Aucuro Walking Stick

Many people delay getting a walking stick due to the stigma and utilitarian designs that meet medical device standards, which can often lead to falls. The Aucuro Walking Stick design challenge was to create a mobility aid that addresses the functional needs of individuals with a mobility impairment, while also providing an elegant solution that enhances their personal style and confidence. The design aimed to surpass conventional walking sticks in terms of quality, comfort and style, while also meeting Australian Standards.

The solution was to create a minimalist stylish form. The design seamlessly transitions from the tapered top shaft down to the thinner bottom shaft, removing the need for visible adjustment holes and bulky clamping knobs seen on traditional adjustable height sticks. It's carefully crafted, hand finished American walnut handle, is ergonomically contoured for comfort ensuring a firm grip. The cold drawn bottom shaft is individually shimmed for a precise tailored fit into the top shaft, eliminating bulky clamping mechanisms. It has eight points of adjustment using a medical-grade pin lock system, without visible adjustment holes.

Many people delay purchasing a walking stick due to the stigma and utilitarian designs that meet medical device standards, often leading to falls resulting in injury or greater disability. Early adoption of a walking stick is a preventative healthcare measure eliminating or delaying the need for greater mobility assistance, reducing the load on the healthcare system. Walking sticks are one of the few products that have reduced in quality and style over the last 200 years. Aucuro is looking to bring the quality and style back by combining traditional craftmanship with the latest manufacturing technology and materials.

Due to the shortage of stylish walking sticks people have started using trekking poles. These poles are not recommended by Occupational Therapists and Healthcare professionals as they don't meet Australian Standards for Medical grade walking sticks. They commonly have twist lock height adjustment systems that can collapse if they become loose. This is fine for fit people trekking, but for someone who relies on it as a safety aid, the consequences of failure can cause injury. Carbon fibre is a common performance material used in trekking poles however it can form invisible stress fractures after taking a hard knock and can fail without warning. So Aucuro deliberately chose the ductility and strength of 7075 Aluminium for it's robustness and reliability for an item that is expected to take many hard knocks in it's lifetime.