I've got multiple sclerosis, and it's really messed up my ability to walk sometimes. I can usually get by with a cane, but sometimes I need more support. I got the standard aluminum hospital-grade forearm crutches from my insurance company, but there was just something about them that made them uncomfortable to use. I had been eyeing these Ergobaum crutches (or as I call them, my "gimp sticks") for a while, always thinking, "someday..."
Then I realized I didn't know what I was waiting for. I took the plunge at got them just before going on a two-week business trip that involved a lot of walking. All I can say is this: If you are in a situation where you need crutches, whether from a temporary injury or a chronic disease, these are the ones you want.
Pros:
- They look really sexy (I mean... for crutches that is);
- The spring-loaded legs make way more of a difference than I thought they would;
- Adjustable for various heights and builds;
- OMG the knee rests! I can't tell you how great they are after standing in a line at an airport ticket counter;
- Easy to assemble out of the box with clear instructions; and,
- Nice safety features (more on that below).
Cons:
- Heavier than a standard forearm crutch - might be a bit harder to handle if you have some upper body weakness;
- If you're going to use the knee rests (and you should), you are going to have a Left crutch and a Right crutch. They're no longer ambidextrous;
- The knee rests aren't quite as simple to adjust as the rest of the stuff. You're going to need a screwdriver and some trial and error to get the height where you like it;
- The knee rests come with them at the highest setting so unless you are 9' tall, you are going to have to adjust them when you get them;
- Once you get the knee rests where you like them, the bolt that goes through the leg to the nut on the other side makes it so that the adjustable leg can only go so far before hitting the bolt. This makes things a bit tricky if you need to collapse them to go into an overhead bin or some other small-ish place. And unless you have a Phillips head screwdriver in your pocket, you can get the bolt out of the way. And we all know how much TSA likes it when you have a screwdriver in your pocket at the airport; and,
- The hand grip isn't quite as comfortable as I had thought it would be. They have this raised "hump" where your palms go that collapses a bit when you squeeze or apply downward pressure. But the only thing I have discovered is that they hurt my palms after a while. You can angle the hand grips in three orientations, and I haven't found that the angle helps with the hand grip issue. I'm not sure what the raised "rhino horn" thing is at the end of the grips either, but they look impressive.
As for the safety features, the front and side reflectors are great and not obnoxious, the lights that illuminate the ground in front of you I'm sure will come in real handy for those pitch black nights, but I found that they are nice even for walking on snow and ice just to give you a heads up of where you're walking. Good stuff.
But the last advertised safety feature? The "horn"? Let's just get one thing clear, if you are on crutches, chances are you aren't going to be moving so fast up behind somebody that it would necessitate the need for this feature. And they need not call it a horn. It's a "beep". Like a microwave telling you that your popcorn is done. The only real use I've found with these is for comedic effect:
"Wow! Those are some seriously cool crutches! Whoa, are those LIGHTS?"
"Oh son, you haven't even seen the BEST thing about these crutches. They come with a special reverse setting!"
I will then follow up that statement by walking backwards while repeatedly pushing the "horn" buttons to give me the "beep beep beep" of a garbage truck going in reverse. Corny, but it's great at parties. I really don't know what else to do with the feature.
These things are sturdy, but a little heavier than standard hospital-grade forearm crutches, but all that weight seems to be down at the spring-loaded tips, which, even though they are heavier, feel like that the extra weight is a non-issue because of the lower center of gravity of the crutch as a whole.
I like 'em! And my first real use was a pretty intense field test complete with air travel, industrial site tours, and lots and lots of walking. I would really recommend these to anyone that just needs some help getting from point A to point B.