My dear, aged mother is notoriously difficult to shop for. It’s bad enough that I live thousands of miles away: when her birthday or Christmas rolls around, requests for lists are ignored with a sweet, martyrish shrug: “But I’ve already been blessed with a son like you!” Subtext: if you can’t find something heartfelt for your dear, aged mother of your own accord, you’re an asshole. And needless to say, every year, I am proven one, to a greater or lesser extent.
So this year I was delighted that she actually approached me with a wish list a month or so before her birthday rolled around. And nuzzled in the middle of the list, something both practical and strangely wonderful: the dear, aged woman — who hobbles about her garden on a cane with a stroke a year or two back, full of pluck and vim — wanted one of these wonderful ice prong cane tips for the glacial New England winter. They come in two varieties: either with a single, penetrating tip, ideal for staking any ice vampires that might stumble across her path, or a more gripping five prong system. Better yet, they just pop on and off, to prevent linoleum gouging.
Very neat. I love the fact that that creative ingenuity even extends to cane accessories for inclement weather.
Five-Prong Cane Ice Tip [House of Canes, via Mommy]
That’s pretty cool, just gotta remember to put it down before venturing outside. Slipping and getting a face full of the “up” position would suck.
If she finally decided to give you a list, last year’s present must have been terrible!
Ah, those things are handy.
You should get her a pair of YakTrax to go with it. They’re kinda like studded snow-tires for shoes. They’re great and grippy and don’t need any change to your typical gait.
Having taken an airplane ride recently to the north-east, these things would never pass TSA security.
Or maybe they would if a 73 year old white balding man had on. I’ll have to get one and try when I visit family in Maine next.
And it’s perfect for gouging the shins of kids who run through her yard, ignoring her pleas to “Watch out for the Geraniums!”
This are in no way new though. I’m from Alaska, and I remember as a child, my grandmothers cane having this same apparatus
(*cough*)
John, I’m not precisely antiquated, and I’ve been using one of those winter cane tips for years now. They’re great. On mucky days, you snap the tip down and dig in. On dry days, it folds up out of the way. It’s also good for preventing slips during the spring thaw.
I’ve traveled with an extra cane-tip in my checked baggage, just in case some TSA employee decided to confiscate the one on my cane; but so far they haven’t said a word about it. Possibly that’s because they’d either have to hunt down a screwdriver to remove the thing, or they’d have to take away my cane as well. The first would be troublesome. The second would be seriously bad PR.
what? ya didn’t see that article about the UK cops confiscating some 70 year old’s cane as a “weapon”?
I agree with the alaskan guy, but it looks like this is no news only for us northern fellas. Being from Norway i’ve had the (dis)pleasure to see thiese all over the place. Actually they use thiese on crutches too. I know because a guy with a broken leg fu****g stabbed me once with the pointy one (yeah, i got stabbed buy a guy with a broken leg)