This cane is not well made. It unfolds fine--it's like any number of folding canes that have short tubes that nest into each other that are connected by elastic, so you can just pull it apart and fold it--but its elastic is too long and not fastened well, so every time I picked up the cane while walking the short tubes came loose and fell apart. It makes for a loud, rattling, not particularly secure balancing experience. The cane came with scratches on the finish already, and without using it much--I really just tried it in the living room and it is so badly put together I didn't feel like I could take it any further with any confidence--the finish is somehow scratching off even more. Some of that is normal with long term heavy cane use, but in the first 20 minutes? From what, my yoga pants? Being placed gently on a tv table? How???? Also the gold tone metal ring that decorates the shaft right below the wood handle is badly glued and presents a sharp edge on one side, and the way the handle was cut, there's another really sharp edge on the flat side of the wooden handle. The finish on the wood is also...can you be plasticky and a little bit tacky at the same time? If you are handy and have really good hand and forearm strength and dexterity you can remove the rubber foot, use a tool and fish for the end of the elastic that holds it all together, pull it out of the bottom tube of the cane, and knot it a couple times, maybe 8 or so inches from where the metal wire that currently fastens it is wrapped around the two ends. Be careful of the (also fairly sharp) metal washer that's attached to keep the elastic from snapping up through the cane and making the whole thing fall apart, and I guess hope that the tension and movement of the elastic against that washer doesn't eventually sever the elastic? Once you let go of the knotted elastic you're not getting it back without a lot of muscle strength. If you can do that--I tried this and succeeded after about 20 minutes of struggle--your cane will hold together better and it *might* be sturdy enough to use it, though I will also note, its seat on the adjustment pin has a lot of give and flex even when anchored by the stabilizer ring that screws in, so many many many safety caveats here. If you have sandpaper and spray paint and sealer, or vinyl or fabric or something to cover the shaft pieces with and something to seal and spray it, this is a really cheap base for that kind of art project. Disabled drag performers, hello there, this is not your best inexpensive cane option but if you're stuck, I guess? If you have, I don't know, bike handlebar tape or foam or something? You can probably protect yourself from that sharp edge and make the experience of gripping and leaning on the handle less hazardous. But why would you go through all that bother if you can just spend another fifteen bucks and get a well made folding cane from almost anywhere else? Healthsmart has similarly priced but much better quality canes in a bunch of colors right here on the evil A site, fashionablecanes dot com has folding canes with patterns on the shaft that hold up MUCH better for not that much more, your local drug store is going to have better quality adjustable folding metal canes or adjustable standup canes with better grips and less hazardous parts for between $25 and $40 bucks. Just do that. Honestly. Your time is worth more than the hassle of trying to make this work.
