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By , Freelance writer
Nov 11, 2024
When people start to be unsteady on their feet, it can be a big hurdle to go from walking independently to having to use a cane or a walker.
Experts offer tips for picking a mobility aid
There are two main challenges. First, of course, is the stigma; after a lifetime of walking on your own two feet, it’s admittedly difficult to accept that you might need assistance with mobility for the rest of the time you spend ambulating the planet. Next are the logistics. Cane or walker? If you go cane, what kind? If you go walker, how big?
Thankfully, there are several places in the Bay Area that have ample experience helping older adults navigate these difficult decisions. Two of the more popular destinations are Cable Car Clothiers in San Francisco and Bay Area Medical Supply in Alameda.
Cable Car Clothiers is by far the elder statesman.
This haberdashery has outfitted men and women alike since the 1939. Somehow the place is still able to tap into the current zeitgeist for style.
Jonathan Levin is the current owner; his grandfather started the business way back when. Over the years the shop has bounced around different storefronts on and around Union Square. Today, its Sutter Street location is just down the street from the original spot.
Walking into Cable Car Clothiers is like walking into a British department store — the shop is packed with all sorts of shirts, sweaters, hats and more. Nearly everything is imported from overseas. The cane section is small but varied and plentiful; Levin estimates the shop has a “few dozen” different selections at any given time. He adds the goal of the collection is to offer something for everyone.
“We are a specialty shop,” he said. “As such, we need to offer all of the latest and greatest.”
At Cable Car, canes are called “walking sticks,” which is what they’re called in England. The shop carries several different styles: collapsible, straight handle, curved handle (these are called Derby style) and more.
Most of the sticks have a rubber tip on the bottom. Technically speaking, at least in English parlance, this is called a ferrule.
Walking sticks at Cable Car run from $98 to a few hundred dollars. One cane, made with an ox horn, retails for $800. That’s the fanciest specimen in the entire store. Others made of Congo wood and ash also are pretty spendy. Still others are made of cherry, birch, hazel, chestnut and blackthorn.
As Levin explained, all these items are “specialty” items, meaning customers only come in to buy a stick once.
“If someone has one, it’s not likely that they’ll need to replace it that much,” he said. “Many people get a walking stick and hold on to it until they die, sometimes even passing it on to the next generation. I like to think of them as lifetime pieces. Each one has a story.”