When testing for use with disabilities, Kyle used the RMS Rotating Jaw and FiPlus PowerGrip T9 to pick up an iPhone 14 Pro Max, travel bag, wallet, credit card, pen, Fiji water bottle, pair of reading glasses, set of keys, and a paperback book.

Picking up books of varying sizes to see if the grabber’s reacher claw had a weight limitįinally, Sarah reviewed the user experience of each grabber reacher tool: what the handle felt like, how natural it felt to hold, how adjustable it was, and how using it differed between my dominant and non-dominant hand.

Moving sandbags from place to place with both my dominant and non-dominant hand.

Pinching a squishy stress ball without rupturing it.

Picking up vitamin pills from the floor.

Next, Sarah used the top four best-performing reacher grabbers-the Vive rotating reacher, the Vive suction cup reacher, the Gopher, and the Birdrock-to perform more objective tests to determine their versatility and claw strength:

Picking up a croquet ball, a stuffed animal, and a Lego brick off the floor.

Snagging a half-full glass of water and a remote control from a table in front of me.

Pulling a notebook and a phone charger from an unzipped backpack.

Collecting a book, a can of vegetables, and a stuffed animal from a high shelf.

Our testing of reacher grabbers consisted of three rounds: two objective rounds, in which Sarah tested the tools’ capability at performing various tasks, and one subjective round, in which Sarah evaluated how easy it was to use.įor the first objective round, Sarah used each reaching assist tool in a series of tests designed to mimic common tasks: He’s had a mixed relationship with reacher grabbers in the past, which made him an especially discerning judge of their pros and cons. He’s a contributing writer for our accessibility vertical that specializes in assistive aids for use with cerebral palsy. Kyle Ankney tested the RMS Rotating Jaw and FiPlus PowerGrip T9 grabber tool. She’d previously written about accessibility items, such as products that make the bathroom more user-friendly for folks aging in place, so she was excited to try out reacher grabbers, which many people use to make hard-to-reach household items easier to grasp. Sara Hendricks was an Emerging Categories writer here at Reviewed, which means she covered all sorts of products, from compression socks to period underwear. Testing involved grabbing items off of hard-to-reach places. We tested 11 popular reacher tools-including the well-advertised Birdrock, Grab-It, and Gopher-and landed on the Vive Rotating Reacher GrabberĪs the best overall option for snagging items around the house For those with mobility constraints or conditions like cerebral palsy, the extra reach can be a lifelineīut there are many grabber tools on the market with different features, like suction-tipped claws and even LED lights, making it difficult to know how to select the right one for your needs. These tools are great for scooping up dropped items without having to bend down or collecting small objects from a high-up shelf without climbing on a step stool.

Fortunately, there is something called a “reacher grabber” tool-that is, a long metal or plastic instrument with a claw and/or suction cups on one end and a trigger on the other-that serves as an extension for the arm, hand, and fingers.

We've all been there, but this experience is one most keenly felt in the disabled and aging communities. It's just out of reach: the TV remote, a dropped vitamin, or a book.

Written by Sara Hendricks and Kyle Ankney

Hand held grabber