Help me buy an all-terrain rollator to improve my mobility

Hi, for those who don't know me, I'm Zoe, singing teacher, opera singer, and disabled through chronic pain and chronic fatigue since April 2024. I'm building up a few mobility aids, as I need different things for different days and different circumstances. What's missing for me now is a decent all-terrain rollator, to enable me to maintain my mobility whilst making sure I'm walking safely (I tend to fall over without support, which isn't great). I've got my eye on the byAcre Overland Carbon off-road rollator, which will enable me to go to the part, to the beach, and even walk over less well-maintained London pavements more easily.

Don't you have a mobility scooter?

Yes, I do. And that's great for local trips such as shopping, hospital appointments, and seeing friends. I was using it to get to work, but I've had a few truly horrendous experiences lately, including being trapped in a station when the lifts went out of service, and nearly ending up under a train when I had to reverse off at an inappropriate place. My aim is to increase my mobility if I can, and reduce the train journeys where I can't increase my options if things go wrong!

Plus, I don't want to reach the stage where I'm so travel-shy that I cancel work or social engagements, both of which would be devastating for my mental and physical health.

Doesn't walking cause you pain?

Yes, it does. But pain is a constant for me and I try to tune it out as much as I can because a) too many painkillers are a bad thing, and b) they don't take all the pain away anyway. The best thing I can do is try to retain and even increase my mobility with something that will allow me to sit down when I need to.

Can't you afford to buy it yourself?

If I saved a little out of my PIP, very limited earnings, and LCWRA over the next year, then possibly. But as you may have picked up over the past few weeks, living disabled is very expensive, costing up to £1000 more per month just to have an acceptable quality of life - not luxuries, not extras, just equal. For example, there are things the NHS can't or don't cover - such as anything but the most basic of mobility aids. In addition, waiting lists for things like physio are horrendously long, and podiatry doesn't extend to my conditions (even though taking my trotters for someone else to deal with once a month is essential and makes walking significantly less painful). Various supplements and alternative therapies are helpful, and add up to another few hundred a month.

But I digress: the long answer is yes, over a very long time. The short answer is no, I want it now, while the weather is good and I can increase my walking distance. Something that will be harder to do once the autumn sets in.

Surely a rollator doesn't cost £1000? I've seen them for £100 on Amazon/in Argos/on Facebook marketplace

That's true. I've had two okay rollators from Amazon, one costing £179 and the other just under £100. Why aren't they good enough? Well, the brakes are pretty poor on both of them (always fun to roll around when you're sitting down). They're also both really quite heavy, and in an ideal world I want to be able to carry one up and down a few steps if needed. They're also both not really built to last more than a few months (I trashed the first one in six, which all things considered, was probably two months more than I expected), or are fit for daily use. The byAcre model is a combination of light and sturdy.

Besides, I need to futureproof myself. It probably hasn't escaped your notice that the government are currently attempting to force a lot of disabled people into work by...taking away the non-means tested benefit that enables them to afford to work.

Do you have a breakdown of costs?

Yes, I'm happy to be extremely transparent about exactly what I'm buying, and all these prices are taken from mobilitysmart.co.uk, and you are welcome to check them yourself.

The rollator itself costs between £550 and £600. It's frequently on offer, and I also qualify for the VAT exemption. The extras hike the price up, and they are:

Pump £22

Cane holder £34

Backrest £52

Those are the essentials on top. The nice-to-haves are:

Touch up pen for scratches £22

Weekend bag £56

Mesh bag £36

Day pack £59

Grocery bag £46

Yes, it's possible to pick up cheaper bags and add-ons elsewhere, but it's better for the longevity of the mobility aid if they're designed to fit it properly.

Please help if you can!