[Blindtlk] [nfb-talk] new NFB canes

[Brice Smith]

Thank you for the responses, everyone. I went ahead and bought the new
folding cane -- it seems to beat every other cane I've used,
especially the heavier Ambutech models, by miles. However, I'm having
a little bit of trouble with the tip getting easily stuck and catching
on the ground. The metal tip seems to struggle and get caught with The
tiniest crack, bump, or rough surface anywhere no matter how light of
a touch I use. The problem is especially noticeable with brick and
cobblestone. The ceramic tip I used from Ambutech smoothly handled
almost any surface, but I'm not finding that to be the case with the
NFB's tip. Does anyone have any suggestions ... am I doing something
wrong here?

On 7/25/11, T. Joseph Carter <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com> wrote:
> I had a chance at convention to play with all of the new NFB canes,
> and I like them.
>
> The telescopic cane’s cap is made of plastic (I’ve heard it said it
> was metal, it’s not, just shiny plastic) and screws into the graphite
> making for the strongest cap I’ve seen on a telescopic cane.  The
> length is also noteworthy because when you buy a given cane length,
> it is now actually that long.  That means a 69" cane user like myself
> can now actually get a 69" telescopic cane.
>
> It indeed does not collapse as easily, and the new tip is a little
> more expensive.  I’ve found that you can use the older tips with
> moderate success, but you really want the new ones for it.  They are
> perhaps even lighter than the old telescopic canes, which is hard to
> imagine, and despite this they feel sturdier.  My only wish for them
> would be that the included case served some purpose other than maybe
> keeping the cane looking new stored inside a bag.  Eyelets or a belt
> loop or something would be useful.
>
> The new folding cane is one I wanted to like.  It folds up into many
> small sections (too many perhaps for a cane so short), but it stops
> at 61".  That’s just not long enough.  And it fold into something
> like 7 sections.  Like the telescopic canes, the new folding cane
> tapers along its length.  If they offered it long enough, I’d
> probably get one.
>
> Honestly, if they hold up as well as I think they might, I hope the
> national office gives serious consideration to trying out the 50/50
> concept again in the future.  Great idea and poor execution there,
> and this new cane seems to show how to do it right so far.
>
> The new rigid canes come in carbon fiber and fiberglass.  The latter
> is a little whippier, but not by much.  Which isn’t to say that the
> fiberglass isn’t whippy in nature, but rather that the carbon fiber
> really is!  They’re different from the other new designs in that they
> don’t taper outward, and you’re not holding on to un-coated carbon
> fiber like the other canes.  The grip is a foam material dense enough
> not to provide any padding or anything.  It just provides a good
> solid grip.  Unlike the other canes, the rigid model has a top made
> of cork glued on to it with one of those ridiculous camera straps
> attached to it.  Don’t snip it off, as I was tempted to do, because
> the other end of the cord is attached to a small split ring that
> keeps it from falling out that you probably don’t want rattling
> around inside the cane.
>
> Like all of the new canes, the new rigid canes are comically light
> weight.  I’ve got one in fiberglass, 69", and it is my primary cane
> now.  It is probably not as strong as the older canes, but it’s
> plenty strong enough, and it’s so very light!  Easy to walk with, and
> easy to use a long enough cane to actually move at a reasonable pace
> with the thing.  The rigid cane came with the old-style NFB tip on
> it, and will likely do so until the NFB runs out of the old ones and
> has only the new.  *grin*
>
> Joseph - KF7QZC
>
>
> On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 01:30:30PM -0400, Brice Smith wrote:
>>Hi,
>>
>>I've heard that the NFB just introduced a new type of carbon fiber
>>folding cane at the convention in Orlando. Their online store doesn't
>>yet list them, however, and I'm wondering if I heard correctly. Has
>>anyone tried this new cane, and if so, what did you think? Also, how
>>does it compare to the new telescoping canes I heard they recently
>>came out with earlier this year? I've previously read on this list
>>that the new telescoping canes are better built and designed to stand
>>more wear and tear than the old ones which were fairly unreliable.
>>
>>-Thanks
>>
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