iWALKFree Review (cont'd)

So yesterday was the first day that I wore my iWALKFree out into the world. I felt that I'd mastered it about as well as one could, so it was time to take this baby out for a spin. I strapped in on and took the bus to school, wore it around for the day, and took a cab home. And today I am so happy to have my crutches back.

While I stand by how helpful the iWALKFree is for doing things around the house, and think it has been well worth its rental price, there are some significant problems with it for more adventurous persuits.


First, the walking motion is very, very awkward. A big aspect of this is the large amount of lateral motion of the bar. When you put your weight on the "foot" of the device (which I will call the peg), the whole bar jerks laterally. The straps try to hold on to keep the bar in place, but you simply can't get them tight enough to restrict the motion (well, at least not while also permitting blood into and out of your leg.) I do wonder if sex has anything to do with this. No, not that kind. The other kind. The angles between the pelvis, femur, and knee joint are different for ladies than for men because of our superior birthing hips, and I wonder if the mechanics of this thing kind of make the lateral problem worse for the ladies. I really have no idea, but it's... well it's a big deal. It makes the thing very uncomfortable.

Next, is how slow it is. Oh. My. Gosh. To get anywhere is *painfully* slow. Now I'm a fast person, and I walk faster than just about everyone in DC, so my opinion might be a little extreme, but I really can't stand how long it takes to just get from one end of the hall to the other. I'm pretty fast on crutches--faster, I think, than a slow walker--so for longer distances I'd rather just deal with taking breaks with tired arms than use the iWALKFree.

Then, there is the tripping. When you are wearing the device, you have a fixed swinging distance from your hip to the floor,and all motion originates from the hip, so you can't lift the "peg" like you can a foot when you bend the knee. Consequently, small changes in the floor or carpet can catch you off guard and cause your to sort of trip forward. This happened to me several times yesterday, and each time was both a little embarrassing and a little frightening.

And then there's the staring. I've experienced staring like this before, but not in this country. Everyone--absolutely everyone--will look at you. Partially because they mean to look at you, but partially, I think, they just ween't quite sure what just passed them so it was just a reflex to make sure I wasn't some sort of hungry alien. See on crutches, people recognize the motion so they don't really feel the need to investigate further. They'll stare if they feel like watching you, but its not because of the compulsive will to survive.

Next, it's kind of painful. I don't have knee problems, but both my knees were unhappy after a day on this thing. The one you are kneeling on gets an uncomfortable locked-up feeling that can't be relieved without taking the device off, and the other one just gets annoyed with that weird-ass way you are walking. Also, if you have any lower back problems or SI joint problems, this isn't gonna be doing you any favors. There is a significant amount of out-of-wackness going on and you definitely feel it.

And it's cumbersome. Anytime you want to get up or sit down you have to put the thing on and take it off. This is paticularly inconvenient on the bus. I actually just left it on and awkwardly sat down. I sat in an aisle seat so the peg was sort of in the arm rest ares in frount of me, but that didn't go so well and if you are travelling during rush hour, good luck.

And last, it's no fun! Crutches, annoying as they are, are at least kind of fun. It's like you have your own little set of parrallel bars with you throughout the day, and you can feel all athletic and accomplished when you master them. When you are wearing the iWALKFree, because of the gross change in movement and the slowness... well, I felt like I had something much worse going on than a broken ankle.

So, I won't be wearing my iWALKFree out again. But here are some links if you want to get others' opinions:

Johnny Hopalong: A young athletic dude gives his perspective
ProductWiki: A handful of written reviews and some agreed-upon pros and cons