Customer Reviews

Southwest Technologies Elasto-Gel Crutch-Mate I - "Standard" Underarm Gel Crutch Pad - Waterproof Cover - One Pair

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm in my 5th week of walking with the Crutch Mate Underarm Gel Pads and I have one more week to go. I must say they have been a life saver for me. The support and comfort has been awesome and I don't think I would have made it this far without them.

Thanks,

As an amputee, I have spent years on crutches.These pads are the most comfortable that I have ever used.However, after 2 weeks of use, one
pad split longitudinally, so that the 2 sides of the pad drooped and no longer protected my under arm. If the manufacturer would correct this defect, I would have no reservations about buying the pads again.

Instructions recommend removal of rubber cushion before installing the Elasto-Gel cushion. Elasto-Gel is rather thin and slippery. I give it one star because the slippery character makes using crutches somewhat dangerous. After this disappointment, I ordered Crutch Remedy cushions which didn't slip and provided great cushioning of armpit and hand grips (make sure you have aluminum crutches with wing nuts at the hand grips).

The gel crutch pads are very worthwhile. I have been using them for about 2 months and they are a lot nicer than the traditional foam pads at the top of the crutch. They are 'slippery' and you do need to be careful that you don't slip off the crutch when you gain some speed & momemtum. The HUGE printed advertisements on the crutch pads are really tacky and a bad idea on the part of the manufacturer. The hand pieces really don't work well and not worth buying. You are better off getting a pair of gloves for the longer stretches that you have to travel.

Update Dec 2010. Used Crutch pads for 6 months. They were a life saver. Still think that the hand pieces are not worth buying.

These gel pads certainly are more comfortable than the ones that usually come with the crutches. Installing was super easy with the velcro. My main objection is that they are black with large white lettering with company product name and company......very ugly. It might be more acceptable if it was only on one side of each pad. Because of the advertising, I will not purchase them again. Shame, since they are comfortable, but using crutches is bad enough without becoming a walking billboard.

I was so excited to receive these after suffering through two weeks of underarm-torture with regular crutch pads. I thought after reading the reviews that these might be a miracle invention. Not so much. The instructions state to remove the regular crutch pads and to attach these in place. But, this leaves the crutch with a very thin gel pad -- not much there to cushion. I prefer these over the regular crutch pad still in place underneath, but that leaves the entire crutch very top heavy. Because my crutch use is nearly done, I didn't bother to try any other versions, but I suspect more cushion-y versions would be better, perhaps the lambswool or extra foam.

I had to use crutches for six weeks following foot surgery. This product is WONDERFUL. Extended crutch use will ultimately cause chaffing and an excema-like patch of dry skin on the side of your rib cage. With this product, the crutches were no longer uncomfortable and the dry skin was gone within two days. My only caution is that the fabric is very smooth and if you're crutching too fast, it can slip out from underneath your arm. More an operator malfunction than a product deficiency. It took five days for this product to arrive even though I asked for 2-day shipping.

these are fantastic. I was on crutches for 6 months and these were a life saver

The gel filled crutch covers are good. It does give you more padding when you are using the crutches. I left my original crutch covers on and just put the new padded covers over them. The 2 covers give you more support under the arms. I agree with other customers about the advertisement writing and logo on them. It makes the product look tacky. Otherwise, I am glad that I bought this product. It makes using the crutches more comfortable.

The instructions on the Crutch-Mate(tm) arm pads state, "May remove old arm cover from crutch." i installed the Crutch-Mates on top of new, standard crutch-under-arm cushions. The Crutch-Mates fit perfectly. Not too snug which would require contortions to slip over standard issue. And not too loose which would yield a sloppy ill-perfoming fit. As Goldilocks said, the Crutch-Mate pads were *just right!". In my experience, the Crutch-Mate is a well-designed, sturdily-made, & aesthetically-pleasing product which provides the high-level of comfort that i had hoped-for. The Crutch-Mate is well worth the price and exceeded my expectations.