Reddit mentions of Millennial Medical MWD7500BK Tall In-Motion Forearm Crutch, Black

I'm using In-Motion forearm crutches (these). Before using these, I'd only tried under-arm crutches before -- they bothered my shoulder and took up lots of space, thus the switch. Anyway I don't know much about forearm crutches in general -- just lots of experience with this one single model. Which is great! But not without its problems, and I imagine some of them are present in other models too. Let's go by bullets.

> What can you tell us about the current forearm crutch?

It's more compact, lighter, and a little less stable than under-arm counterparts. It takes an extra second to pick up and use, or to put down -- sometimes that's great, like if you want to knock on a door or something, the crutch stays right there with you; sometimes it's a little annoying, like if you only have to move a small distance, you'll spend more time slipping the cuffs on and off than actually walking. Forearm crutches aren't as stable as under-arm, in my experience, but despite that, they're much easier on my shoulders (though that could be partly due to the shock-absorber tips on mine -- you could get under-arm crutches with those). Overall I definitely prefer forearm.

> Likes and dislikes?

I like the size, weight, look, and feel. Also, transitioning to a single crutch feels a lot more natural with forearm models, I think -- it's somewhere between a crutch and a cane.

I don't like the elaborate dexterity process required to put them on. Especially with mine -- the handgrips are specific to one side or the other, but not marked very well, so I usually wind up fumbling with them for a few seconds. More importantly though, I don't like the way the handgrips are designed -- I suspect this varies between different models, but on mine, the grip is rubber, wrapped around a metal post and secured in place with a bolt and washer. But as the rubber heats up, whether from use or from ambient temperature, it gets malleable enough that it slides right over the washer and starts to slip off. They can come totally free in mid-use, and if that happens you're just kind of boned. It's kind of a lot unsafe.

> Is it stable enough?

Most of the time. Wet tips can sort of ruin that -- I guess if they were wider (or maybe just less worn-out than the ones I'm using), that might help.

> What would your ideal crutch have that current crutches lack?

I'm pretty sure that not all models have the spring-tip shock absorby things that mine have. They totally should. Those are awesome. I think it would be neat if it was easy to collapse -- think, like, switchblade crutches that just retract up into a tiny size when they're not in use, and then shoot out like lightsabers and play heavy metal music when you need them. Or, okay, maybe not that -- but that's always gonna be a good direction to explore. When you get into a car, it would be nice if you could quickly, easily, and comfortably stow your crutches.