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Best Walkers for Seniors
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There’s no one-size-fits-all walker for seniors. Each design caters to different levels of mobility, balance, and hand strength. Our final list of the five best walkers for seniors with balance problems includes a little something for everyone, but our favorite is the Drive Medical 4-Wheeled Rollator Walker.
It has four sturdy wheels, hand brakes, adjustable handles, a seat and storage compartment, a foldable design, and a fair price. You can’t ask for much more than that when you’re looking for the best walkers for balance problems.
Best walkers for seniors
- : Best overall
- : Best for outdoors
- : Best for budgets
- : Best upright walker
- : Best for travel
1. Drive Medical 4-Wheeled Rollator Walker: Best overall
*Amazon.com price as of post date. Read full disclaimer.
The Drive Medical 4-Wheeled Rollator Walker has every feature you could want in the best walkers for seniors. Its four-wheel design keeps the walker moving at a steady pace, which is perfect for people who don’t have the strength or balance to move a traditional walker with no wheels. It has hand brakes for extra control on inclines, a seat for resting, and a storage area to keep your hands free. These are all reasons we name this one of the best rollators for seniors.
If you plan to use your walker over gravel, pebbles, dirt, or sand, the wheels on this Drive Medical walker may not last very long. The 7.5-inch wheels also don’t swivel 360 degrees like some of the other walkers on our list, so they’re not ideal for making quick changes in direction.
And while the walker supports up to 300 lbs, the seat is pretty narrow at 16.5 inches. Larger folks might not be able to sit comfortably.
2. Helavo Foldable All-Terrain Walker: Best for outside
If you’re an adventurer and love to walk outside, you need a walker with wheels that can handle the terrain. The Helavo Foldable All-Terrain Walker’s pneumatic wheels have plenty of tread for traction and won’t wear down as fast as the smooth tires on indoor-only walkers. Plus, the wheels swivel 360 degrees and feature a step-up aid so you can navigate any trail.
We also like the wide back support on this Helavo walker, but the seat sinks down with your weight, which may feel less stable than expected.
Unless you have wide hallways and plenty of space to maneuver around furniture, this Helavo walker isn’t suitable indoors.
3. Drive Medical Deluxe 2-Button Folding Walker: Best for budgets
*Amazon.com price as of post date. Read full disclaimer.
The Drive Medical Deluxe 2-Button Folding Walker has no frills to speak of, which keeps the price nice and low. It’s adjustable and has padded handles with no wheels. Our health expert Sally Russell says this design is best for people who need just a little help with balance and can lift the walker completely off the ground. For those reasons, we call it one of our best upright walkers for seniors on this list.
You can buy glide skis to make it easier for people to use this walker if they have poor strength, but at just six pounds, this walker is the lightest option on our list.
4. Elenker Upright Walker: Best upright walker
According to Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE, upright walkers are best for people who don’t have the strength to push down on a walker’s handles. Upright walkers allow users to lean on their forearms instead. We like the Elenker Upright Walker best for this purpose.
The Elenker Upright Walker features a seat with a wide backrest, sit-to-stand handles, hand brakes, and 10-inch front wheels that swivel 360 degrees. It folds down well enough to fit in most vehicle trunks, but it’s the clunkiest and heaviest walker on our list — which makes sense due to the higher arm supports.
The seat on the Elenker Upright Walker sinks down when you sit on it. Fortunately, the storage pouch isn’t right underneath the seat, which means everything stays within reach without the risk of squishing your lunch when you take a rest.
The Elenker walker also has a holder for your cane, which is helpful when you need to navigate somewhere too narrow for the walker.
5. Able Life Space Saver Walker: Best for travel
The Able Life Space Saver Walker weighs a mere eight pounds and folds into a tiny 5-by-7-inch column. While it lacks hand brakes, this walker shouldn’t run away with you thanks to its two-wheel design. It gets our vote for tossing it into the car “just in case.”
It’s also a good option to use around the house or other places where you probably wouldn’t miss having a built-in seat. Despite being so lightweight, the Able Life Space Saver Walker supports up to 400 pounds.
Final word
The Drive Medical 4-Wheel Rollator Walker is sturdy, comfortable, and suitable for most uses.
If you need something rugged for outdoor walks, we recommend getting the Helavo Foldable All Terrain Walker as a secondary walker. Use the Drive Medical 4-Wheel Rollator Walker indoors where its narrow design comes in handy, but break out the Helavo for varied terrain.
FAQ
According to Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE, “Armpit supports are not really ever a good idea, as people lean into them, cutting off the brachial plexus, making arms and hands go numb. The same thing happens with crutches, so we tell people to push up with their hands, not on their armpits.”
Sally recommends getting an upright walker with armrests instead.
When using the walker, a person’s elbows should be bent slightly. According to Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CNE, the risk of falling increases if people use walkers with their elbows fully extended.
Ask your loved one to stand straight with their elbows slightly bent. Measure from the floor to their hands, and ensure you find a walker that can be adjusted to that height.
Walkers are more stable than canes and put less pressure on one side of the body. If you have strong arms and good balance, a cane is fine.
How we reviewed the best walkers for seniors
To review the best walkers for seniors, we started by talking to SafeWise advisory board member and health expert Sally Rusell, MN, CMSRN, CNE. She helped us understand the important safety features to look for in walkers for seniors. From there, we browsed available walkers, compared their specs, and read user reviews. Read more about our process on the SafeWise methodology page.
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