Aspire Vogue Carbon Fibre Walker review! ⭐ | Community Health TV – Ep 17
We are here at Aidacare at Cardiff today with Ally,
and we’re looking at a walker today.
Can you tell us what this model is?
Yes, this is our Aspire Vogue
Carbon Fibre walker.
So this is our medium size and we also
have it available in a tall, as well.
So why would we choose carbon fibre
over some of the older models out there?
Yeah.
So, carbon fibre is great for clients
who might want to take their walker
out and about with them,
say to the shopping center
or off to an appointment.
So the carbon fibre is obviously
a really lightweight material,
so they can fold it down, get it in
and out of the vehicle quite easily.
And this one comes in 5 kilos.
And this folds much, much differently than
the older models with the X frame fold.
The ability to just pull up through the middle,
and has a clip design here for it
to be able to stay together.
So the old models used to fold this way
and you’re like wrangling them all over the place.
Absolutely.
You’d pick it up like this
and try to get it into the car.
That’s right.
So
I guess, like a pram…
clips together, stays together.
It’s not gonna sway apart when you try
to get it in and out of a vehicle.
And the way that folds, too, kind
of decreases the working weight of it.
So even if you had a lightweight frame
that folded this way,
it kind of is heavier by how far you often
hold it away from yourself trying to get it in;
and this is so compact,
you can keep it close.
You can often get it into the boot nice and easy
if you’re a carer or support person.
So it does come at a higher price than…
so, all of the carbon
fiber, newer types of models,
are usually at much higher price
than some of our older style walkers.
However, my recommendation to clients
around that price consideration usually is
that they’re a much better build
and they just last almost forever…
versus if you buy a old walker
for $140 or something,
sometimes you might only get
a year or so out of it,
especially if the old brake mechanisms go,
you’re going to ask a supplier
to come out and fix that.
It’s often dearer
than what the walker was to begin with.
Yeah,
I’m just back to the folding as well.
We can also take the basket off.
So unlike the old style frame,
where they do fold in half that way.
We can remove the basket
from this one with our goodies in it,
pop it in the front seat of the car,
whatever we have to do,
and close it up that way.
Unlike the other ones where you used to
have to unpack the basket before you folded it.
Almost like a handbag.
Yeah, absolutely.
Some of the other features
that we always look at
is light touch breaks, really easy.
If someone’s living with osteoarthritis,
rheumatoid arthritis,
neurological conditions,
decreased strength…
very easy in terms of being able
to operate the brakes,
both in push down and pull up.
You have these sorts of tabs
on the back of the walker
to be able to lift up over
little thresholds, nice and easy.
The walker wheels are a big consideration.
A lot of the older models have very small
4 inch wheels, so very small.
The larger models wheels’, now, they still
have a good turning circle on the wheel.
So indoors, they can move quite well.
But it gives you that ability
to move nicely over unstable terrain and,
you know, even a smooth footpath
and still have little bumps and rocks
that could be a falls risk,
these move over it nice and easy.
Yeah.
Any other features
that you’d like to cover?
Some other features
that I love to talk about on this walker
is the handle height adjustment.
So obviously most walkers have that
ability, but on the Vogue Carbon Fibre,
we’ve got something called auto locate
and we’ve actually got numbers as well.
So on the old style ones
where you had to match up the holes
and count your numbers…
Yes. Twist and try
and didn’t realize if you’ve got it lopsided.
This one, when we loosen up that tri knob,
It actually clicks into place.
You can hear it find it’s spot,
you can check that the number
matches up on both sides.
And, you know, you’ve got…
You don’t have one handle one way,
which becomes really important if you’re
quite dependent on upper limb support.
So some people rely on the walker
quite heavily as they’re walking,
and that could be a risk
if you’re quite lopsided.
So, it is a really nice feature.
Um, anything else?
So yeah, the safe working
load is something we haven’t covered yet.
And the safe working load
for this model here is 150 kilos.
Having that high safe working load
is really important
because it allows us
to have confidence as well.
If somebody is carrying
additional load in the bag
or they may be holding onto a grandchild
or something as well.
So knowing that, that is quite a high
safe working load for such a small walker
and the benefit
of the carbon fibre as well.
So some walkers are much lower than that,
and having a nice threshold gives you
real confidence in the integrity of that.
Sitting on it,
with holding on to different pieces.
That’s a really good factor.
Yeah, I think we’ve covered a lot there
on what to focus on with a walker.
Carbon fibre, X fold…
My favorite type of walker to prescribe,
always being conscious of price
for people, however.
But we have those conversations
around the pros and cons
of something at the higher end
versus the lower end,
and then give people choice and control
of having that walker that’s best for them.
Thanks so much for your time.
We’ll see you in the next video.
Thank you.
