I've ordered some ice grips.

dreamdaisy
dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
edited 11. Dec 2010, 04:20 in Living with Arthritis archive
Thanks to a suggestion from speedalong (strewth - that girl knows some stuff) I have ordered some ice/snow grips for my crutches. I am not entirely certain of the prinicple behind them, apparently they can retract when not needed, but they should fit the sticks OK (they are adjustable). Once arrived and fitted I am sure that we will not be bothered by any more snow all winter! Have the kit you need and you won't need to use it - don't have it and you will - that seems to be the guiding principle of life! To find them I googled summat along the lines of ice and snow attachments for crutches - and frogmorton helped too 'cos I am not very good at this malarkey.

Many thanks speedy and frog - I will let you know how I get on when they arrive! DD

Just realised I told you all a white lie - I haven't bought them, Mr DD used his card and I have to pay him back when I have some funds.
Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben

Comments

  • carola
    carola Member Posts: 786
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am picturing you climbing Glencoe with the spikes in your sticks then fleeeeeeing down the snowy slope then a la James Bond, pressing a button to turn the spikes into wheels and fleeing around the streets like a tearaway teenager.

    Hahahaha! That has tickled me and I now have hiccups (serves me right).

    Let us know how you get on.

    Keep smiling and remember to wear a helmet on the slopes!
    Carol x :lol:
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Now that sounds more like the girl I know and love! Thinking of you, I hope you are as well as you can be. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • dorcas
    dorcas Member Posts: 3,516
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Brilliant DD! :D
    wonder if they have something similar for walking sticks?

    I loved Carola's description of you slalom-ing down the slopes.
    s010.gif

    I could believe you'd try it too with your gutsy determination. :!: :lol::lol:

    Iris xxx
  • julie47
    julie47 Member Posts: 6,041
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD Hope you are ok today

    Well dorcass caught you on camera eh? You are good, Eddie the eagle eat your heart out :lol:

    Hope they work and help you feel a little safer i the snow, perhaps you could get some for your shoes too.

    Take care
    Juliepf x
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,281
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    julie47 wrote:
    Hi DD Hope you are ok today

    Well dorcass caught you on camera eh? You are good, Eddie the eagle eat your heart out :lol:

    Hope they work and help you feel a little safer i the snow, perhaps you could get some for your shoes too.

    Take care
    Juliepf x
    Hi Julie and DD
    Good on you DD please let us know how you get on with them...I have the snow tracks for my shoes...brilliant on ice and snow....only drawback...you have to take then off when you go into shops...or you slip...I can get them off but cant bend down to pick them up :roll: :D
    Barbara x
    Love
    Barbara
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD, looking forward to a review on their effectiveness, though as you say if s*ds law has anything to do with it, once you are prepared that might be the end of the snow and ice - now that would be fab!!

    Iris - they do them for walking sticks too.

    Speedy

    PS Marion - the company your walking sticks came from, do them.
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • annebr
    annebr Member Posts: 730
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks to Speedy's post I also done a search and got the grips for walking sticks. I found A**z*n were the cheapest and doing packs of 4 for roughly £3ish. They had them in all sizes for different sticks.

    Also on Q**, tv shopping channel, I found overshoe grips, according to the reviews these are better than the ones that you get it sports/mountaineering shops as they can be used on ground that has been gritted or is slushy (which can be just as dangerous to me) as opposed to the others which are for icey conditions. With p&p these were about £16.

    Anne
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,281
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    annebr wrote:
    Thanks to Speedy's post I also done a search and got the grips for walking sticks. I found A**z*n were the cheapest and doing packs of 4 for roughly £3ish. They had them in all sizes for different sticks.

    Also on Q**, tv shopping channel, I found overshoe grips, according to the reviews these are better than the ones that you get it sports/mountaineering shops as they can be used on ground that has been gritted or is slushy (which can be just as dangerous to me) as opposed to the others which are for icey conditions. With p&p these were about £16.

    Anne
    Hi Anne...they are the ones I have for my shoes....there is no way you can slip in them....but please dont forget they are just for outside.....
    Barbara x
    Love
    Barbara
  • skezier
    skezier Member Posts: 11,333
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD,

    I really hoe they come in time and help you. I also wondering if they would work on mud maybe but would have trouble getting them on and off cus of bending...

    I really hope the thaw is there now and its all gone for you soon. (((( )))) and hopes Cris xx
  • joon51
    joon51 Member Posts: 221
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    They sound really great let us know how you get on with them, that's if we get anymore snow, sure we will cannot believe we have seen the last of the dreaded white stuff.

    Take Care Junex
  • tjt6768
    tjt6768 Member Posts: 12,170
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD, really hope they work well for ya hun...


    Tony :mrgreen:
    e050.gifMe-Tony
    n035.gifRa-1996 -2013 RIP...
    k040.gif
    Cleo - 1996 to 2011. RIP
  • julie47
    julie47 Member Posts: 6,041
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Morning DD

    Hope you are ok this morn and slept well. Watch this when you get your grips for crutches and I get my heated body warmer we will have tropical weather :lol::lol:

    barbara12 the grips to your shoes sound great but as you say i suppose you have to be careful in the shops, I saw a man with thm on at the hospital and he sounded as if he was wearing football boots.
    There is always a flaw in some great ideas eh?

    take care everyone
    Juliepf x
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Apparently these are designed to fit both sticks and crutches. They are metal, with (I think) five 'teeth' arranged in a circle, it's those that will grip the ice. I also thought about overshoe grippers but the fact you have to remove them when going into a shop is a pain and on that front they could possibly be more dangerous than helpful. I shall stick to using my old Hawkeshead walking boots - they have a fabulous grip and conveyed me safely back from the curry house last night, despite the ice and several pints of lovely stuff! :D DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    They have just arrived and crikey, they look vicious! DD will be able to do some serious damage with these babies and not only to ice and snow! I am going to fit them to my car crutches (an old pair I keep in the car, Daisy isn't on sticks!) and then pray for some more of the cold stuff so I can give them a whirl. Right, I am off to arm myself with a screwdriver and have a bash. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • annie_mial
    annie_mial Member Posts: 5,614
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I ambled into one of the local charity shops just before the snow started and they had new very, very cheap and very soft boots (dunno what they are made of, but they are very soft and pliable) which had ice grippers incorporated in the heel. They also have double zippers for closing, which means that I can leave one part undone on my odd foot where the instep is very high.

    In the current conditions they have been my lifeline - wearing them I have been able to go out and walk in any weather with some confidence. I found that I could open and close the grippers without too much bother provided I found something to hold onto while I was doing it! Walls are handy sometimes - and so are charity shops.

    I usually can't get any kind of boots on as they press too much on my Achilles tendon and during the early part of this year (surely that must be a record of some kind? Deep snow twice in the same year?) I was housebound till it thawed. I've been so thankful that I found them and they only cost me 3.99!

    Annie
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am glad you found something to help, annie, I like my Hawkeshead boots, they do make me feel very secure, but the crutches don't, not when it's icy. They have an awful tendency to skid on wet leaves too, which is equally treacherous. Perhaps I should consider a chair for the autumn and a skidoo for the snow! DD in her chariots would be a formidable foe! Think Boadicea with attitude. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • speedalong
    speedalong Member Posts: 3,315
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD, wondered why the thaw had started ... it must be because your grips have arrived!!!

    About time some were developed for wet and slippery conditions ... wet leaves/moss and wet floors indoors ...

    Speedy
    I have had OA since mid twenties. It affects my hips and knees. I had a THR on the left aged 30 and now have a resurface-replacement on the right - done May 2010.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    DD has unusual powers, 'tis true! :)) They are on my car crutches, and I shall leave them on until Spring. That way I know where they are! I hope you are OK speedy, that you survived your three days, and I hope S is doing well too.
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Airwave!
    Airwave! Member Posts: 2,468
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    On a similar theme, during the snow, I got my old snow boots out, I used to wear them when we were walking about in the snow resorts after skiing. They have a waterproof upper with a soft non-slip sole, brilliant, didn't slip about although it was icy where people didn't clear their paths and it froze again later.

    Presumably, with 'global warming', we will all be using ice picks and taking up Nordic skiing soon?

    x8) Its a wintery grin, honest! x8)