These are Cobra Cuffs, by the folks at Milspec Plastics.
I want to first touch on something that’s often a concern with plastic zip cuffs – how easy it can be to break out of them. Unlike many of the nylon based zip cuffs out there, the Cobra Cuffs are not terribly simple to get out of – Bryan Black from ITS Tactical did some extensive testing about ten years ago, and ended up coming away endorsing their durability.
They’re not a nylon zip-tie style cuff at all, they’re actually an interesting material that feels almost half way between a plastic and a rubber; this is where they get their strength from.
Here’s the raw footage of Bryan’s tests if you’re interested:
I have also been provided these samples free of charge, and I have to say I’m also impressed. They’re remarkably easy to use and sturdy without being inflexible or difficult to store – they fit nicely in MOLLE webbing or even just in a pocket.
One notable difference between these and standard handcuffs is the subject needs to be either completely controlled by multiple officers, or compliant for these cuffs to work.
That said, just like standard cuffs, they also have a double lock feature (for those unaware, when cuffs are in normal operation, they cannot get any looser – when they’re “double locked”, they cannot tighten or loosen).
As you can see, the blue one here is the trainer – the other three are normal production models. If you look closely, you can see the double lock “buttons” on the large rectangular portion of each cuff, in either black or white, depending on the colorway of the cuff.
Like all disposable restraints, these must be cut to be removed, but the Cobra folks have a clever little cutter they offer as well, as I reviewed earlier.
Finally, I have some video of the restraints being applied, admittedly with a compliant “subject” and a novice user (me). I’m still happy with how easily they went on and how simple they are to use.
Overall I am quite impressed not only with the cuffs themselves but with the folks over at Milspec Plastics – they’ve been cordial, accommodating, and I look forward to doing business with them in the future, and I’d encourage you to do the same!
Ninja update:
Accidentally discovered the double-lock mechanism on these guys last night when trying to push it through the MOLLE webbing on my vest – I depressed the double-lock by accident and was able to pull it back out with a pair of pliers and then reinsert it, but I took a photo of what it looks like for those curious (incidentally, I was only able to get it out because the first inch and a half or so of the cuff doesn’t have teeth; had I depressed it once the cuff was tightened it wouldn’t have gone anywhere even with the pliers.
Verdict: possible (but difficult) to feed through MOLLE as pictured; may be easier to have a different method to carry them around; we’ll see what else I can come up with.
Until next time.
-T