Reacher / Grabbers

I was given one of these reachers after a surgery I had over 15 years ago. We have since accumulated 3 of them and 2 of the 3 are still going strong (my oldest one just broke). It can pick up very small items or "large" items like a full can of soda / canned goods. The mouth opens to about 4" so a can is about the largest thing that will fit. However, this thing is built like a tank and can pick up just about anything your wrist can handle. I've picked up a gallon of milk with it and other heavy items. The magnet is very useful for picking up paper clips and the like. With a little practice, you can even pick up a grain of rice with it! One thing this thing has real trouble with is picking up paper. The jaw is made of hard plastic and has a hard time picking up anything that is flat on the floor. I recommend the reachers with the suction cups (not the folding kind) for things like paper.

This reacher was recommended to my husband by his PT after his L5-S1 fusion surgery. It's quite the handy little device. He uses it to grab produce out of the bottom crisper in the fridge, pick up dropped pens or paper, and to close the door of our car without twisting his back. The curved grabber part has a grooved tip and it meets a flat edge with ridged rubber on it, giving it a fairly good grip on even rather slippery items. The small magnetic tip at the end will pick up very small metal items (think bottle caps) but fails at anything bigger. The other side has a little metal post, about 3/4" long, that serves as a fixed hook. It looks pretty small but hangs onto more than you'd think. Oh, and the pistol-grip handle has a hole in the butt--string a large cable tie through it to serve as a loop to help pick it up when it's dropped. The 32" length is good for a man of average height (5'10" to 6')... for a short man or an average woman, the 26" version would probably be a better length. It's been an indispensable device during his recovery, well worth the price.