Whenever someone steps on my aunt's cane she immediately thwacks their ankle really hard with it and says "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!"

My first cane was an Ambutech slimline and my dog stepped on it and snapped the part where the tip screws in. Thankfully I had realized that a slim cane wasn’t going to be great for my outdoor lifestyle and had already gotten an aluminum one so I was able to go home with my tip flopping about and get the aluminum one. The slim cane was 4 months old. I haven’t lost another one since and it’s been almost a year. I do have multiple backups now. Learned that lesson quick!
The NFB gives us a free cane every 6 months if we need it and my state commission for the blind gives 1 per year so my guess is they expect canes to last roughly 6 months to a year.
Ambutech is now doing conical joints on their full size folding canes and I have had a few occasions where I thought the cane would snap or bend but instead the joints slipped saving the cane body. Pretty clever.

I've been wondering this too. In the last year I've lost in total 4 canes and 3 of them broke because someone accidentally stepped on them. I've started wondering if this rate is even normal or am I just really unlucky. It can't be right that the cane lasts less than its tip!

Fortunately the city where I live offers free canes for those who need such so I don't need to buy new canes out of my own pocket, but it's still really frustrating to lose one, especially if I don't have replacement readily avalaible in my backpack and I need to go rest of my day with a broken cane.

Does any of the O&M specialists here happen to know how long different cane types are supposed to last?

I just want to say I love that the Aussie term for FUBAR is cactus. I’m gonna steal it now lol

I swear my amputechcanes are unbreakable. I don’t know if this is the same experience for anybody else but I’ve gotten mine stuck in places, stepped on, aggressively whacked against places, and the thing is still going strong after two years. To be honest, I think according to what my friends have told me really the only way one of those can break is if the elastic is broken.

I've been a full time cane user since last October. I use a rolling marshmallow tip that has definitely seen better days at this point, but my cane itself is mostly fine. I did get it STUCK (and I mean stuck) in some poorly placed concrete stairs that needed repaired. I had to manually yank it out with my hand at the tip. Other than that, I don't recall any noticeable damage to my cane. I'm on a college campus a lot and I do walk fast. I might just be lucky. You did unlock a new fear in me though!

I’ve got 3 guide canes - 2 in slightly different materials and a longer one.

I’ve never broken one but wear through tips quite quickly

I’ve done canes wrong before and it depends on how many rude people you run in to. I also snapped a cane because it was leaning against the door I didn’t know and I rammed in to it and snapped it in half it was a nfb carbon fiber. If it was a dcane it would probably have held up. I’ve had a really light one it was a dcane blow away at a windy beach. Oooop oh well. Bye-bye cane.

If nothing happens to the cane I’ve had them last forever I’ve been using some for a handful of years. The end of it gets really banged and scratched up I am not that gentle with my canes. Yes I use light slimline and carbon fiber canes primarily. I do have a shorter heavy grafite ambutech cane but don’t use it. I am totally blind so have to rely on cane travel.

When I spent time in Australia and used Bevria canes, I found them to not be very strong. Try Ambutech canes instead.

When I had an aluminum cane, it bent pretty easily, even from hitting something with a bit too much force. My cane was never quite straight.

As a kid, I managed to break my ID cane the day after I got it once, but I think that’s the only one I’ve actually broken. I’ve worn out the elastic in a couple.

The Ambutech graphite canes seem to be much more durable. I have yet to bend one. I retired my last cane after five+ years because it was feeling loose, but it might just need a new elastic. I keep it as a backup, in case something were to happen to my new cane.

Cane tips are much less durable. I wear out about one a year, depending on how much I go out. And I have had one just come apart (the marshmallow came off), but only the one.

Was doing orientation and mobility training at one of the training centers here in the US, went to cross a small side street at the crosswalk and got my cane stuck in someone’s hubcap because they were too far forward, before I could get it loose, they moved and it snapped the tip portion, Had to use that to get back a mile or so.

I manged to break my tip out of anger today...im embarrassed now...

I think I managed to bend my first cane once when trying to find something under the bed (actually a decent use of them. Good reason not to toss old canes after they’ve broken, the y can be really handy to retrieve stuff that’s ended up under there.

Mostly I just always end up with the ball ends fusing to the end of the cane. That’s a problem with my current cane, I’ve got a new one ready to go though, will probably grab a second one and, set up the new one, and keep the spare in the cuboard. I’ll keep the current one as my emergency cane.

Fortunately I use the large ball, so it takes ages to wear to the point of not being useful.

Canes are cheap pieces of crap, very easily damaged.

I'd always recommend carrying around a spare cane in your backpack or bag if you're able to. It doesn't excuse people's horrible behaviour or distracted walking/driving, but you don't want to be in a position where you can't travel properly because of a damaged cane.

I think there's really no consistent life expectancy. You could use one for months or years, get a new one, and it breaks the next week.

I also think it's good to keep a "dressy" cane that you only use for fancy occasions, which is less scuffed and scratched up. Again only if you want to do that and are comfortable.

I had a cane snap after running into a ladder. Someone left it against a tree in the middle of the sidewalk & the tip got caught underneath.

I haven't actually broken one yet, but I've gotten it stuck and damaged that way, I've lost the tip, and I've had the elastic go up inside, which is difficult (but not impossible) to fix. I ordered a bunch of tips to have on hand partly to try out different ones, but also for when I wear out or lose them. They're not that expensive, and great to have on hand. I have two backup canes, as well. You can get a free NFB cane every year if necessary, and even if you don't love them (I don't), it's still good to have an extra.

I also realized that I needed to store my cane unfolded or the elastic would begin to get damaged.

I've got a graphite ambutech cane with a roller marshmallow tip. I've broken two tips because I tend to hit my cane against the ground for echolocation, usually when my mouth clicks don't travel far enough. I also managed to snap the bottom segment after angrily thwacking it against a sandwich board sign on my uni campus one too many times. Currently using a revolution cane with a pencil tip, but I need to get it replaced since it's wearing and catches quite a lot on cracks now.

I have a ridiculous story about damage to my white cane:

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I was once out with a friend when he spotted an old man carrying what we presume to be his grandchild on his shoulders. My friend was just commenting about how this person was crazy to be doing something like that because he seemed like he couldn't see where he was going. He was not walking straight at all and my friend was thinking aloud that it was an accident waiting to happen.

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Next thing we knew, the grandpa swerved towards us, tripped over my cane, and fell right on top of it, while his grandchild fell off his shoulders and hit the concrete floor with a sickening "BAM!"

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My friend, totally maddened and wanting to get out of the situation before he lost his temper at the old man, pulled me away quickly. So I have no idea what happened to that old man or his grandchild (though I obviously hope they turned out ok).

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My cane... Miraculously survived but, after taking the full weight of a grandpa falling on top of it, was bent to the point where it almost looked like the Nike swoosh. I ended up using that cane for another 6 months or so before I bothered to get a new one (I didn't have any spares at the time, which was a really bad idea on hindsight). Partly because I found it hilarious and it made for a great story whenever people would ask in shock, "What happened to your cane?" And partly because I was just too damn lazy to get a new one. I think I eventually caved when my O&M instructor told me off for using such a clearly damaged cane.

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For me, canes last about 1 year at most before suffering some clearly obvious damage or wear and tear. Usually the tips get worn down to their core, and the cane gets bent from being whacked around too hard (I walk pretty aggressively and so my cane gets quite beat up). Now I have a few spares at home just in case something like that story above happens.

I had a habit of leaning them against the pickup when hooking up a trailer for a couple of years and forgetting them until the driver, usually my ex wife, would run them over. One day I had to cut a piece of PVC to use in a pinch. Luckily, I haven’t done that in a while.

I use a graphite mobility cane through Revolution brand, idk if that’s available for your location or not but the graphite is less bendy than other metal canes, it’s fairly heavy because it’s built for constant use unlike an ID cane which is for occasional light use. The Revolution for me lasts longer than the Ambutech brand because it’s joints are fitted together with about two or three inches (5 centimeters or more) of material inside the joint socket whereas ambutech uses a small cone shaped joint which falls apart when the threading wears away or the elastic gives out so it breaks itself down (goes limp) while I’m walking after only a few months of use. The graphite is heavy but fairly durable with constant use it may bend slightly from catching on the sidewalk but it’s not very noticeable, Having it in the floorboards during a car accident bends it a lot even if it’s barely a fender bender though (sadly experienced this three times) I think there are other metals than aluminum and graphite but I’m not well educated on those ones. I think I opted out of aluminum because of their weight hurting my elbow.

A dog would last about 8 or 9 years and won’t get bent out of shape :)

Hi, I've been blind for three years. I have not had approaches with the cane, however I have been looking for other types of devices for blind people and surfing the Net I found this page. I don't know much about it but it seems like a very interesting device because it is placed with straps on your chest and emits vibrations that indicate obstacles on the ground, in front, to the sides and above your head. Here is the link if you want to read it. I'm still looking for information on mobility devices.

https://strap.tech/