Guard tour wand alternative
Replace Your Guard Tour Wand With the Phones Your Officers Already Carry
Wands, pens and touch buttons still work, but they're hardware to buy, carry and download. Here's how a phone-based guard tour compares, and how to switch without losing a night.
By the PatrolBadges team · Updated · 2 min read
The verdict
Guard tour wands, like Deggy's Steel Pen and its touch buttons, are rugged and work where phones are banned, but they're hardware to buy, carry, replace and download. With PatrolBadges, each checkpoint gets a QR sticker or NFC tag, officers scan with their own phone, and scans reach you as they happen, or as soon as there's signal, so a missed round emails you that night. Keep a wand where phones aren't allowed; switch where they are.
PatrolBadges vs Guard tour wands at a glance
| PatrolBadges | Guard tour wands | |
|---|---|---|
| What officers carry | Their own phone | A wand or pen reader each |
| At each checkpoint | A QR sticker or an NFC tag | A touch button |
| Hardware cost | Label paper, or NFC tags at well under a dollar each | Deggy lists a starter kit (1 reader, download station, 5 buttons, software) at $999, and $599 per extra reader |
| When a miss reaches you | As the round ends, by email | When the reader's scans are uploaded |
| Incidents and photos | Reported from the checkpoint, with photos | A companion app or paper (Deggy offers an app) |
| Lost or broken | Reissue the sticker; officers use their own phone | Replace the reader or button |
| Where it wins | Anywhere officers carry a phone | Secure or hazardous areas where phones aren't allowed |
Which one should you choose?
Choose PatrolBadges if…
- Your wands are failing, or you're tired of charging, carrying and downloading them
- You want to know about a missed checkpoint tonight, not when the wand is docked
- Officers should report incidents with photos from where they happen
- You'd rather not buy hardware for every officer and every checkpoint
Choose Guard tour wands if…
- Phones aren't allowed where you patrol
- You need a reader that survives drops, weather or gloves better than a phone
- Your officers don't carry phones at all
How to switch from a wand
- 01
Export your checkpoint list
Your wand software should list its checkpoints and tours. Copy them into PatrolBadges in walking order, with the same names.
- 02
Stick a code beside each button
Leave the buttons where they are for now. Put a QR sticker next to each, or an NFC tag where a sticker won't last.
- 03
Run both for a week
Officers touch the button and scan the code. Compare the reports, then retire the wands when you're happy.
- 04
Keep the old records
Export your wand history from its software before you stop paying for it, and keep it with your PatrolBadges CSV exports.
Still on a watchman's clock?
The same switch works for a mechanical watchman's clock with a key at each station. Put a QR sticker where each key hangs, and a daily report replaces the paper tapes. The history of guard tour systems explains how each generation works.
Is a QR sticker as secure as a button?
A button is harder to copy than a printed code, which is a fair point for wands. PatrolBadges closes most of the gap: scans are stamped with the phone's location and flagged when they're far from the checkpoint, a scan of a different checkpoint seconds after the last is flagged, any checkpoint can require a fresh photo, and NFC tags work where you want something that can't be photographed. See QR codes vs NFC tags.
Frequently asked questions
Can a phone replace a guard tour wand?
Yes, wherever officers are allowed to carry one. Each checkpoint gets a QR sticker or NFC tag, officers scan with their own phone, and every scan is time- and location-stamped. With PatrolBadges there's nothing to install on the phone.
Are NFC tags like wand buttons?
In use, yes: the officer touches the phone to the tag instead of the wand to the button. NFC tags are cheap stickers, and phones that read NFC tap them the same way.
What do we do with our old wand records?
Export them from your wand software before you stop using it, and keep them as you would any patrol record. PatrolBadges starts its own history from your first scan, and you can export it as a CSV anytime.
What does it cost compared with buying wands?
PatrolBadges is free for 5 checkpoints, then $9 a month for 10 and $1 each after, with no hardware to buy beyond label paper or NFC tags. A wand system means hardware up front: Deggy's store, for example, lists a starter kit with one reader, a download station and 5 buttons at $999, and each extra reader at $599.
Sources
We read these pages on October 20, 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy, and tell us at /support if something here is out of date. Product names are trademarks of their owners; PatrolBadges isn't affiliated with any of them.
Put the wand down. Scan tonight's round with a phone.
Add your checkpoints and scan one from your phone, right off your screen. No card, and sign up only when you're ready to keep it.
- QR Code vs NFC Guard Tour: Which Checkpoints Should You Use?Cost, phones, faking, durability and offline use: which checkpoint to put where.
- What Is a Guard Tour System? How It Works, Types and HistoryWhat a guard tour system is, how it works, the types in use today, and where it came from.
- The Best Guard Tour Apps & Systems in 2026, by Who They're ForEight guard tour apps and systems, with real published prices and who each one suits.
- PatrolBadges: QR code guard tour systemStick a QR code at every checkpoint. Officers scan them with their own phone as they patrol — no app or login. Missed-round alerts, incident reports and a daily patrol report. Free for 5 checkpoints.