Blind Main

The other week the cord on my Ambutech Slimline cane frayed and broke. I’ll write about that in another post, but it prompted me to get a backup lightweight cane.

Use Case

For context, I’m legally blind (acuity) and have a reduced field of view, but could conceivably travel without a cane. I would just have a lot more conversations with people and utility poles I bumped into and bruised legs from encounters with bollards.

I use the cane for a mix between ID, use for protective technique and lightweight two-point touch in trickier areas.

The Revolution Identity Cane

Quickly looking at a few options, in person, I picked up a Revolution so-called “Identity” cane. It’s very similar to the Ambutech Slimline.

The tip is a translucent white plastic similar to what’s used on the marshmallow roller. It’s a pear-shaped slip-on and they call it an “identity tip,” so I guess it’s not meant for serious mobility use.

The body is more textured than the Ambutech, probably affecting reflectivity, and the handle segment is fully made of a gray slightly rubberized plastic. There’s more to grip than on the competitor, but there’s no spongy cushion. Additionally the joints are far smoother on the outside with the overlap in sections being completely internal and longer, with no rings around the outside.

It’s a lightweight cane. Shocking! Seriously, it weighs like 125g in the 54 inch size I got. Just about the same as my Ambutech with ceramic tip.

I have both of these in 7 segments. That’s an option on the Ambutech, but it seems that’s just how Revolution makes the Identity cane.

Handling and Dynamics

I like the balance, especially the available length of the grip. I feel like I can either grip closer to the end to get more reach for two point touch or lower on that segment for balance and sideways reach when holding it across my body.

Although I like the usable length of the grip - I extended the slimline’s grip with grip tape - the material doesn’t provide much cushioning. I really like the golf club grip on standard Ambutech canes for this.

The tip slips on so one could, conceivably, replace it with something else, but Revolution only sell the Identity Tip for these. I don’t expect to get anywhere near the durability or feedback of the ceramic tip. For what it’s worth these are pretty cheap.

It folds easily into a compact package, which you’d always want from an ID cane.

Real-World Use

I tried the cane out in a mixed outdoor area. Smooth concrete sidewalks, truncated domes and guide lines on some crosswalks, rougher concrete, older sidewalks with cracks and wooden detours around construction sites. This is a location I visit once or twice every month.

I expected decent enough results in the smooth areas and not so much in the older sections. The Slimline performs well throughout in my experience.

The Revolution was… not revolutionary. The grip tired me out more than I’d like due to its lack of cushioning. The tip got caught on absolutely everything.

I’m honestly very surprised at the poor performance of the tip. It would get caught even on relatively smooth concrete. It was genuinely scary on the rough sidewalks, where the Slimline is OK-ish. No technique seemed to make it much better including a very shallow sweep at an angle that should have it bump off of, well, bumps.

I avoided a path that’s very narrow with a foot-high drop on one side. Normally I’d swipe off and back up from that ledge, but I just didn’t feel confident doing it with this cane. Maybe with more practice with it? Definitely with better light where I could trust my vision a bit more on the first go-around.

The whole cane performed well for stairs and curbs, but the feedback from truncated domes didn’t feel fantastic. Not awful, just not super clear.

I’ll have to give it smoother go in other situations. I think it would be great at the hospital with very smooth surfaces and nicer folding action for sitting for two hours. I have to try it at the office on a set of stairs with floating steps where the ceramic tip’s horizontal lip sometimes gets caught on the way up. The rubber lip on the Ambutech ceramic tip, by the way, is probably what makes it so decent for cracked sidewalks.

Conclusion

Overall I think this will be an excellent backup. Does it have the best performance on tricky surfaces and for long walks? No. Is it super durable? Probably OK, but definitely not the tip.

I think it’s a very good ID cane, possibly even overbuilt for that. It’s an OK lightweight travel cane.

I was talking to the blind guy who works at the store I got this from and we agreed canes are all about personal preference and each person’s particular needs and circumstances, as well as specific use cases. A perfect cane doesn’t exist, so it’s good to have options.

What do you guys think? Have you used either or both of these canes? How did they work out? Are there third-party tips for the Revolution Identity cane? While we’re on the topic of preferences, what’s your favorite white cane and why?