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I’m popping up here because I’d really like to learn more about white canes from people who have actually tried different ones.

When I was living in Malaysia, I never really took the time to explore different cane designs or brands. I basically used what I had. I’m about 187 cm tall, and my current cane is around 140 cm. It came from Hong Kong, and embarrassingly I don’t actually know what brand or model it is.

Now that I’m studying in Singapore, Guide Dogs Singapore has offered to help me find a good cane. They’ve mentioned Revolution Advantage, and they also have the WeWALK Smart Cane 2, which I understand is based around a conventional mobility cane with ultrasonic obstacle detection.

This has sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole.

I’ve now come across things like:

  • Revolution Advantage graphite canes
  • AmbuTech aluminum, graphite and SlimLine canes
  • AwareWolf All-Terrain Cane
  • AwareWolf Urban Xplorer
  • NFB rigid fiberglass and carbon-fibre canes
  • NFB folding and telescoping carbon-fibre canes
  • Comde-Derenda canes
  • Svárovský canes
  • smart canes such as WeWALK

And I’m only now learning that “a cane” can mean quite different things: rigid, folding, telescoping, telefolding, aluminum, fiberglass, graphite/carbon fibre, different numbers of sections, different joint designs, different handles and a bewildering number of tips.

So I’d love to hear from cane nerds. 🙂

A few questions:

  1. What cane do you actually use every day, and why?
  2. If you’ve used both AmbuTech and Revolution Advantage, how different do they feel in practice? Is the Revolution noticeably lighter or better at transmitting tactile information?
  3. What is the real-world difference between a rigid cane and a folding cane? Do rigid canes genuinely give substantially better feedback, or is the difference relatively small with modern graphite folding canes?
  4. What about telescoping canes? Are they mainly convenient, or do you lose tactile feedback, rigidity or reliability compared with folding canes?
  5. Has anyone used a cane that combines telescoping and folding sections?
  6. How important is the number of sections? For example, would you rather have a five-section cane that is slightly longer when folded, or a six/seven-section cane that packs much smaller?
  7. How do Revolution’s joints compare with AmbuTech’s? I’ve heard people specifically praise Revolution’s all-graphite construction and joints that don’t stick.
  8. Has anyone used the AwareWolf Urban Xplorer? How does it compare with a normal graphite mobility cane for everyday pavement, buildings, public transport and city walking?
  9. And what about the All-Terrain Cane? Is it genuinely useful as an everyday cane as well as for hiking, grass, gravel, beaches and rough ground, or is it too heavy for normal long-distance urban travel?
  10. Has anyone here used the NFB-style long rigid cane? I’d particularly like to understand why some experienced travellers strongly prefer a long, very light rigid cane over folding designs.
  11. Does anyone have experience with European canes such as Comde-Derenda or Svárovský? They seem to have some designs that I rarely hear discussed in English-speaking blind communities.
  12. What materials do you prefer: aluminum, fiberglass, graphite/carbon fibre or something else? What differences do you actually notice in weight, sound, vibration, flexibility and durability?
  13. Cane tips are another rabbit hole. Pencil, metal glide, ceramic, marshmallow, rolling marshmallow, roller ball, high-mileage, etc. Which ones give you the best information, and which are best for constant-contact versus two-point touch?
  14. For someone around 187 cm tall, is my current 140 cm cane unusually short? I know cane length is very personal and depends on walking speed and technique rather than height alone. I’d be interested to know what other tall cane users use.
  15. Has changing to a longer cane significantly changed the way you travel—particularly your walking speed, reaction time at drops/stairs and confidence?
  16. If you could own two or three canes rather than trying to make one cane do everything, what would your combination be? For example: rigid everyday cane + compact folding cane + all-terrain cane?
  17. Finally, are there good cane manufacturers or unusual cane designs I’ve completely missed?

I’m not necessarily looking for one “best cane.” I’m more interested in understanding why people develop such strong preferences for particular lengths, materials, joints, tips and designs.

Feel free to get extremely nerdy about this. That’s exactly what I’m hoping for. 🙂
#canes #blind

#blind #canes

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Peter Vágner

@Kaveinthran I'm surprised Svárovský canes are known where you live. These are manufactured in Czech republic.
I'm using Composite folding one. I find it better than those made out of alluminium.
The cost of such a cane around here is about 50 euro.
@Kaveinthran
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Peter Vágner

@Kaveinthran Frankly I don't know other canes besides those made by Svárovský.

I even don't have a special criteria for my cane. I wish it to be durable, easy to pack and not needing a new tip every so often. I have shifted from alluminium one with flat tip to the carbon fibre one with the ceramic rotary tip and that's it. I'm getting folding one out of 5 sections.

@Kaveinthran

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David Taylor

@cary5871 People have such different needs that most of your questions are hard to answer and everyone is going to tell you something different. I just know that whatever I say, half the world will contradict it. But here goes. You don't need a rigid cane, they are a pain to stand up when you go anywhere and you really want to be able to fold them to put them away, or on the floor, or wherever you want to put them when you're traveling, relaxing, eating whatever. I mainly know about Revolution and Ambutech. I much prefer Ambutech because the tips are much easier to change. The Revolution is a little lighter than the Ambutech, but because it's a pure carbon fibre cane, it is more prone to smashing completely. Aluminium canes are a little bit heavier, but generally more compliant, so they will bend rather than smash completely. As a result, I went back to aluminium. What tip you choose is much more important though. The bigger the tip the heavier it is and given that it's so far from your wrist, it's really noticeable. I would say only use anything bigger than a standard roller tip if you regularly go on rough ground. Also, if you have a heavy tip, it complicates folding and carrying if the cane has an odd number of sections because the tip will naturally fall to the bottom if you carry it by the elastic, and that is where the elastic hits the handle too, so it all falls apart. I did try the Wewalk, but found even the new one far too heavy and the beeps were just information overload for me. After all these years, I still buy the Ambutech with the crooked handle so I can hang it on my pocket, and change the tip to a roller tip
@Cary ✨
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Steve

@davetaylor2112 I've had the greatest success with the Ambutech folding graphite canes. They are heavier than the alluminum variants, but with the added weight comes stability, less risk of bending, and joints that don't erode and chew through the ellastic. On average I get close to ten years per cane and only need to change out the tips in the meantime.
@David Taylor

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Elijah Massey

I always get rolling tips and prefer bigger ones, so I always get the marshmellow or rolling ball tips, because they are much better on sidewalks since they don't fall in the cracks or get stuck on things. Right now I have four canes: the WeWalk Smart Cane 2 with an Ambutech shaft, an Ambutech Graphite cane in seven sections, the Urban Xplorer, and the All Terrain Cane. I would not use the All Terrain Cane except when hiking or otherwise in a more difficult outdoor environment, because on regular sidewalks and inside buildings, it is very heavy and also extremely loud. But it is excellent for hiking because you can lean on it if you need to, and it doesn't get stuck on anything where other canes would probably get stuck constantly. I've tried it a few times with a hiking pole in my other hand and that combination worked very well. The Urban Xplorer feels heavier and more durable than other canes, although not to the extent of the All Terrain Cane, so I would say it is just fine to use in normal indoor or outdoor situations. It doesn't fold as small as the Ambutech one and the string is not very good at holding it together folded, but I bought the large cane pouch from Feeldom and that holds it very well. I suppose I would probably choose the Ambutech when I am mostly walking short distances and need to carry/store it folded a lot, or when I am without my backpack and need to hold it or put it in my pocket. I think I would use the Urban Xplorer more if I was going on a longer walk or a mixed trip with a lot of walking, because it definitely feels more sturdy and durable and it should definitely not snap or fall apart if something happens like the Ambutech might. However, the WeWalk complicates things because I do like the obstacle detection at head and chest level, but you can only put the WeWalk handle on an Ambutech cane. So where I would want that most, on longer walks in more complex environments, the shaft itself is less optimal than my other canes. I do not have any problem with the weight of the handle, and it feels very light to me. The beeping feedback is fine for me, and I like the WeWalk app, since it can give good directions for mixed walking and bus routes, something that no other app does well. Moovit gives very good transit directions and tells you when to get off and when your bus is coming, but it doesn't have accessible walking directions between stops or at the beginning and end of the trip, and all the other apps I use give good walking directions but not good transit directions. WeWalk's walking directions are good too, and the interface and accuracy are definitely better than Google Maps, although VoiceVista and Indigo have different advantages over WeWalk in this area and I think match where its good. The WeWalk app can also use the cane for orientation rather than your phone, but I'm not sure I've noticed any significant improvement with that. I have not tried any other canes, and I always buy canes that reach to my collar bone, just below my throat, because that is what they taught me was the standard in school during O&M.

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Kaveinthran

@emassey0135 I really learned a lot from your detailed comment. Thank you so much. What navigation apps do you think are great for walking directions? How do Indigo Nav, Voice Vista, and the SoundScape community differ?
@Elijah Massey
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Audrey Farnum

I’m going to be in the minority here, but Here goes. I have used a variety of canes and settled on a rigid cane made by dcanes.com. It is an NFB style straight cane with a metal tip. I find it to be the most sensitive cane I have used and has A perfect amount of flexibility. It is also extremely lightweight and comfortable to use. I find the ambuteche folding canes to be heavy and clunky. Revolution is a little better but still too heavy for my liking. In my experience, I find folding canes to be too rigid. If you hit a crack or bump you are more likely to jab yourself in the stomach while a flexible straight cane will just bend a little and pop right over whatever it gets caught on. The metal tip glides over every surface type easily and is thus very versital. I can feel so much more detail with a straight cane that using a folding cane feels very uncomfortable because I'm not getting much feedback. It’s like I’m using a cane while wearing a glove, which I also hate doing. The joints in a folding cane really dull the vibrations that travel up the cane and they make the cane too rigid. I am about 165 centimeters and use a cane that is about 154 centimeters. Well, if Siri isn’t lying to me. sorry, ignorant American here. I had to convert from feet and inches. anyway, my cane comes up a little bit above my nose. I originally started with a cane that was about at sternum level, but I find that I can walk faster and more confidently with a long cane because I get more advanced warning about drop offs and other hazards. the NFB folding cane is lighter than both Amputech and Revolution folding canes and has the NFB metal tip. I still think it is too rigid and not sensitive enough, but I have one that I keep on hand as an emergency cane or for situations where I know that dealing with a non-folding cane might be problematic. I also keep a couple of the NFB telescoping canes on hand that I travel with as emergency backup canes. They are very lightweight and more sensitive than a folding cane, but not as sensitive as a straight cane. They do have a tendency to collapse if you hit a bump or a crack, so I wouldn’t use it as an everyday cane. they are great for an emergency cane and can get me home in a pinch if something happens to my straight cane. Canes are very subjective and everybody is going to want different things from their cane. My advice is to try out as many as you can and find what works best for you. There’s no right or wrong cane. The best cane is the one that works best for you. I agree, folding canes are more convenient because you can stow them away when you are out in public, but in my experience, it’s not really that hard to get used to stowing a rigid cane. There are techniques for dealing with them, and once you get used to it, it’s really not a big deal. There are very few situations where I elect to grab a foldable cane when I am going places. (1/2)

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tunmi13

@atfarnum Idk. I've been using Ambutech folding canes for over a decade, so I've gotten used to them. An NFB person tried to sweet talk me into getting one of theirs. You know, the usal "this is why ours is better" approach. They aren't bad, but I feel like they can be too flimsy at times. I live in a neighborhood with a lot of drains and some gaps in the sidewalk. Get that cane stuck in there, and there's a 25% chance it's going to crack.
@Audrey Farnum

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Laurel Jean Walden

@atfarnum My absolute favorite cane is the NFB-style rigid cane with metal glide tip. The city of Charleston, SC and my neighborhood in particular, is not pedestrian friendly. The travel is more like rural travel. I found that my favorite canes just don't hold up well in this area, so I found a happy medium in the NoJab cane paired with a rolling ball tip. It is a folding cane, lighter than most, with a spring in the handle to help prevent the cane getting stuck in cracks and holes in the ground. It works, though I do miss working with a rigid fiberglass cane and metal glide tip. I also agree that canes are a matter of personal choice.
@Audrey Farnum

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