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I bought a collapsible Ambutech cane... (self.Blind)
submitted by codeplaysleep
Edit: by collapsible, I mean telescoping, not folding - sorry for the ambiguous title.
I don't see these mentioned much here, so I thought I'd share my thoughts after purchasing one.
I'm a part-time cane user, and I loved the idea of how compact it is when collapsed. I thought it might be a nice balance between a full-on mobility cane and the slim-line cane, which I find to be way too flimsy. So, $60 and one week later, I had one in my mailbox.
Instant buyer's remorse.
I think it would technically meet my needs OK, but I just can't take myself seriously when I'm using it. The largest diameter of the cane is comically large, tapering to the same thin diameter of the slim-line cane. It, of course, feels and sounds very hollow (because it is) and every time I go to collapse it, inevitably one or two sections get stuck and it's not some fluid/easy action to collapse/extend the cane, so I just stand there struggling and looking like an idiot.
For me, one of the things that helps me get over the social anxiety about using my cane (and yes, I admit this is a weird personal hang-up) is having one that feels like a solid, well-made, professional quality item. A nice looking/feeling cane is more enjoyable to use. I feel less insecure about using the cane when the cane feels like a well-crafted tool and not a toy.
Maybe that's silly of me, but it is what it is.
Also, for practical reasons, I found the tactile feedback from the collapsible cane to be... weird. It's not as flimsy as the slim-line cane, which I did like, but it just feels... almost too sensitive, empty, and.... thin? It's hard to describe.
I'm not saying it doesn't have its uses or that it's an awful product. I'm sure some people would love it and, again, I do love how tiny it is when it's collapsed. But it's just not the cane for me.
I'll stick with my folding (albeit a bit bulkier) mobility cane, also from Ambutech, in this case, or my free NFB cane.
I don't see these mentioned much here, so I thought I'd share my thoughts after purchasing one.
I'm a part-time cane user, and I loved the idea of how compact it is when collapsed. I thought it might be a nice balance between a full-on mobility cane and the slim-line cane, which I find to be way too flimsy. So, $60 and one week later, I had one in my mailbox.
Instant buyer's remorse.
I think it would technically meet my needs OK, but I just can't take myself seriously when I'm using it. The largest diameter of the cane is comically large, tapering to the same thin diameter of the slim-line cane. It, of course, feels and sounds very hollow (because it is) and every time I go to collapse it, inevitably one or two sections get stuck and it's not some fluid/easy action to collapse/extend the cane, so I just stand there struggling and looking like an idiot.
For me, one of the things that helps me get over the social anxiety about using my cane (and yes, I admit this is a weird personal hang-up) is having one that feels like a solid, well-made, professional quality item. A nice looking/feeling cane is more enjoyable to use. I feel less insecure about using the cane when the cane feels like a well-crafted tool and not a toy.
Maybe that's silly of me, but it is what it is.
Also, for practical reasons, I found the tactile feedback from the collapsible cane to be... weird. It's not as flimsy as the slim-line cane, which I did like, but it just feels... almost too sensitive, empty, and.... thin? It's hard to describe.
I'm not saying it doesn't have its uses or that it's an awful product. I'm sure some people would love it and, again, I do love how tiny it is when it's collapsed. But it's just not the cane for me.
I'll stick with my folding (albeit a bit bulkier) mobility cane, also from Ambutech, in this case, or my free NFB cane.
changeneverhappens 15 points 1y ago
During my O&M instructor training, we looked at telescoping canes. The consensus seems to be for most people that they make an OK back up cane but not a preferred daily cane.
codeplaysleep [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I can see how it'd be appealing for that because of how compact it is. That's a good idea.
OldManOnFire 11 points 1y ago
I thought I wanted a telescoping cane at first, but I remembered how my brother and I played with telescoping lightsaber toys when Star Wars came out. Toys in the 1970s were built more solidly than toys today, those lightsabers were well made and rugged, but they didn't last too long in the hands of ten year old Jedi Knights. One of the biggest problems was sections getting stuck, just like you mentioned. Flick it too hard and sections stick together, flick it too gently and it's three inches shorter than it should be and collapses when the wind blows.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes me feel better about my decision to go with a folding model.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes me feel better about my decision to go with a folding model.
MostlyBlindGamer 6 points 1y ago
There's nothing weird about wanting to use quality products. You should be able to feel confident in what you wear and what you use as accessories or as assistive devices. Think of it like owning a nice pair of winter boots.
I've been using my cane more and more, but do also still want to be able to put it away. I've been carrying large shoulder bags for years, to carry a laptop or tablet and other things for years, so adding a fired cane to that was a no-brainer. There are also holsters, which are less discrete, cut worth considering.
Either way, a lightweight it ID cane night sound like a good idea, but it's nice to have the option of depending on it entirely and not being worried about whacking the wiring thing and having it break on you.
I've been using my cane more and more, but do also still want to be able to put it away. I've been carrying large shoulder bags for years, to carry a laptop or tablet and other things for years, so adding a fired cane to that was a no-brainer. There are also holsters, which are less discrete, cut worth considering.
Either way, a lightweight it ID cane night sound like a good idea, but it's nice to have the option of depending on it entirely and not being worried about whacking the wiring thing and having it break on you.
xmachinaxxx 4 points 1y ago
I bought one too, I thought it’d be great but it kept getting stuck in collapsed position and became very annoying. I ended up throwing it away, i won’t bother with that style again. I now have a Ambutech slimline that’s my favorite.
GTbuddha 3 points 1y ago
I had one of those collapsible ones. I'm tall and I found that it had that hollow feel that you are talking about but not flex when I jabbed things like curbs etc. My cane would partially collapse. Maybe if I would have stuck with it I could have learned how to use it better but I just went back to my heavier duty shock corded cane that collapses into sections. I feel safer with it.
PungentMushrooms 2 points 1y ago
The way I see it, if you think you need an ID/telescoping cane, you might as well just get a proper folding mobility cane. In the end, the mobility canes aren't even that much bulkier than the telescoping ones and like you pointed out, the telescoping ones don't really work very well at all if you need to actually use it for mobility.
ginsenshi 1 points 1y ago
I am looking into getting the Ambutech telescoping cane, I currently use a NFB second generation telescope and cane that works well for me because of the lightness that and I’m not very abusive to my canes even though I’m primarily a guide dog user
Then again even the inexpensive aluminum lightweight cane from Braille superstore is a bit heavy on my wrists.
Then again even the inexpensive aluminum lightweight cane from Braille superstore is a bit heavy on my wrists.
vip-sizzles 1 points 1y ago
I had bought one a few years ago & mostly used it as an ID cane. I found that it wasn't great as a mobility cane because the tip would constantly collapse. The tip was also very thin & ended up breaking after getting stuck under a ladder a neighbor left in the middle of the sidewalk. The struggle to keep the cane fully extended has kept me from getting another one.
projeeper 1 points 1y ago
thanks for sharing your review. I was thinking about ordering one but wondered about them sticking when you tried to open or close them. I purchased one of the Bumpstop canes that has the spring in the handle and I don’t like the way it drives. It’s heavy and the joints are sloppy so it is wobbling when open. I am a soft scrubber, so I like to feel everything that it going in at the tip of my cane. Any wobble on the shaft really makes hard to be confident of what i’m feeling ahead of me.
PrincessDie123 1 points 1y ago
This is good feedback I don’t know many users who use the telescoping ones but I kind of was thinking about getting one to carry in a pocket or bag as a spare because I use my cane most of the time but not if I’m pushing a cart or something around unless I really need to, I was considering a telescopic cane as sort of an ID cane rather than a mobility one
ukifrit 1 points 1y ago
I bought one last year, still haven't used it.
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