Category: Travel and Tourism
I'm currently in the process of researching and developing a long cane that is accessible and usable for blind people in developing countries. as part of my research, i'm interested and wanting to know as many feedback and opinion as you have about your cane. it can be as broad as anything, but please keep within the subject of long cane and travel. To guide you through the discussion, this might be the base of the topic. What sort of cane you have, which brand and what sort of tip you use? why you choose that particular brand, if you have the choice to choose, and the particular tip? also, how long does your cane/tip last before you need to replace it?
Also, for me to understasnd more on your cane usage, can you tell me a little about the way you travel? do you travel by your own or with someone? Do you use the cane as your guide or as awareness purposes? And, finally, if you don't travel by yourself, or you don't use the cane much, why? what hinder you from using it? the look? the size? anything else you want to discuss here about your cane, go for it.
I use a grafite cane that is foldable, uses a rubber golf grip, and a nylon marshmellow tip. I like the grafite because it is comparatively light weight, but very strong and can take a beating. I like the canes with bell shaped joints because they stay stiff and do not develop the wobble that some other types of jointed cames do. I travel alone, and also in company. In company, it is nice to be able to collapse the cane if I do not actually need it. I use it for travel, not for identification. Sometimes I keep the cane out even when using sighted guide if the guide is new at it, or I just do not trust them completely. Sighted people tend to not watch for things that can clip you on the open side. The tips last a long time, and are easily replaced. Usually, my tips last as long as the cane itself. I find that a cane in daily use will hold up for maybe 3 years before it starts to break down. I have some really old canes, but they become less stable, and the rubber parts, like the golf grip, tend to become hard and develop rot. I prefer the white cane with red tip. A florescent finish is useful if there are cars around in unlighted areas. The foldable cane is also useful when taking a cab, as it is easily stowed. The original folding canes were not very durable, but the ones made today are just about as durable as a non folding long cane.
I have the same sort of cane, but I wear a tip out in say 6 months or so.
When I say wear, it will become flat even though I try to turn my cane in my hand as I walk to get as even or wear on all sides.
I like these rolling tips too, but the smaller headed type not the big ones, because I can feel better, and it doesn't seem to get stuck as often.
I like the fact a cane can be purchased in many colors now, but think if a city or place as a standard for drivers, if a traveler isn't good at travel, they might should stick to that color. Normally white, or white with a red tip.
I'm not sure if that even matters half the time, but at least you've got the color drivers are supposed to know?
See my question mark.
Laughing.
I also travel mainly with myself, another blind person, and we walk together, or a sighted person.
I don't use my cane with a sighted guide, and have a telescoping cane for that reason.
All I need it for is the bathroom, or whatever, but it rides in my shoulder bag mainly as a safety measure.
Its small, so good for that reason.
Straight canes to me are a bother, and I feel sort of a safety issue for others.
We don't always put them in the best spots, and some folks have a habit of laying them down creating a tripping hazard.
They are to combersen for a person that likes to go out in social situations, but fine if you just take a walk, or aren't going to have to sit in a small booth or something.
I forgot this too. On a plane, train, or bus, something foldable, or whatever is just the best tool.
Say you get the middle seat, what do you do with that straight cane?
What if you need it right away? It is in a closet on a plane or something, and you probably don't even know were.
I use a foldable graphite cane with a rubber golf grip and a standard sized roller tip. I chose a purple cane rather than the standard white and red. I agree with and second the opinions expressed above on joint style, graphite, and being foldable. I would say my canes lasted about 3 years when I used them heavily. The bottom section would wind up slightly bent, or else the elastic would wear out. It was never the roller tip that went out first.
I prefer the roller tip because
* Pencil tips get stuck in sidewalks and jab me in the stomach
* stationary marshmallow tips wear down on one side
* The two-point touch tecnique makes me nervous about missing what is in front of my feet.
I chose the purple coloring because it seemed a little more fun than the standard colors. Maybe it felt like making the cane more of a personal choice than a medical device? I love purple, so I wanted it to reflect my style. Developing countries might be safer with the white and red option that is standard in media images though.
Would it be possible to put coloring on a cane that is resistant to scratching? The reflective tape on the bottom section of the cane gets scraped off and scratched up shorelining against the curb of sidewalks. Also, is there a way to make canes durable for rural travel or badly maintained sidewalks without making them very heavy?
I primarily use a guide dog for travel, though she is developing an auto-immune disease preventing her from working full time. I used a cane throughout college (university). I do use a cane for guiding when my dog can't work. I hate that canes get stuck in obstacles along my path. I'm nervous about bashing around with it and making a bunch of noise like in a store or quiet office. I've thought about putting some kind of material over the tip for indoor usage so it's not so loud. Reflective material is important for travel at night. Bright coloring is important for visibility to drivers and other pedestrians.
You can buy the reflective tape and simply rewrap the bottom section when you scratch it.
It comes in all colors.
Try blind mice mart and if not, reflective tape search online.
A home depot or even Walmart might have it too.
You can even replace the bent sections at the bottom when you bend it. Never saw a graphite cane bend though.I didn't know they'd bend, only break.
You untie the string in the middle, slide on a new fitting, and tie it back.
Add your tip, and new color, and you've got a brand new cane to scratch and bend again.
My cane was made by someone trying to make a stronger telescoping cane. I need a light-weight cane, due to arthritis, and weak wrists, the tissue and muscles and that. My reason for the for my cane being sixty-inches long, is because of my wheelchair. Since I travel fast, I need a longer cane. I don't mean I zoom, like some speeder, or something. It's the chair naturally is a bit faster than someone walking. Sometimes, that's a real blessing, if you're using Shuttle, and trying to get to the van quickly.
I also have an inventive tip. It's a cork with glue to glue a ping-pong ball on the end. Because I have some nerve issues, I need to be able to feel everything, and they do not last long. About a month, for me. But, Ping-Pong balls can be found probably at the $tree, or store.
I know it ain't fashion, but it works for me. And, it fits nicely in my bag, or even hangs on my chair's armrest, if I'm in a meeting, and have my bag too full of Diet Coke. Also, it won't sting or smart, when/if you get tapped by it.
I can't say who made this for me, without permission, but, I hope he is able to sell them, in the future. The guy has lots of smarts, up between his ears. LOL
Blessings In Christ,
Sarah
thanks for all the responds. As some of you might have know, i travel extensively by myself, alone to all sorts of countries and differnet places. i usually have at least 2 canes with me when i'm traveling, just to make sure that i have one as regular use, and one for emergency, as some of the place i go have no easy access to canes.
as for my daily use, i am a guide dog user, but i also uses my cane at times as well. i have a collection of different canes, from big jambo roller ball, small roller ball, to the marshmellow tip. my cane usually last some years, but i do need to change the tip every 6 to 12 months.
Has anyone repurposed a long hiking stick as a cane? I recently checked some out at a outdoor sports store. They seemed to be made from a composite material. They transmitted tactile information well. They also folded up but lacked the wobble that even some of the best graphite canes still have.
I'd change the tip and add some white reflective tape and they'd be perfect.
The disadvantage of those hiking sticks is that they're pricy, but you get two for the price of one.
I'm still not sure what kind of tip is best for me.
I don't need a rolling tip; my technique with straight tips is effortless so it's nearly impossible for me to jab myself.
I don't necessarily need the sound of the metal tip. It's nice to have, but useless on many surfaces (e.g. grass, sand, carpet) and it wears out faster. I can generate my own echolocation sounds at any time.
So I think I'd like a tip optimized for tactile input that doesn't wear out too fast or roll. I don't think plastic tips transmit tactile information very well.
Any recommendations?
Old ceader broom.
These make the best canes.
You can even clean up with it.
Smile.
I'm not one that believes one tip, or a type of cane is better then another.
It is a tool, so you learn to use it effectively.
I tent to agree with the last poster. I think it is really personal and individual as to what kind of cane and tip one prefer. for me for example, i'm a relatively fast walker, I prefer using a roling tip. However, if i'm in a rural area, or places that do not have good footpaths or road access, roler tip can be problematic, as it can get stuck.
Looks as if I'm the minority on this one, but I am a long, white cane user. However, I use a Bob Riley, which is lighter and uses metal tips, and the feedback is pretty good. Also, the handle has the material of a golf ball or something.
I do not like rolling tips. I find I can either tap or lightly skim contuously and get better tactile feedback with a nylon tip. I too walk fast, and I find the slippery nylon tip to be most versatile.
With proper train touch and slide that describe by Pasco will be a good technic for most
environment. I’m still trying to perfect it myself. Hopefully with practice and patient, i
shall able to do it convincingly. Regardless of what technic one uses, as long as one can
keep themselves safe, and keep others safe, that whatever technic or cane works. Smiles
Lakeria, what in the world is a Bob Riley cane? Now I'm curious!
I use a straight fiberglass cane. I tend toward the kind the NFB sells, or that is sold by my state rehab agency. I personally find that I get better, more precise tactile feedback from my straight cane than I do my folding one. For my straight cane I like the flat metal tip. My back-up cane is an Ambutech folding cane. It's graphite, has a golf grip, and one of those ceramic tips that looks like a half-sphere. The advantage of that one is it's durable, but the disadvantage is that it's heavier. I'm starting to have more problems with pain in my wrists and hands, and so I now prefer the lighter weight of my straight fiberglass cane.
It's a straight white cane Alicia, but lighter and more flexible than the canes that the NFB sells. If you would like to check one out, I will post his email address up here and you can buy one for $20.
His email address is:
bober49@q.com
The only thing I was able to find about this was on this thread.
http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/2009-November/006040.html
thanks for that Lakeria, definitely something to check it out. hmm, wonder if he can post it out of US? I would like onoe of those NFB cane, but unfortunately, no one here in Australia distribute them. I have at least 4 different canes, and more cane tips for me to try and use right now.
The reason behind for this topic is to do some background research on cane usage, and also what prevent people from traveling. all these opinion will be collected, and will be output in to quantative and qualitative research, and it will be help to develop some canes for people in Africa and in other developing countries.
So, thanks very much for the contribution, and keep it coming.
Contact the NFB and see if they'll send you a couple.
They are free for the straight canes.
Maybe you'll pay the duty taxes, but it might be something possible.
He was pretty good at getting back with me when I ordered two canes from him earlier, so see if others in your area would like to try this cane, and get a deal off of ordering in bulk? I know that there is another cane maker who does that, but I can't think of the name right now, but the canes are slightly heavier and made like NFB canes, but different material if this makes any sense.
I gave up on folding canes a long time ago. Not because I've been indoctorinated or anything like that, but folding canes are just down right evil in my opinion. The feedback is awful and they're heavy, which made my wrists hurt and the constant contact from marshmellow tips would rip the skin off of my fingers.
See, I'm going to weigh in a bit here. I don't have extensive training on a long (nonfolding) cane, but I've been using folding canes for approximately twenty-six years now, and I don't have any difficulty with tactile feedback. Different carpet pile? Check. Concrete vs. asphalt? Check. Different tile styles indoors (linoleum, ceramic, vinyl)? Check. I have both a good ear and a strong grasp on tactile feedback. Frankly I get more than enough from a folding cane that a long one would just be a pain in the neck to haul around. I like being able to stow my cane in a pocket or backpack, just get it out of the way.
That said, I'm not trying to take away anyone else's reasons here, quite obviously. What you use is up to you, not me. lol
I use a marshmallow tip, though I used to use pencil tips and loved them. I've tried a roller tip as well, and that's nice enough, but that adds some weight to the cane, and tends (or so my research tells me) to lead to more chance of wrist injury. The small experience I do have with lighter long canes is that they feel extremely whippy, and I don't like having a death-grip on my cane, so I don't want it to hit an obstacle and fly out of my hand.
But yeah, that's my stance on it. I've never went and customized a cane or anything, but I may need to get a new one soon.
I have 5 canes. I have a telescopic carbon fiber. with a metallic tip made by
chris park I believe the NFB canes. I have a straight carbon fiber cane with a
metallic tip as well with a phome grip. I have a graphite cane with a rubber I
think grip it's textured. it's from ambutech. It has a roller tip. I have a very light
aluminum cane with a rubber grip with some sort of porclin tip, the only other
tip that wares out besides the NFB ones. The NFB tips usually last me 2 or 3
months depending on how much I travel, which I travel alone. The one from
Hong Kong I was just describing lass about a month or two. The last cane I
have is a very standard aluminum revolutionary cane. with a marsh mellow tip
and a rubber grip. The roller has never ran out on me as long as I've owned it.
The marshmallow one hasn't either. I replaced and forced a pencil tip on to the
end of that really light aluminum cane, and it likewise has never worn out!
If I had to choose my favorite, I'd go with the NFB Non-folding carbon fiber
cane, or the ambutech graphite cane. I really like the NFB one though. The
other one is really sturdy.