Customer Reviews

Medline Bariatric Bath Bench without Back

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here are the good things about this bath bench:

1. It is light weight and will not rust because the sitting platform is durable plastic and the metal supports and legs are tubular aluminum. Almost all other competing models have painted steel tubing and are subjected to rust.

2. It can handle 550 lbs. of weight. As a result, it can serve almost 99.999% of the population.

3. The two aluminum cross-tubs prevent the legs from bending and causing the bench to collapse. As a safety precaution, all bath benches should have this feature, but they do not.

4. For bath benches that can handle 500 lbs. or more, this is the most inexpensive. I know because I checked out every competing model on the internet. In addition, look no further than the amazon.com website, the price is the cheapest in the U.S.

5. The design of the sitting platform, tubular supports, legs, and screw holes help water to completely drain away. As a consequence, there are no mold and mildew problems and buildup as found in other competing models.

Here are the bad things on this item. Please be aware that all other similar models have these inherent problems.

1. This product is designed for a walk-in shower stall with a large area. In most homes, this is not the typical arrangement. Most have a bathtub with an accompanying shower head. In this kind of setup, the bath bench occupies 40% of the area.

2. Because of the narrowness of the bathtub, a person can not sit on it as designed. S/he has to sit on one end of the bench.

For this reason, do not buy the deluxe model with a back rest. You will not be able to use it in a bath tub.

3. In a rare occasion if a person partially sit on the edge and lean forward, an imbalance in the weight may cause the back end to flip up. As a result, the occupier will fall on his/her butt. Injury will be a certainty.

This is a design defect. By flaring the legs out by an inch or more, this possibility can be avoided.

This would be a great product. EXCEPT the description says it adjusts from 14.5" to 19.5" in height. For me, even the 19.5" height is almost too low. So I was VERY disappointed and upset when my new bath bench arrived and the tags say it adjusts from 14" to 17" high. If I manage to get all the way down to sit on this bench, I CANNOT get back up. So I have to return this and buy another bath bench. The price was great, I love the suction feet. But the description is WRONG. If the bench height is important, this is not the bath bench for you.

My tub has a slightly rounded floor, so the suction-cups wouldn't lay flat on, or stick to the bottom of the tub. One of my legs was amputated a few years back, so I need to get on the bench sideways in order to remove my prosthetic, and then swing my legs over the side of the tub to get in.

Between the non-suction suction-cups, my above-average height (and therefore the adjustable height of the bench's legs) and the narrow ski-jump-shaped rounded seat, the bench threatened to tip over when I got in. I almost fell on a number of occasions in the tub during my bath, especially one time in particular when I dropped my bar of soap. For safety's sake, I had to hop to the other side of the tub (on my one leg) and sit on the adjacent toilet in order to safely get out.

Measure your tub before ordering this bench, and make sure the floor of the tub doesn't curve AT ALL near the legs. Otherwise don't buy it unless you have NO TROUBLE getting in and out of the tub. In that case, however, you probably don't even need a bath-bench to begin with.

I like to consider myself an educated consumer. There were enough comments in the reviews I read on this bench that I should have gotten a hint that there was an issue with the overall height...duh...imagine my surprise when I tried to extend the legs on this bench...first of all--you need the jaws of life to get the buttons pushed in so that you can adjust the legs...and when you do they just arent that much longer than they were to start with...seat is much smaller than my old one (max weight on that one was 300lbs). On the positive side==this bench is very stable and very well reinforced but if getting on and off is an issue please pay attention to the height issue.

So far, this is the best bath chair/bench I've had. Yes, this is well made with the cross bar reinforcement for safety. The craftmanship looks pretty good. It states max. weight load is 550 lbs. I'm feeling good about this, because I'm around 250 with back and hip issues. It came fully assembled in the box via UPS with free shipping. Very happy with that too. I'm an apartment dweller and have a regular standard sized bath tub/shower. The bath bench just barely fits across in the normal position, but it does fit. I'm talking seat and leg position. I would like to see the width of legs an inch or so shorter, so there is more room in the bath tub for the legs to sit totally flush. However, as another person said, you can turn it long ways and it will work. The seat is a wonderful sturdy plastic, but it slightly curves up on both ends. I would rather the seat be completely flat, so if I have to use it long ways, I won't be dealing with that curve around my derriere. At this point, I haven't been able to figure out how to adjust the height of the legs. Honestly, it looks like the legs cannot be adjusted for height. There are no height adjustment instructions in the manual that came with the bench. I'd like to have it an inch or two higher, but I can live with it as is. I hope to contact the manufacturer for instructions on how to adjust the height. Finally, I would be much happier if it had been made in the U.S.A. Sad to say, it's made in China.

Finally, a bath bench with braced legs, so they can't distort out
of shape. Great item for the price. I just wish it could be raised
slighty higher.

I fould this bench to be a well built and a great value for the price. It arrived assembled. It has sturdy legs with rubber feet for grip. It fits my needs perfectly.

The bath bench arrived in less than a week after the order was placed. It
came put together and sturdy, leaving only the legs to be adjusted. This bench
seems to be sturdy enough for a person of any size. I know as the years go by
I will being using it more for bathing challenges. I highly recommend it.

The day I've been dreading for a while finally came and my Psoriatic Arthritis got so bad, I couldn't stand in the shower anymore. After searching all over for a decent bench at a good price, I finally decided on this one. Boy, am I glad I did.

This is by far the best quality bench for under $50 out there. Most of the other ones I found were either twice the price, or had no support bars underneath. For me, those bars were a must. Since I have little to no money to spare, I gave this bench a shot.

Like some people have said, it's a bit wide for a standard tub, and the suction cups won't stick if your tub bottom is textured. Luckily, my tub is just wide enough for the bench to fit in correctly, though it does want to slide if I lean too far forward because of the aforementioned textured tub bottom.

I've had no real problems and it's holding up magnificently. In fact, my sister-in-law has taken to using it occasionally.

So, if you want a good quality bench without spending big bucks, give this one a try. It's definitely worth it.

I purchased a similar bath bench -- almost identical. That previous purchase did not last more than 2 weeks from normal use. The design flaws of the previous bench prompted me to buy this model. What was needed is the crossbars on the legs to give the bench added support to the leg structure. This bench is very stable and a better design that will last longer.