Product Review: Ossenberg Crutches

Been a while since I did one of these.

I've had loads of crutches down the years, several of which have been mentioned on here before now.  Bizarrely this blog gets a lot of hits, still, from my misspelling of cannes anglaises, way back in 2011.  Since then I've had a couple of pairs of folding Vilgo crutches  but the elastic in them worked loose over time.  I then found a pair of OPO ones which were not bad, indeed I still use them around the house, but it seems that, pre-wheelchair, a year was about as long as any crutches lasted without worrisome squeaks and creaks.  And when I came to replace them, there didn't seem to be a UK distributor for the OPOs.  So I took the plunge, about three years ago, and bought a pair Ossenbergs.

Now, Ossenbergs have a reputation for being amongst the best crutches there are.  Their folding ones are carbon fibre.  But they're not cheap, so until then I'd tried various other ones.  I kind of wish I hadn't bothered.

I love them.  They're not as light as I thought, similar in weight to the Vilgos and slightly heavier than the OPOs, because the anatomically moulded grip and sturdier forearm section offsets the gain from the lighter tubes.  They tolerated 20 hours folded on a flight from Dubai to Auckland last year and sprung back into life when put back together.  By contrast, I had a Vilgo become next to useless after being folded for a couple of hours on a flight to Rome. The anatomic grips took a while to get used to and inevitably if I grab for just one, I end up with the wrong one.  But they're definitely easier on the hands and wrists than even the OPOs (which I supplemented with stick on neoprene grips).

Looking at the prices today, it seems Vilgos have gone up in price and Ossenbergs have come down - so they're now pretty much the same price.  They may be boring black, at least if you want folding, but the Ossenbergs win hands down in my book.  Absolutely recommend them.  Oh and the non-folding ones come in cool colours.

Not a paid review.

Legless in Dublin

On Sunday I went to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, in my wheelchair and was chatting  to Yvonne from Dublin Dye Company (a business she started with an online friend of mine, many years ago).  She recommended I check out the Legless in Dublin's blog and I'm so glad she did!  I've really enjoyed the quick look at it I've had so far and I'll have to read some more later.  I've added a link to the sidebar here so I remember.  I found her entry From Sticks to Wheels really caught a lot of how I've experienced the transition, but I think I could add something about the enormous frustration I've been feeling about other people's attitudes to it. 

She's also given me some ideas for this blog.  First up, but not right now, will be a review of Edinburgh Corn Exchange where the event took place. 

Sometimes, this disability thing feels expensive

This post is brought to you, mostly, by the ominous squeak coming from one of my crutches.

I've blogged before about my crutches. Before I could buy the whizzy spotted ones, one of my first pair of folding crutches, the fetching red ones from the picture with my son, had it's elastic cable overstretched and rattled as a result. This was hard on my wrists, so I ended up replacing them. The replacements are 20 months old now and it looks like their time is up. I have another pair that are fine - a pair of fixed red ones - and they're actually the most comfortable. But the folding ones are my day to day crutches because it's hand to be able to tuck them away and folding helps that. They're essential for travelling as well. Although they only fold in half, if I shorten them as well they're short enough to strap to a bag (for example, it means I can use one crutch, attach the other to the front of a wheeled suitcase and walk short distances like that). It looks like there's a few choices. I've noticed that the range of crutches available here is improving although the prices still don't compare well with what they pay in France. My first two pairs were Vilgo ones from Chic Aid Crutches.

They seem to have another brand for sale now (on the left there), which I have to say look great but are expensive (£145 EACH) and I am not sure I fancy having to adjust them, both, to the same length, in two different places, every time I need to stow them somewhere. Even if they would hang on a table, which looks very nifty indeed.  Maybe when I am feeling a bit richer!

I am a bit perplexed by the picture of one on a bike. Bike-riding crutches user seems a niche market!

So, I think I'll give these OPO ones a try.  That's them on the right, and they are similarly priced to the Vilgos. That's another £80-ish quid but at least I'll get the VAT back. Just as well I'm gainfully employed. Meanwhile, a bad experience with an awful borrowed wheelchair at the SECC (who also charged me £6 to use the disabled car park, as it happens) in Glasgow has left me contemplating buying a lightweight folding wheelchair for occasional use. I don't think that's going to be cheap, somehow.

Meanwhile, if anyone knows someone who uses just one crutch, I have a growing collection of quite expensive single crutches I am happy to pass on.  On top of all those mentioned here, I am down to one burgundy (same as the grey in the previous post on the matter) the other has cracked.

Lost, one crutch

Just before Christmas, I lost one of my crutches. I have, well had, four pairs. My NHS issue ones. which I don't like on a lot of grounds, and three pairs of French made ones I have bought myself. All are elbow crutches, the French call then "canne anglaise". I can't use underarm crutches due to my dodgy wrists.

My red folding pair were the first ones I bought when I started using crutches full time. They are half cuff (that's the bit that goes round your arm, just below the elbow) which I found much better when you need to do things like open doors.

When we were in France over the summer I bought two more pairs. One in grey and one in "Bordeaux" - or Burgundy as we call it in English. They were this type:

Although they are not folding, they are very comfortable, the cuffs give lots of support which takes the strain off my wrists and elbows and they don't have the annoying click of many crutches.

Sadly, just before Christmas, I lost one. I sometimes "get away" with only one crutch. I shouldn't, it's bad for my spine and pelvis, but sometimes having one hand free helps, so for short distances I'll often take just one. All I can think of is that I went somewhere with two and left with only one. I've retraced my steps but with no luck. It's gone.

So now, I have one grey one, and four in different shades of red. Which presents a problem when I wear, for example, green. So now to decide. Do I buy one more grey one or a new pair altogether. I do quite like these ones from Cool Crutches.