Review: Ambutech Slimline Graphite Mobility Canes / Low Vision Assistive Tech
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2016
- Circle of the Blind Mice: Low on Vision, High on Tech! In honour of White Cane Week, we're switching to the low tech end of the spectrum with a review of the Ambutech SLIMLINE Graphite Mobility Canes, which are 50% lighter than standard mobility canes & completely customizable in 10 cool colours!
Ambutech's website, where you can customize & purchase your cane online: www.ambutech.com
Canadian viewers can also visit www.aroga.com to customize & order their cane over the phone. Their website is currently undergoing some changes, so Aroga does not yet offer online ordering, however, they've got links to Ambutech's cane catalogue & brochure.
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I wish I could get a white handle, or light colored one. WHat I'd love is having a mint green with brown polka dots handle, or tip for my cane so i could have a MINT CHOCO CHIP CANE! :D but the rest would be white. Mm.. mint chocolate chip. yum.
I just ordered a regular 6 piece cane, all white with a roller marshy tip. I have a fave cane that isn't ambutech, but I have purchased Ambutech canes before. I have a nice golf classic one, i forget the company name, but it's my fave! :) The joints meet, not overlap. :) I always wanted one of those! :D I have a slimline, i don't like it, doesn't feel sturdy enough for me. I have 4 other regular canes, because I lost my cane one time and i will never have to worrya bout that again. It was given back to me, but a few days later.
Thanks for posting this review - I only need to use a cane occasionally so I've been looking for something lightweight and portable enough that I'll actually carry it around to have for the times I do need it (unfamiliar places, low light, etc.). I was initially looking at an ILA collapsible one because I really like the compact size, but it's slower to extend/retract and the tip isn't replaceable. This seems like a better alternative.
Awesome, glad I could help, Kelli! :) It's great to have the option of stowing it away in a bag or pocket. I think you'll really enjoy it, especially now that they seem to have fixed the issue with the tight elastic chord!
Hi, I live in the uk and have found that a lot of people don't recognise the long cane. Also, I have just acquired an Ultra Cane which has sensors on the handle which tell you about obstacles both in front of you and at chest and head hight. As a result of using the Ultra Cane, I feel a lot more confident when traveling and I will never be going back to the standard white cane again unless I have absolutely no other choice.
That ultra came sounds very cool! I have not had an opportunity to use one of those but it sounds great. Especially for at night.
I keep a slimline cane as a backup to my dog. I like it.
Thank you for posting. I was told that it was law and I could not have a cane of my choice. I have been wanting to get my hands on that cane. Besides Ambutech, where can I buy one?
Great video! I have a quick question. When you unfold the cane and put it together, does it wiggle a little at the joints or is it pretty tight? Is that typical of newer folding canes? I have an old one and the joints wiggle which is kind of distracting. Thanks!
hi,
thanks for the video,
But I am having trouble finding out where I can buy a slimline cane in Canada. Ambutech, according to the website, does not ship to Canada. Right now I have an ID cane, and a mobility cane. The ID cane I like, but the small tip drives me nuts as it gets stuck in EVERYTHING. And the mobility cane is massive. The cane you show in this video looks like something that would be extremely helpful. Right now, it's just the tip of the ID cane that is driving me insane. (I am visually impaired and only started using a cane a few months ago)
I had the elastic snapping problem too, so my cane was a rigid cane for a week because folding it up meant finding and partially rethreading the frayed part. Luckily my sight is good enough i could get around without a cane, i just don't like the amount of effort i have to put into avoiding walking into people! :p. I don't know about Canada and the US, but in the UK the regular graphite canes 'can' be coloured as a special order, but my Mobility Officer (O&M Specialist) said coloured cane users found the general public just didn't recognise the coloured canes were mobility canes. I'd love to be able to have a hot pink cane, or black with the last section pink, i might see if i can persuade her with your very good point about coloured canes having more contrast in snow. Not that we have very much in this part of the UK... :(
+Zoe Gascoigne sadly, the CNIB is not able to fix my white and pink cane, so the next time I order will in fact have predominantly white in it with another funky colour at the bottom. Although my heart Wishes the world was ready for canes that are completely a different colour, I just don't think the world is quite ready. I think the best compromise around this is to have a funky colour for the handle or bottom while keeping the main body white.
Oh that's a shame. I know the elastic can't be changed in the slimline canes, and is a pain in the butt to change in the regular canes - i've tried! So when the elastic snapped in my regular cane my Mobility Officer just gave me a new one, which curiously, is 2 inches shorter than the original. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the world being ready for coloured canes. I used to have one that had purple vinyl over it, which obviously meant it wasn't reflective and potentially dangerous. I did however have a woman recognise it folded up and offer to help me. I was amazed! So maybe some people are able to see past the idea that a 'white cane' MUST be white :)
Haha! Apparently my Mum isn't ready for coloured canes! I just showed her your video and she asked if the pink cane meant anything special.
LOL, nope, it just means I like crazy bright colours! :)
+Zoe Gascoigne LOL, your mom should see my purple and pink Easter came as I call it! I'll have a video coming up on that soon!
I love these new AmbuTech canes. Have you noticed any bending with the graphite though? My first one of these broke because someone tripped on it, and the second one was slightly bent due to getting caught under something. Maybe it's my technique, but I have noticed that the graphite does tend to bend if it gets stuck in the sidewalk or something like that.
I haven't had too much trouble with everyday use, however as I mentioned in my review every now & then I'll forget myself & lean on it like I would a regular cane & that's when I notice the bending. :) I'm pretty gentle on my canes, though, since I have some functional vision. Ambutech specifically states they're meant as light duty mobility canes & not heavy duty ones. Do you have a roller tip or just a regular one? I use a roller & it works beautifully. :) I find my cane doesn't get stuck in the sidewalk cracks as often with a roller compared to when I used a non-rolling marshmallow tip. so perhaps that might help. As for people tripping on them, I've had as regular cane get totally bent from someone tripping on it, so it's not just the Slimline canes that have that problem, LOL! It was so bent, I could actually see it!
+Circle of the Blind Mice I have a ceramic tip on it and don't lean on it at all. I called Ambutech to check on the status of my order and asked about the bending or bowing of the cane. She said it was quite normal for it to happen due to the length of the cane itself and how thin the cane was in diameter.
Yep, that pretty much coincides with the heads up they give on their site about it only being a light duty mobility cane. :) I probably haven't experienced the bending in the side walk because I spent half of the past year recovering from surgery, so most of the places I've used it were super smooth floors, like in hospitals & malls. I can totally see it happening, though, because it is so thin & light weight. I used mine a lot while visiting the UK, though, and I'm amazed I didn't bend it with all the cobble stones over there! ; ) When I bought mine, I specifically intended it for certain situations where I needed a really compact cane, like when I go to concerts or the movies & want to be able to stick it in my purse. I recommend having it as a secondary cane, especially if you tend to go places you know will tend to bend it a lot.
Any chance you might review the telescoping canes from Ambutech? I can't find any reviews of them online anywhere.
+Byron Lee When I asked about them at the CNIB, the guy told me they were quite expensive, as in over $100 Canadian! I am not willing to pay that for a cane! However, I will double check Ambutech pricing and may consider it in the future. So, Ambutech, if you are reading this and would like to sponsor me with a telescoping cane, I certainly wouldn't say no, LOL! I did, however, pick up a support cane with ice spike, for use in the winter time, so I may do a video on that in the future.
I grew up using Ambutech canes, but have had guide dogs for the past 17 years. I moved back to the small area I grew up in last year and there is no public transit, taxis etc. There is a small grocery store, but in order to have a larger selection, or to do just about anything involves about an hours drive each way. Fitting my daughter's car seat, my wheelchair (I've had a spinal cord injury for the past 13 years) and my guide dog in a car along with one or two other people is just not practical (no room left for groceries lol)! Now I'm looking for a cane that I can fold up small enough to attach to the back of my wheelchair to use on these trips. I appreciate my Mom's help when shopping, but I want my freedom back again! This video was really helpful!
I do have a question though. Do you get any questions about the cane that isn't 'traditional' colours? Do most people recognize it as a white cane?
I think the Slimline cane would work perfectly for your situation with attaching it to the back of your wheelchair. If you do get nontraditional colours, I would suggest keeping the main part of the cane white and just having the shaft and tip a different color. Ironically, the only time I have ever been asked about the different colours was by a friend of a fellow legally blind person at a concert while I was in the UK. That’s when I learned that the white/red cane combo actually means deaf/blind in the UK, whereas here in Canada it just means blind or low vision.
Hi I am rosalind feit fr nova scotia I have usher syndrome myself too and I use my cane for my balnace too I use to have old heavy cane save it cause emergency but i got a new aluminum graphite cane i love it with my red rolling ball tips so just wonder i use inside and outside and what the different between high mileage white rolling ball tips and the red rolling ball tips too if my red one is getting bad I will get new one I like the red rolling ball tips is lighter but just wonder if the high mileage white rolling ball tips is heavy just wonder have a great day I needed your adivce tks
Do you know the difference between an aluminum cane, a graphite cane, and a fiberglass cane?
I’m normally inside, but I do have o&m once a week, and I walk in between buildings. I go to a busy high school too. Could I still use the slim line cane? What would you recommend
I’d say the Slimline cane would work for you, as long as you don’t need it as a support cane, as they are not meant to be leaned on. But like I said in my video, I would suggest getting two, just in case one of them breaks, and I would also suggest having a regular heavy duty cane for rougher terrain or winter if you live in a place that gets a lot of heavy snow.
Id or mobilty cane ?
If I lost my vision I think my 8 year old brother would cry. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭