Hands Free Shoes Make Dressing Easier

QUIKIKS: Hands-Free, Rear Entry, Slip-on Shoes, Men's Brown Leather Casual Lace-up (11.5-W)

For many people it is a daily struggle to put on their shoes due to all sorts of conditions. Whether it be vertigo, obesity, chronic back pain, severe arthritis, Cerebral Palsy or Parkinson’s—there’s a whole host of conditions that make it difficult for people to put their shoes on independently. So having hands free shoes not only allows these people to get into proper supportive footwear, but also increases their self-esteem. In addition, it unburdens the caregiver from having to do it for them.

How They Work

Quikiks Hand Free Shoes utilize a very simple, robust mechanism. There’s no electronics, no batteries, no Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi connections.

There’s a spring loaded hinge underneath the heel portion of the shoe which enables the rear portion to rotate backwards and create a huge entryway, making it very easy for people to slide their foot right into the shoe.

The entry becomes about 50% larger than a typical shoe, so you can slide your foot right in, and then as you step down, the motion of your foot going into the shoe, rotates the back of the shoe closed and it securely fastens with a magnet.

To get out, you simply do a little heel strike and the momentum of your foot swinging down breaks the magnetic hold. The shoes pop open and your foot slides right out. You never have to bend over or use your hands to get in, or to get out.

How Are Quikiks Different?

Due to the embedded Step-in-Go Technology™, Quikiks™ are the first fully-supportive, totally Hands-Free shoes on the market. . Unlike flip-flops, slippers or clog-like footwear, Quikiks™ securely fasten and will not inadvertently slip off the wearer’s feet, plus they provide exceptional heel and foot support.

The rear portion of Quikiks™ tilts back on a hinge allowing the you to easily slip your foot right in. A little downward pressure on the heel closes the shoe up behind your ankle and it locks in place with a magnet (see illustration below).

To remove, simply strike the rear part of the sole on any hard surface and the momentum of your foot pops them open allowing your foot to come right out (see illustrations below).

Each pair of Quikiks™ comes with a set of medium-strength securing magnets. Weaker and stronger magnets are also available upon request and are easily swapped out, so that the holding strength can be customized to YOUR abilities. A spring in the hinge keeps the shoes in the OPEN position so they are ready to receive your foot the next time you want to put them on.

There are NO batteries or electronics contained in Quikiks™. The Step-in-Go™ System is a simple, robust mechanism that we hope will improve the quality-of-life for its users for years to come.

Features and Benefits

Besides being the world’s first truly hands-free shoes, Quikiks with Step-in-Go™ Technology provide many additional features to help keep your feet happy…

Avoid Slip and Fall Accidents

Statistics relating to slip and fall accidents are quite staggering. Thirty percent of people over the age 65 have a slip and fall accident, which results in ninety-five percent of the hip fractures that occur. Fifty percent of older adults who have a hip fracture are unable to return home or live independently again.

It really can be the beginning of a downward spiral, which severely, negatively impacts the quality of their life and even their life expectancy.

There was a large study done by the University of Washington. It involved more than 1,300 subjects over a two-year period. They were trying to find out to what extent various types of footwear or even the lack of wearing footwear contributed to slip and fall accidents.

What they found was quite staggering:

Compared with wearing supportive athletic shoes, like sneakers, the increased risk of having a slip and fall accident for people wearing bedroom slippers, flip flops or going barefoot is up to a thousand percent.

User Experiences

There have been some tremendous testimonials. A man in California bought a pair for his dad who used to get headaches bending over to put his shoes on. Now with the Quikiks, since he doesn’t have to bend over anymore, there are no more headaches.

Another gentleman in Florida who is living with Multiple Sclerosis bought a pair. He said that Quikiks enabled him to put his shoes on independently for the first time in 20 years.

A gentleman in the New York City area has had seven spine surgeries and wears a foot drop brace. He couldn’t put his own shoes on at all until he got a pair of Quikiks.

Sizes and Styles

Quikiks Hand Free Shoes come in a variety of styles for men and women, some with Velcro straps. There is a casual dress shoe for men and a Mary Jane for women.

For women, they range in half sizes from size 6 through size 11, and come in two widths—medium and wide. For the men, they go in half sizes from 7 to 14 in three widths—medium, wide, and extra-wide.

They come with shoelaces or Velcro straps that are meant to be initially adjusted to the wearer’s liking and from then on, they get in and out using the hands-free system.

Are They Covered by Insurance?

Quikiks are not currently but company owner Steve Kaufman is looking into that for the future. For veterans, the VA actually has discretionary funds available, so the VA healthcare practitioners can purchase them outright and give them free of charge to the Vet in need.

Also in the New York City area, with a documented disability, you can apply through United Cerebral Palsy.

If your situation is appropriate, UCP will pay for the shoes. At this point, it is only limited to the boroughs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx in New York City.