I highly recommend this walker. My wife has Parkinson's and has freezing episodes when she is on the downside of her pills. The laser light really does help. She has yet to try the audio feature. There are some drawbacks particular to her. (1) If she does not catch herself, she will let the walker get too far ahead of her and since is at an extreme angle, the braking wheels begin to slide on smooth surfaces. Even though the walker is heavier than most, sliding under certain conditions. I understand there are Velcro mounted weights available. It certainly will make the walker heavier, but it may reduce the sliding. (2) The smaller rearmost wheels are stepped on to raise the front wheels to get over curbs. Only one need be stepped on to raise the front. Be sure your loved one will not have balance problems when shifting one foot. I feel the lift is not enough to get over some curbs so I may remove the 2 rear wheels. 3) The center front spring loaded wheel seems a bit too strong. The wife needs to ram that wheel into the floor transitions (3/8" high) to get over it. If she were in unfamiliar territory, it may cause a sudden stop. So far she has been careful in strange areas. 4) Downhill slopes are tough! At her worst (freezing tiny steps) she has to release the brake momentarily and only let the walker get ahead of her 4 to 6 inches. She then gets close to the walker, standing upright and only then release the brake again. If she lets it get too far ahead, she will lean into it and it will slide with locked brakes and she would fall forward, pushing it away even more. There is an adjustment on the grey (braked) wheels that puts a steady additional resistance to rolling that keeps the walker from rolling away too easily, but once on flat ground, the added resistance can be tiring over long distances. Also, if the adjustment is not loosened, the grey wheels may slip on smooth floors. I see no problem on carpet. The adjustment screw can be loosened with a quarter if you forget to bring a screwdriver. I left the screw loose so I could change the friction without tools. My wife's grip is too weak for her to adjust the levers herself. It also almost requires one to get down on your knees to hold onto the walker while the adjustment is made with the other hand. 5) The walker works best on flat (plane) surfaces. We experienced a problem when approaching a driveway from an angle. The wings of some driveways curve (roll) where it transitions from flat sidewalk to the downward slope of the car approach. On that curve, one of the grey braked wheels went into the air as the frame of the walker went over the "roll". Since only one grey wheel had traction, the walker pivoted and one side of the walker rolled away from her in an arc. Having brakes on 4 wheels would help minimize that problem. Another problem with driveways and handicap ramps is when they meet the roadway at a sharp V. The front wheels will come out of the bottom of the V and as they roll forward, both grey braking wheels will lift off the pavement because of the rear wheels. The front and rear wheels bridge over the V and raise the grey wheels into the air. When it happened to my wife, the walker went forward suddenly about 6 inches. If she had been on her down period, she could have leaned too far forward and pushed the walker further away because the grey wheels would probably slide if the road was too smooth. 6) It is heavier! We have a 2002 Subaru Forester. We found it easier not to fold the walker (I explain later). I rigged up a pulley system, attached to the rear passenger door overhead hand assists, where a rope with hook attaches to the walker. The wife parks the walker behind the car with the hatch open, attaches the hook to the walker and then pulls the loose end to winch the walker into the car, with a light tilt to the bottom of the walker as it is drawn up into the car. 7) My wife had trouble folding the walker. The grey lock requires some degree of force to latch and unlatch. If the latch is not flipped outwardly, folding the walker would trap it between the tubes of the framework. The walker folds flat to the ground, which may be difficult for someone with balance problems. Standing the folded walker up causes it to rise onto the spring mounted front wheel, causing it to roll away as the user is negotiating standing up while managing the increasing weight. 8) The scissoring action of the framework, as the walker is folded may pinch fingers while the user is trying to lift. It happened to me! Please don't consider my critique as being picky. One takes for granted their reactions/movements when healthy. Watching my wife struggle has caused me to notice the potential problems/shortcomings of using a walker. That is exactly why I chose the U-Step...for its reverse brake and surround frame and multiple wheels. I highly recommend it.
I got this walker because I didn't like my previous "stoop over" walker. Also, I like the way it folds as we are going to take it to Arizona for the winter.
