As long as a short stick serves some other legitimate function you can usually get away with having it...
Ok, this is truth. I'm not joking here.
My 18" serves multiple functions:
* monopod for my cell camera. Cell cams suck, mine even more so. Focus is very poor. The more I can stabilize it, the better quality image. I can rest my cell on my stick sitting on top of a rock (see below) or fence or something similar and markedly increase the quality of my image. Yes, I am prepared to demonstrate this to an officer, and the results will be significant (in terms of image quality. Oh, by the way, I'm a semi-pro photographer with years of experience and images to prove it. The one attached is from my cell with no monopod use; just a snapshot.).
* I'm a long time rock climber and student of geology (since 4th grade). I spend a LOT of time on rock formations, climbing up and down; here, there are granite and shale and slate outcrops that are really big. The slate and shale are
very sharp, often uplifted by geologic forces so that they point vertically, and are often literally in a stream bed, so are wet. A fall on those can result in serious injury. At 60, when climbing up a steep grade, or negotiating those beds in a stream, I use my stick for balance, as a third leg. Yes, going up a steep grade, an 18" is superior to a 36". Going down a steep grade, as rock climbers know, one turns around and climbs down; I use the stick to hook rocks as an anchor. If one grips it low enough, it's more rigid than a hand and prevents cutting on the sharp rock. The ends of my stick show signs of wear from grinding on the rocks.
If I lived in Boston or NYC, that would not fly. But I do not, purposefully. Again, I live in a small city embedded in rural Maine.
As it happens, my stick also serves to protect me against mean dogs owned by people who do not follow leash laws.
Some of the dogs are two-legged.
That's my story. I'm sticking to it.