By Fraser Fleming.
I recently purchased a new long cane from GizaHand UK, they have made a cane that can light up at night time to increase visibility. The cane costs Just under £100 and can be purchased singularly or with extra accessories including an extra battery pack and or a light up bum bag carry case. I purchased the full kit for £129.
The cane itself is the same design as the standard long cane that can be folded down for ease of transport however the ends of the cane have been modified, at the tip end, this section contains the led light that are inbuilt into the cane. This gives off a great light that can cover a small area in front of where you are using your cane to scan for obstacles. The tip insertion point has been modified and only accepts the hook tip style. I tried to use one of the Ambutech Tip adapters so that I could use a screw on tip with this cane as these are the tips that I use for my standard cane. But the adaptor was too large to fit in the cane. At the top of the cane where the handle is, this has been modified to hold the battery power pack for the cane. The handle is thicker than the standard cane handle and uses a thin plastic layer for grip. It has a slip on cover that you have to remove at the top of the cane to insert and cover the battery. This cover can be attached to the top of the handle by the attached elastic cord. To turn the light on the cane on or off you have to physically insert and take out the battery pack.
The design of the cane is not too different to the standard long cane however it is different enough to notice. It took me a couple of tries with the cane to get comfortable with using it. The cane itself is of a good quality build and is quite robust, however you cannot replace the internal elastic cord so if this was to snap or fray as has happened to me with many standard canes then you are unable to replace it and thus the cane will become unusable. For a £100 cane this is a big down. Another thing that I was disappointed with was the lack of a on or off switch to let you decide when you wanted the light on or off. Having to insert and take out the battery pack for this became annoying quickly. I like the impact this cane has on my visibility when out in the dark and the overall quality of the design is great. The cane can take a few attempts to get comfortable with using but one you do is amazingly comfortable. I would give this cane 3 Top Tech Ticks out of 5.
If you would like to find out more about devices for people with a visual impairment contact us at.
Triple Tap Tech
The Renfield Centre
260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP
0141 353 1567
0780 5353 149
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