Car Cane: Does it Work? My Review
Car Cane
This product has been advertised throughout most of 2015. It is a handle which is placed in a car door latch to provide a temporary handle, providing assistance while getting in and out of a vehicle.
Car Cane Cost
You can get Car Cane from the official website for $19.95 + $6.95 shipping, which amounts to $26.90. I’ve seen it at other retailers such as Carol Wright Gifts for $15, and a Deluxe Model for $20 – although I have not seen much about what this deluxe model offers, other than an additional light.
Car Cane Review
The product description notes that the cane “has a metal head that latches perfectly onto any car’s door frame.” The website also states that it can hold up to 350 pounds.
Car Cane is a tough call for me because I do see the benefit that they are attempting to provide. I have elderly family members who I have helped in and out of cars, and I’ve seen their hands scramble to grab onto something during the process. Thus Car Cane does offer a solution in the form of a handle that aids in this process.
That said, even if the Car Cane is designed to hold 350 pounds, the latch and screws probably are not. Long-term horizontal torque on this area of the car cannot be something designers had in mind when building vehicles.
The demonstration of the man standing on the Car Cane doesn’t do much to alleviate my worries, either. He looks to be about 150 pounds, with half of his weight on the arm rest of the door, so we’re not really seeing 350 pounds of pressure on the Car Cane. And just because a one-time demonstration proved successful doesn’t mean that the latch won’t weaken and break over time.
Finally, despite Car Cane’s claims of durability, there is a variable in place over which the manufacturers have no control: the car. Every car is made differently, and there is no telling if the latch on one car will hold the Car Cane better than others. At least one commenter has said that Car Cane didn’t fit a 2014 Cadillac CTS, which demonstrates the wide variety of latches that are out there.
Conclusion
Car Cane is a great idea, but I worry that repeated torque on the latch will produce long term problems that could lead to a door that won’t close.