buying cheaper lift slings

[joe77777]

I use a Guldmann ceiling lift to be lifted from bed to toilet to wheelchair and once a week to a shower chair. For about 15 years I have been using the Guldmann basic-basic large polyester sling for daily use and the Guldmann mesh sling for showering. Both slings are showing signs of wear and need to be replaced. I see that Guldmann and Liko slings cost on the order of $300 at most websites. I see that there are similar slings available by other manufacturers which are much cheaper. Does anyone have any experience purchasing and using these cheaper brands? Is it worth the extra money to buy Guldmann or Liko?
All advice will be appreciated.
Regards,
Joe

 

[lgelb]

Joe,
I think most of us have used the cheaper brands. Yours might have better quality material or padding in a way that matters to you. Hard to tell w/o looking. Order and see at a site w/ return privileges? I think Jim/Darcy use Liko now, used to use something else so hopefully Jim will chime in. Same for Diane.

 

[JimInVA]

We first used a mesh type toileting sling (the one with the hole in the bottom). It required some work to get Darcey properly situated in the sling... and required that she have her bottom bared if we were using it for toileting. We quickly replaced that with a Liko High Back Hygiene Sling. I remember how difficult deciding to purchase this sling was... for it was a special order and ran about $600. But we did order it and I've never looked back. It takes me only a minute (or two, if I'm talking) to sling her up... either from bed or PWC. And because it is a "split-leg" design, her entire back side is accessible. Because she wears normal stretchy pants (like sweat pants or yoga pants), it is very easy to pull them down from the waist (in back) and clear out of the way for easy toileting. We have been full time requiring a sling for over a year now... and this is the absolutely BEST piece of equipment that we use. It is well built, heavy duty and should last us for the entirety of this ride. There are probably other split leg slings that would be acceptable for a lesser cost. But if something were to happen to our Liko sling, I'd replace it with an identical sling (even paying that price again) because we've found it so much of a pleasure to use. Ask Darcey, and she'll agree with all that I've said. She will, however, add one more comment - "I've never felt more secure when hanging in the air than in the Liko sling. And for me, that's BIG!"

Here is a link to a post I made some time ago - https://www.alsforums.com/forum/tips-tricks-gadgets/25805-sling-like-no-other.html

Feel free to ask any other questions. Good luck in finding that which works as well for you as ours does for us.

Jim & Darcey

 

[Annie's Phil]

We used the Invacare high-back divided leg slings and thought they worked quite well for toileting as well as general transfers. That's what I'd buy if I ever had to use slings in the future. We had more than one so we were always assured of having a clean one on hand.

 

[joe77777]

Thanks for the replies. Jim's extensive discussion gave me a lot think about. My previous slings, both guldmann, cost about $300 each which I considered expensive at the time. But they have lasted me for over 15 years of lifting several times a day and only now are starting to show signs of wear. this comes to about $.10 a day for slings that were perfectly matched to my needs and, perhaps more importantly, well-made and secure.
Most of the things I'm buying these days are not made nearly as well as they were 15 years ago and I don't expect even quality slings like Liko or Guldmann to last so long. Nonetheless, I've decided it's not worth it for me to go cheap on an item like this. So I've decided to bite the bullet and buy the Liko or Guldmann sling that best fits what I need. (I am completely satisfied with Guldmann. The only reason I am now looking at Liko is that they have a sling with legs padded with artificial sheepskin and I believe this would avoid a small bit of scraping which now occurs when assistants are pulling the leg straps under me before lifting me out of my wheelchair.)
Again, thanks for the advice.
Joe

 

[JimInVA]

Darcey reminded me that we had an inexpensive "split leg" sling, also, before getting the Liko sling. She reminded me as to how uncomfortable and scary it was. If her arms were outside of the mid-section straps, her weight was being held by the pits of her arms... a terrible discomfort/pain. If inside, her arms were trapped and she felt as if she was about to slide through. The sad part was that it was the sling type recommended to us by the clinic at Johns Hopkins. We ultimately decided that they had obviously not actually used one. Anyway... Darcey wanted me to encourage you to take care and find what works for you... and not to settle for anything that is uncomfortable or creates anxiety. You have plenty of living left to do and should not have a sling that impedes you. Again, our best...

Jim & Darcey

 

[lgelb]

Jim,
For the record, not all split leg slings require dangling arms. With ours, Larry always had his hands inside and was certainly never hanging by his pits! His shoulders were both subluxated. Maybe yours was the wrong size or a weird design, but I just want to speak up for that style since it is commonly used and fairly economical. We used the Joerns/Hoyer brand, poly mesh, with back support.

 

[JimInVA]

Perhaps we were using it incorrectly... but try as we might, we were never able to get comfortable with it. Additionally, we were not able to bare the backside without adaptive clothing or getting undressed before slinging. Frankly, were there a "slinging olympics", we'd be the first in line to participate with our current setup.