post)in the keyhole came out. It was stuck inside the cuff key. Never seen that with any other cuff. Needless to say we returned every pair we bought and got metal ones.

    http://www.peerless.net/product/item...-handcuff.html
    Last edited by KeeFus; 10-27-2015 at 09:38 PM.

  9. #9
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    I prefer hinged. As the thread shows, many officers find chain cuffs easier to apply to a violently resisting suspect. I found the leverage afforded by the rigid hinged cuff made it easier to maintain control of the hand I had cuffed and not let it be pulled away to become a weapon. I was also a fan of the baton as a street officer and found that proper application of it generally resulted in resistors becoming passive for cuffing. Between the baton and pressure points, I could usually get the fight out of someone and get the other hand. Then Tasers became a thing and cuffing under current was also pretty simple.

    Additionally, hinged cuffs can be applied to both wrists simultaneously, something I never really could get down with chain cuffs, and many resists start with the first cuff going on. I'd hold their fingers while I did the pat down and they'd figure it was just a frisk, then snap the cuffs on before they realized they were being cuffed.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's View Post
    I prefer hinged. As the thread shows, many officers find chain cuffs easier to apply to a violently resisting suspect. I found the leverage afforded by the rigid hinged cuff made it easier to maintain control of the hand I had cuffed and not let it be pulled away to become a weapon. I was also a fan of the baton as a street officer and found that proper application of it generally resulted in resistors becoming passive for cuffing. Between the baton and pressure points, I could usually get the fight out of someone and get the other hand. Then Tasers became a thing and cuffing under current was also pretty simple.

    Additionally, hinged cuffs can be applied to both wrists simultaneously, something I never really could get down with chain cuffs, and many resists start with the first cuff going on. I'd hold their fingers while I did the pat down and they'd figure it was just a frisk, then snap the cuffs on before they realized they were being cuffed.
    My experience as well. Cuffing is a voluntary process. You either get compliance or they need to be in a high enough level of pain or control to stop resistance. I always found it much easier to cuff combative subjects when they were unconscious. I luckily worked at a place that was good with me submitting combative subjects with a carotid control hold, and I used it often. For simply resistive subjects, I just need a single cuff on to start the pain and control process with the hinged cuff in order to get that eventual "voluntary compliance to cuffing" due to pain compliance.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

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