Honestly, why bother duct taping your cane? The red band is reflective and is a safety feature. By duct taping it, you make your cane less visible. The general public doesn't know what any of it means- heck, a lot of them don't even know what a white cane means anymore.
There's nothing wrong with an all white cane, but if you already have the reflective safety band, its not worth covering up.

I live in the UK and honestly most people probably have no idea what a white can with a red bottom means.

This is completely irrelevant to your question but I just want to tell you I love your flair (`retina falling apart noises`)

It’s a neat idea if true, but I completely agree with the poster who said most people probably wouldn’t know the difference anyway.
I have a large print sign on my guide dog’s harness that says “do not distract, I am working”, and no one cares. Some even comment that they see the sign, but just couldn’t help coming over to pet my dog without asking. So yeah, I wouldn’t worry about the red color of your cane.

I think it's best to check on the RNIB website. I've always had the impression that a cane with red and white stripes indicates that someone is both visually and hearing impaired.

I dont know but i thought one red band at the bottom of cane was for snow but canes in the uk seem to be all white

I think it's in the driving test.......

That's not to say people actually remember it though

Hey, I’m Canadian but live in the U.K. I have a white cane with a red stripe at the bottom. Most people don’t know what it means so I just kept mine.

In the UK canes indicating hearing impairment have red / white stripes - generally alternating segments of the cane are white / red.


If you are worried about causing any confusion you can get reflective white tape, that way your cane would still have that safety feature.


Will you be getting any mobility training etc to help learn routes etc? I know that generally blind societies / places that offer services such as these are generally really helpful with providing things like canes / white tape etc as they like to keep us safe!

I’m from England and that’s what I’ve always believed

I don’t know about the UK, but here in Sweden, a white cane with red stripes means that the user are both visually and hearing impaired.

I think white duct tape will work perfectly!

I'm from the UK and always thought it was red and white stripes that indicated dual sensory impairment.

On the flip side, I'm hoping to get back to the USA next year for a holiday and am concerned my all white guide cane will have people thinking I'm totally blind?

Instead of duct tape, you should get a roll of white reflective tape. You can find it for about $10 on Amazon.

Part of me says don't worry about it, because most people won't know anyway, but I also get where you're coming from.

The bottom section of my cane is purple, which means nothing, other than that I like purple. :P

Different countries have different colours bottoms, but there doesn't seem to be any consistency sometimes. In Canada, most canes have the red bottoms, but sometimes people opt for all-white canes. And now Ambutech has the option to make canes of different colours, so that gets even more confusing some days.

The cane you’re describing to me (all white with a red band on the bottom) is different from the color system canes I’m familiar with (alternating colors throughout the band), so I think you’re fine. Also, as long as you’re not using it like a walking cane someone with a limp would, people generally get the idea there’s a blind person.