Aircast FP (Foam Pneumatic) Walker Brace/Walking Boot

I was recommended to buy this cast by my family physician after incurring an injury to the achilles tendon on my right foot. I have a large partial tear about 2 inches from the bottom of my heel, at the calcaneal insertion. It is extremely painful. Right now I am in a half cast and need to use crutches (UGH). However once I am out of this I will then need to wear this Aircast FP Walking Brace for 3-6 months. So I purchased the brace ahead of time so I would have it. I found this Aircast FP walking brace size medium on other websites, however on Amazon it was priced the best as well had the option of expedited shipping. The shipping was fast and they packaged the brace well. I typically wear a womens size US 6.5- 7.0M I was very apprehensive about ordering the medium. The sizes suggest that the Aircast FP Walking Brace size small will accommodate women's US shoe sizes 6-8. However when I was reading other reviews I saw that a girl with a US size 6 noted that she got the size small brace and the boot was just at the edge of her toes. So I went ahead and just bought the medium. It is bigger than needed I have a good 2-3 inches from the end of my big toe to the edge of the end of the walking brace. I have to say as a personal choice I am glad that I ordered the medium. It give me more than enough space to accommodate my foot plus heel wedges. Plus covers my toes. I have only used the brace once to walk around my place (prior to wearing the half cast). I have to admit that I have OCD (in regards to cleanliness) so I do not want to wear this outdoors without a cover. I searched for a cover and the ones I found, none had covers for the sole. I found one website where the covers are made to cover Aircast braces but they do not cover the sole. I contacted the company and asked if they could sew a sole on for me, but they refused saying that it is a hazard to have a cover over the sole. And assured me that the sole on my Aircast was sufficient. I don't think she understands basic principles of microbiology or hygiene. But I do understand it may be a liability for their company. However it defeats my whole purpose of wanting a complete cover for cleanliness. The covers do look like they are made well, and are water resistant. I was looking for waterproof, but that proved to be impossible. Which is disappointing because it rains 90% of the winter and spring where I live. So I am just going to buy a cover from this website: http://www.castcoverz.com/walking-boot-weather-cover Then just buy some PVC fabric and sew a couple layers of that to the bottom of the cast cover. The brace itself weighs 3.3 lbs so it feels a tad heavy. But when walking it is not too bad. I also purchased a shoe balancer (from Amazon). For the other foot because there will be a noticeable difference when walking. That was a reasonable cost of $28.00 and I assume it will be a must once I am wearing this brace. I found the inside of the brace to be well cushioned and seems very comfortable (to me). I will however be purchasing a few of the Aircast socks that are available for $10.00 so that I can rotate wearing and washing them. As I can imagine that it will get quite hot and sweaty in there. I read the reviews for the cast sock and they were all extremely positive. On another note I read in many other reviews about the sole not having much support. For my particular case once I am out of this half cast I will be fitted for sole lifts (at my orthopedic surgeon's office). This is so that my foot is pointed downwards at a certain degree to take the stress off of my achilles tendon. But once the lifts have been removed after several months, I too would opt to put insoles into the brace. I purchased a pair from my local drug store so that I will have them on hand. It is larger than your average shoe so it should accommodate any insole well. Also I love how there are air cells that can be pumped up to keep your ankle immobilized properly. It is super easy to inflate and deflate with the little pump that is included. All in all I am very happy with this purchase. The boot is well constructed, excellent quality. I recommend this brace to any one with an injury needing the proper support. It makes walking actually possible. Great purchase, especially since I will be wearing this for 3-6 months. I am glad I did not cheap out and buy another brace. This is definitely worth every penny. *** Also I will update my review once I am wearing the boot and the cover that I have altered to cover the sole.

Background: I bought the Aircast FP Walking Brace at my doctor's orders, as I am recovering from reconstructive ligament surgery in my ankle. Quick overview (details below): +Cheaper than insurance if you haven't met your deductible (each case is different, so check it out for yourself). +Boot is sturdy, comfortable, and easy to use. +Durable, angled sole, which provides grip and recreates a more normal walking motion. +Great for post-ankle surgery recovery. +Has an aircast built-in if you need it. -Heavy and can be awkward if you need to sleep with it on. Tip: Be sure to ask your doctor exactly what type of boot you need, and ask for brand/model recommendations. That way, you can look it up online and see exactly what you'll need. About the boot: Their website's sizing chart is accurate, as the large size perfectly fits my size 11 foot. Small is 4-7 in men's size, Medium is 7-10, Large is 10-13, and XL is 13+. This is a tall walking boot, so it fits just below the knee. The padding is very comfortable, but as others have suggested, you should wear a tall sock when using it. The aircast portion is functional, but not appropriate for my condition, so I do not use it. The front plastic piece provides slight protection and is removable. I removed mine to make it easier to get in and out of the boot. The boot has some weight to it, as the molded plastic is thick and the rubber sole is dense. The sole is also slightly angled, so that the walking motion is a more normal rocking motion. I feel sorry for those who need to wear this to bed because it is awkwardly heavy and won't let you sleep with your toes pointing up (it will want to turn to the side). Also, the rubber sole will catch on the sheet. However, the same sole also provides great grip outdoors, even when it is wet outside (Seattle weather tested and approved). About the price: Since it's a new year, I have not met my insurance deductible, so I would have had to pay the full insurance rate for this product at the doctor's office. My doctor told me that if I were to get it from his office, insurance (not his office) typically charges about 300% of cost. Insurance does this as a benefit to the doctor to help cover indirect costs of the business (like utilities). If I had met my deductible already, the cost to me (15% of $450) would've been cheaper through insurance, so it's something you need to check out. Also, make sure to ask the doctor exactly what type of walking boot you need.

I say it all in my video. After trying 5 different boots, one Dr's office, 4 off Amazon I finally found one that is lighter weight, comfortable, fits great, and gives me the support I need. 5 stars 🌟 which from me is a rarity. Weight baring on a fracture foot, bone spur, torn tendons and much more has been unbearable. Unfortunately I had a cast on that made stepping down extremely painful. Had it removed and was given a walking boot that wasn't any better in fact it was heavier and on torn muscles made it hurt worse. Save yourself the back and forth of trying the more expensive ones this air cast has been for me the nest one of them all. THESE ARE THE SOCKS I MENTION IN THE VIDEO PURCHASED ON AMAZON. BraceAbility Replacement Sock Liner for Orthopedic Walking Boots - Medical Tube Cast Socks to Wear Under Aircast Cam

First, I had an injury where I wish I had overnighted the boot. Instead, I used standard shipping. Don't make my mistake! Once I received the boot, I was able to immobilize the injured foot completely and it worked nicely, with orthotics, for a few weeks. However, as my already-small calf lost muscle, I had to pull the straps tighter and then add more air compression to each side, varying on the day. At some point, it just began sliding down as I held my leg up while using crutches. If I added enough air to keep it on, the compression on the injury -- the heel -- was too much pressure. I had to purchase another boot. The nice things about this boot are that it fully protects all parts of the foot, ankle, and leg with hard plastic. I also liked the inflate/deflate valves on both sides allowing for the right amount of air. I would have used it for the full time since it is such a good product.

These were designed by a Canadian company and it shows. Unlike all the other pneumatic boots/walking casts out there (and I have tried every brand) these not only do not cause pain or drag heavily on the ankle joints (both of mine are broken)--they actually feel comfy and therapeutic. I can walk on these easily, they even help me balance, unlike the other brands which are precarious, made me unsteady and off balance, and hurt my hips. These also have much superior velcro that does not grab and rip at everything it touches or hurt your hands. They do not accumulate every speck of dust and piece of cat fur like the other brands. The pneumatic sacs are inflated and deflated with with use of a handheld bulb that you insert into the spigot, and squeeze on the bulb *on each side." I find this gives much better control over how much air to put in or take out than than squeezing a small rubber ball at the top of the boot and turning a knob to inflate or deflate. Instead of other boots that just pump up all the air chambers, these boots allow you to pump one side more than the other. These thoughtful aspects of its design that allow us to customize are why we can maximize our healing. My only complaint is that I wasn't given these boots right away. I suffered greatly with boots too small the hospitsl provided and trials of four other brands, some caused pain and swelling, one caused an infection, half the time I had no boots while waiting on deliveries. For two weeks. I hope others can benefit from this review and get their injured feet and ankles right into the very best there is.

Just what the doctor ordered, at a fraction of the price. No one in my rural Nevada town would take BCBS for DME. So that would put me into a separate deductible and the place the orthopedic doc sent me was not too interested in helping me, even after offering to pay cash after trying to figure out when they were open or closed. I has an Rx but still had not fully met my in network deductible. This is a medical quality walking cast, also known as a cam boot. It's made to keep your foot from flexing during the healing process. I had a leg cast for eight weeks, then this for six weeks due to two stress fractures as I work on my feet all day. Sure it's a little heavy, but beats the heck out of a cast and crutches, especially when you live in a rural area with lots of rough terrain and gravel. I also felt much safer in the house. Excellent traction on the bottom of the boot. Even with a cast and crutches there are times when you have to still put weight on your feet, using the rest room. trying to get out of a chair, taking a shower, trying to get out of bed when your back is killing you from using crutches the day before. This was much better. I highly recommend this product, make sure you wear a long tube sock or purchase the sock for it to keep it from creating any blisters on your feet which simply can't be avoided.

I ordered this boot in a medium to have a backup that I could use only at work. I ordered what I thought was the same thing as I was given from Orthopedics in July 2020. This boot is significantly larger than the one I currently have! I also have size medium boots from another brand and it’s much larger than their medium as well. I went off the current size chart when ordering too. We have tried to return/exchange but unable to. I’ve reached back out to the company hoping for a refund or replacement. The other boot in this brand that fits, is great. The air bladder requires an external bulb to inflate/deflate. I like this as it’s more reliable than the version with on boot bladder adjuster. Boot is comfortable if correct size. This boot is expensive. I suggest getting a boot directly from Ortho so you know you have the correct size and fit.

Several years ago I had to wear a short ortho boot when I broke the tiny bones in the top of my foot. I was given an Aircast short boot by my foot doctor. This Winter I broke my ankle on the ice. The first couple of months I needed casts and the leg was non weight bearing. Then my doc switched me to an ortho boot. Boy, that thing hurt the incision site on the inside of my ankle! When I looked at that boot I found that it had a metal buckle to hold one of the Velcro straps on the inside of the boot right over my incision. No amount of padding would make it feel comfortable. So I decided to find and Aircast tall boot and found it here on Amazon for a great price. Getting this boot made a world of difference in my pain level. Besides NOT having a metal buckle rubbing on my incision the air pump for this boot made a huge difference. The other boot just had one of those pumps that is a plastic bubble on the side of the boot that you push on to blow up the air chambers and then depress a release valve before you take off the boot to empty the air chamber. It was not very effective and I was not fond of it. This boot has an actual air pump. One side of the pump is for inflating the air chambers and the other side is for deflating them. This pump works so much better! I could inflate the inside air chamber more than the outside one to help cushion my incision. Also, the boot my doc gave me had Velcro straps that had the ends folded over and stitched which made the straps hard to start into the buckle when I put the boot on. This boot has heat fused ends on the straps and you don't have to wrestle with getting extra thickness started in the buckles.