Ah, those thermoform printers (the swell touch printer you mentioned). I remember those... My office was using that for quite a bit, until it caught on fire and we never got around to replacing it.

I've found most people have switched to listening to books as opposed to braille for large amounts of material. Audio books is easier, and you can accelerate the reading time (a lot of JAWS/VoiceOver users increase the speed of the voice, up to 2 or 3 times). Additionally, phones and computers can easily play audio books, but getting computer braille equipment is a lot more specialized and more to carry around (but some people still do).

It sounds like your character is completely blind. In terms of hiking over flat, level terrain, they are use a cane with a wheel tip (it looks like this https://ambutech.com/shop-online/rover-free-wheeling-hook-tip ). I should mention, this tip is fairly rare.... in 10 years as an O&M instructor, I've never had a client who used that. What is often easier is partnering with someone and doing sighted guide (when my coworkers did obstacle course races with blind adolescents, that is what we did). This can also work for running as well, but slightly modified (http://www.attendly.com/guide-running-with-blind-or-visually-impaired-runners/ ).

As for the college experience... it can vary greatly, depending on social support, circle of friends, etc. I've known some that had a great experience, others not as good.

One thing that happens for some people who were blind most of their lives is blind mannerisms (also called blindisms, although that can be considered derogatory). It can often be seen as rocking, flapping their hands, and other forms of stimming. If children aren't taught to notice and work on stopping that, they can carry through into adulthood. One lady I dated had a tendency to rock in university classes, and her professor would call her on that sometimes (she would rock when excited or anxious). One time, when I was leaning in for a kiss, she started to rock and head-butted me in the face, too. ;)

How experienced are you with blind people? Very? Not at all?

Honestly, decisions on what's best is like asking mechanical vs traditional pencil, or paint vs pastel. So many things that blind people do are down to the individual, and you'd be best asking someone at each step, and having blind people critique your blind portrayals.

Be aware, though, that there's a tribe of blind people who hate any non-idealized versions of blind stories. Recently saw like, 10 people ripping apart someone's /autobiography/ because the newly blind preteen didn't make his own sandwiches, and his mom quit her job to look after him.

I’d suggest actually getting out there and meeting some blind people and getting to know them well before writing about them if you take your work as a writer seriously at all. Write what you know. If you don’t know anything about blind people and have to rely on a message board for insight, your writing isn’t going to be that strong to be perfectly honest.

I'm sure you've already thought of these, but just in case here are a few important things to consider:

Is the protagonist going to be a total? Legally blind?

If so, what condition do they have? Is it like RP or Liebers or Star Guards?

Is their vision still declining or is it stable now?

Do they even know what their condition is?

Are they in and out of the hospital a lot?

How old are they and what year(s) does the story take place?

I know a lot of people under 30 who never bothered to learn Braille because their screen readers have always sufficed. I know some people who are legally blind who don't use any adaptive technology other than large print books.

How long have they been blind for? Were they born that way or did they lose their sight over time? Was it the result of an injury? When did it happen?

What's their mobility like?

A lot of people with Liebers don't bother using their canes in most situations but always carry it on them anyways.

Do they care what other people think of them or their condition?

I know a few people who are legally blind who don't use a cane because of the stigma around it. My one friend with RP will not leave the house without her husband because she refuses to learn to use a cane because she's afraid of being judged by her coworkers.

If you need a little inspiration/a frame of reference for what visually impaired people can do, check out blind sports like Goal Ball or Beep Baseball.

Hey, I’m a nearly totally blind student at a fairly ‘elite’ (according to whatever standard US News and World Report uses these days) college. I would say one thing that almost every blind student I know struggles with is the bureaucracy/incompetence of DSS offices. I once spent six months arguing to get a textbook I can read, and have spent whole semesters without accessible readings. Yes, there are technically laws in place to stop this, but it happens anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever met another blind student who hasn’t struggled with this in some way.

I prefer to read things I need to understand well in Braille. I have a Braille display; you can just Google to learn more about those. Socially, I would say I’m introverted. I have leadership positions in two organizations on campus, and I’m president of a pretty well-known group on campus. So I interact with people a lot, and I’ve had to learn to force them to become comfortable with me and my disability. I would definitely say I have a few close friends I prefer to keep to, though. Academically, things are pretty much the same as with sighted students, I just access material definitely. Romantically...I’m a heterosexual woman and have never really been in a serious relationship, but I don’t think that’s blindness so much as me being awkward, haha.

I love hiking! I generally prefer to have a sighted guide for it, both for the help and also because they can describe things. :) Honestly, I would say the most poignant moments for blind people are the same as for sighted people. Like, I wouldn’t say how much you can see affects what you consider poignant, at least not for me.