Glides and Tennis Balls for Walkers / Walker Skis

What Do Tennis Balls and Walker Glides Do?

People use walker ski glides and tennis ball walker glides because both provide more stability for users and help to improve traction for users. Regular rubber tips are considered by some who engage in heavy walking activity to be not as slip-resistant as needed, and both tennis balls and plastic walker glides are more durable compared than standard rubber walker tips. Both plastic skis for walkers and tennis balls can improve mobility. Depending on the user’s preferences, either one may be used.

Benefits of Using Tennis Balls as Walker Glides

There are many benefits that a person can achieve by installing pre-cut tennis balls on a walker. Users can walk more smoothly and experience improved stability. It is also true that even pre-cut tennis balls for walkers add durability to a user’s walker experience. More benefits gleaned from putting tennis balls or slides on a walker include the following. 

Affordability

With walker glides, users don’t have to replace them quite as often and they are affordable in terms of lasting longer for the price paid. Tennis balls don’t cost very much, and replacing them isn’t too expensive either. Pre-cut tennis balls do sometimes cost a little more, and there are some which have plastic or rubber “inserts” that the user can simply slide onto the walker leg. These may cost more as well, since they are already cut for ease of installation. Most people don’t like cutting tennis balls for their walker, and, in fact, cutting and installing raw tennis balls on a walker can be a dangerous endeavor for the inexperienced. Tennis balls have to be cut a certain way, and the best way to cut tennis balls for a walker can be difficult particularly for the elderly and those of compromised coordination and strength. There is really no best way to cut tennis balls for a walker, so if you value safety over a few dollars, pre-cut tennis balls or glides are the preferable option for you. 

Less Noisy

Some harder plastic glides are loud, and can squeak when used on floors. Contrast this with the felt on pre-cut tennis balls for walkers can glide quietly and easily along surfaces. The soft fabric is cushioned and it doesn’t squeak on the floor. Along with this, it can help users by allowing them to lift only two of the legs (just like wheels) so the walker can slide on the floor and enable the walker to move much more quietly.

Easy Installation and Replacement

Tennis ball glides can install quickly and easily on the walker’s legs. The ones that have the holes pre-cut for walkers are often universal and can be simply pressed onto the walker legs. The best tennis balls for walkers are already pre-cut as mentioned earlier. The manufacturers know that most people don’t like having to make their own cuts, but it may still be deemed more beneficial for a person to use tennis balls on the bottom of a walker than having nothing at all.

Increased Shock Absorption

Having tennis ball covers for the bottom of the walker legs allows for more shock absorption than that of regular plastic caps. This may be beneficial in providing comfort for the user along with their stability.

How Plastic Glides Help

Plastic glides for walkers are very similar to tennis balls in terms of the functionality they provide. Typically, tennis balls are widely used on standard walkers, while a lot of people use rolling walker skis on their walkers with wheels. Walker feet with tennis balls on them are extremely popular, but some medical professionals state that over smoother surfaces, rolling walker glides are safer. Tennis balls are also suspected to attract more bacteria, and some people think they’re an eyesore. This is just an opinion, of course, but that’s why the popularity of walker leg glides is increasing.

Ski feet for a walker can improve stability and mobility the same way tennis balls can, and they’re made specifically for walkers. Just like walker balls, glides are much safer than the plastic caps that come standard on walkers. There are numerous benefits associated with using a 2-wheeled walker with skis – some which are similar to those of tennis ball walker caps. Yet some unique differences exist as well. Unique benefits that set a walker with ski glides apart from those with tennis ball covers for walkers are:

Antimicrobial

Plastic has great antimicrobial capabilities; it can be cleaned easily! The fact that it is easy to clean means that germs will likely be eliminated more thoroughly and more frequently. 

Easy to Install

Walker glide caps are very easy to install. The best way to put tennis balls on a walker is to slip the ball over the bottom of the walker leg. If moisture collects, this can lead to corrosion and even rust (in steel-framed walkers). In order to put plastic skis onto a walker, users simply insert them into the walker leg. All a user has to do is simply press them into the ends of their walker legs to install them, and, voila; you have a standard or two wheeled walker with skis!

Is Either One Better? Glide Tips

Deciding to buy tennis balls for a walker or plastic ski glides is completely a user preference. There are benefits associated with both, and users sometimes enjoy the feeling of having the extra shock absorption that walker balls provide. Here are some tips to help if using walker balls.

• Always buy pre-cut walker balls designed for walkers.
• Purchase special glide caps that attach to the end of the walker legs to help increase the longevity of a walker ball.
• If walker balls are not the desired style, one can get the same benefits by having feet made of the same felt material.

Browse our selection of both tennis balls for walkers and walker skis for sale! If you have any questions, you can always give our dedicated customer care team a call at 1-877-813-7799 during our business hours. We’d love to connect with you!