Customer Reviews

Carex Universal Bath Bench with Back

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We bought two of these bath seats at different times within the past 10 months, one for my boyfriend when he broke his leg and one for my 82 year old dad. You can buy this seat with or without the backrest. It is very easy to assemble (without tools) and even with 220 pounds on it, the bath seat was sturdy. The literature says it can hold up to 400 pounds. The height is adjustable by turning the four round, rubber feet. The fact that the feet are round and not flat is important because it means that you can put the chair right up to the back of the bathtub (or the sides of the bathtub) where the bottom of the bathtub curves up and the chair will not wobble as it would if the feet were flat. The rubber feet will not mark your bathtub and do NOT let the seat slide around. The seat bottom is lightly textured so that you do not slide off of it when you soap up but is still easy to clean. There are notches on both sides of the seat to put a handheld shower (although, if you want to use the notches to put a handheld shower, you will most likely need a longer hose than the standard 5 foot hose that comes with almost all handheld showers.) There are also "grab bars" on both sides of the seat and the seat back. It makes a good seat outside of the bathtub too.

The seat height adjusts from 16 to 21 inches. The width and depth of the legs are both 16.75 inches, the width of the seat is 20.75 inches, the depth of the seat is 18 inches, the height of the seat is adjustable from 16 to 21 inches (add another 12.5 inches for the height of the backrest.) You should not have a problem with this seat as long as the inside bottom of your bathtub is at least 17 inches wide (so that the legs of the seat will fit in it.) Although the seat is wider than the legs, the seat will sit above the height of most bathtubs, unless you have a really deep bathtub (21 inches or more.)

After knee surgery, a family member was in a brace for many weeks and could not bend his leg. His home-care therapists recommended this chair, which is available from many different sources. He decided to get this model, based on its apparent popularity, and the descriptions here and elsewhere.

Without other chairs to compare to, we don't know if they are all designed for such easy assembly AND disassembly, but we are pleased that this one can indeed be taken apart easily for storage or travel. It comes "knocked down" for efficient shipping in a reasonable-sized box, and you have to put it together, as with most such products. Well, in our case, the chair was assembled by our first-grade child, without really even reading the instruction sheet! Yep, that's as easy as it gets.

The result was a very sturdy chair that has enough weight to remain stable in the tub, while not being too heavy to carry or move around. The seat has lots of room, there are "handhold" spaces on each side of the seat, and a hole in the seat back where one could hold on (for balance only). There is a small hole on each side of the seat front, giving you two choices of places to store a handheld shower nozzle while lathering up or shampooing.

It's a perfectly fine product, and the only reasons not to give it five stars are fairly minor. For one, the front of the seat is more or less straight. Although rounded, it is not a "waterfall" front, and some people with leg injuries might not find it as comfortable. (Our user here has to keep his leg level and straight ahead, which means he does not put the weight of his leg against that seat edge. That might be an issue for some people, depending on the injury.) Again, in our case it was perfectly comfortable, and as we discovered, it is WELL worthwhile to get the version with the seat back.

We saw an extraordinary range of prices for this item. If you are part of a healthcare system with access to a good supplier of medical equipment, you might be able to get it locally at a good price and free delivery. But in other places, without price competition, you might as well go online. Amazon's price is a little high (at $58), but if you include the price of free shipping, that's not too bad a deal, depending where you live.

MY MOM HAD A FALL IN THE TUB.SHE WAS AFRAID TO TAKE A BATH. I SENT HER THIS SEAT. SHE HAS CALLED ME ABOUT 10 TIMES TO THANK ME AND TELL ME HOW SAFE SHE FEELS NOW. THE SEAT SHIPPED SUPER FAST. THANK YOU AMAZON.

Unfortunately I can't send this item back because it has been longer than 5 days since I received it, but if I could I would. I wish this information had been included in the item description!
The Pros:
(1) The seat is easy to put together without tools and height adjustable.
(2) It is totally made of plastic so presumably will not rust as my last one did.
The Cons:
(1) The package arrived in its original container, which looked as if it had been torn, repackaged, and resealed.
(2) The seat is very wide, which may be a plus for some folks, but in my case way too wide.
(3) Water does not drain off of the seat; after 24 hours there was still a pool of water on it. I live in the desert so that's just nuts.
(4) Last but not least, the seat is INCREDIBLY SLIPPERY! One literally cannot lift a leg to wash or shave without one's posterior shifting dramatically in the opposite direction. To say I almost flew out of the shower stall door is not an exaggeration! I had to hold on for dear life to the safety bar to accomplish the rest of my ablutions. I believe someone here mentioned they bought one for their elderly parent...I only hope the poor old dear has a safety belt on when she uses the seat.
I'm giving this a one star only because I can't give it a zero star rating. I would not want anyone, no matter what their height, girth, or age, to use this product. The seat should have some kind of texture that would preclude slippage, and also adequate drainage holes for sanitary purposes.

The Carex Universal Bath Seat with a Back came recommended by a physical therapist and occupational therapist working with my elderly mother in her home. The chair is quite sturdy with thick adjustable legs that do not splay out--making them better for seating in a small shower area. The design of the squared seat also keeps the chair from tipping. Grips on the bottom of the legs also prevent slipping and sliding of the chair in the shower. As the construction does not include metal, it was more visually appealing to the patient than other brands/models which were perceived by the patient to be medical equipment. The seat also offers the hand holds, shower head holds and back needed to support safe bathing as well as safe entry to and exit from the shower. It was the right purchase to meet the patient's current needs.

My wife slipped on the ice on Christmas morning and broke her right hip and wrist. This type of injury calls for a tough and painful recovery. Although she still is in recovery time, her prospects are brighter and this bath chair was and is of great comfort to her. She reports that the back is a nice addition and adds comfort and stability to her shower. The chair drains well and there are no signs of rust. The chair was easy to set-up and is very stable in the tub. We looked at many of the choices of these types of chairs on Amazon and finally chose this one. We definitely made the correct decision.

The chair is perfect for my 87 year old mother. The chair is sturdy and has enabled Mom to take a shower without fear of falling. It is well constructed, easy to assemble. The legs can even be raised which makes it even easier to get up and down. Excellent product!

This is the 2nd Carex bath bench I have purchased through Amazon. I ordered one for my mother when she had knee replacement surgery. When I broke my ankle my husband bought a bath chair at a local pharmacy. This chair had metal legs and it did not fit the bathtub very well; the legs fit in the curved wall of the tub. This chair lasted a little longer than a week then the legs bent and left me screaming for help. I ordered this Carex bench and received it within a few days. I highly recommend this chair for use in small bath tubs becuase the legs are straight, sturdy and fit perfectly.

This bath chair is delightful. It is very well designed and precisely fabricated. It contains no metal parts that can rust and, I hope, will not mildew, either, unlike my previous chair. It stands very firmly, as each leg can be precisely balanced. It's fairly priced. Best of all and most remarkably, it's made in the USA!

I have a bad back & have gained a lot of weight. I can't stand for too long & my showers took forever! This chair is so stable! I have an average fiberglass tub & it fits perfectly. It is not flimsy nor too heavy. I can lean forward & not tip over. You can adjust the height by turning the feet which is nice since I'm tall. I don't lean back & really don't need the back rest but it was much cheaper to get it this way for some reason. The same chair as just a stool was $10 more on Amazon. Go figure! Now I can relax & stretch my legs out to shave instead of leaning over to do that. I feel even healthy people could benefit from a chair like this.