CLeg4: questions regarding a protector and bluetooth.

[fommof]

So, I am getting my Cleg4 next week, and I was wondering if there is a 3rd party protector for it that is not as bulky or expensive (450 eur Ottobock? FOR REAL?) as Ottobock's.

I don't do sports or extreme activities so it doesn't have to be bulletproof or anything like that.

For instance, I still use a simple rubber protector for my CLeg2 (that was also Ottobock's protector), it's elegant (6-7 months a year my prosthetic is "exposed" as I wear shorts) and it does the job for simple incidents like hiting a chair, desk etc.

Also, we (I and the guys at the Rehab which are Ottobock authenticated dealers) can't for our lives connect via bluetooth from my Andoid 7 mobile phone. The Rehab guys have reported this to Ottobock but it's been a month now and still no solution, Truth to be told, I've gone through their Playstore reviews and it seems there is a serious number of people dealing with connectivity (or worse) issues with their Cockpit app.

Shame, as that company seems to suck at everything that has to do with remote connections.

The remote of my C-Leg2 never worked by the way, but I didn't care as I was never interested in using any extra presets. Now, I am and I also want to be able to check the battery life from the app.

Anyone else is dealing (or has dealt) with anything similar?

Thanks in advance!

[spyder]

I´m shure there will be 3rd Party protectors which are a Little less bulky and expensive, i have the stock one from Ottobock but painted, cause of the not eye friendly stock factory paint Options(silver or Skin metalic).

(example ugly silver)

(NATO-Green)

I bought a cheap 50€ Phone and the APP is working fine.

Greets !

[fommof]

Thanks spyder!

Tell you what, the main thing that puts me off with Ottobock's protector is not the looks but the bloody price! 450 euros for that thing? Come on now...on the other hand, I've still haven't found any 3rd party protectors for that knee, very frustrating.

Regarding the app, what can I say...my phone is 3 years old, fully operational and I use several bluethooth devices with it (four headsets, three different portable speakers etc, all different brands as well) with no issues at all. The only problem so far is with the Cleg.

The leg gets detected through the Cockpit app, I follow the procedure, enter the PIN etc. but the result is all the same. It pops up an error message that can't connect. Another strange thing is that the leg never shows up on the Bluetooth devices list although the Cockpit app detects the leg just fine.

What can I say, all I know is that for sure I am not the first or the only one that is dealing with this issue.

PS: IF and that's a big IF, I were to buy Ottobock's protector I would opt for their Carbon-3 colour for sure (black carbon is what I always choose for the outer layer of my sockets, I dig the "racing" look of it, yeah, I know, ironic, huh?)

[spyder]

Yes it´s incredible expensive, for a Piece of plastic !

I´ve found some 3D-Printed cover but the Price was much higher(from 800€ to over 1000€).

In my career as amputee i had rental knee´s from my tech(Kenevo and C-Leg4) and they protect their Rentals by a plastic tube that get´s Slim by using heat. That´s a cheap solutionand it protects the surface well also low weight and less bulky:

I´m shure you will get thoose hoses in many colours !

Strange Bluetooth !!! Sorry I´m not a expert but it should work fine for the Price they want for !

[fommof]

Wow, thanks for the photos and infos, mate!

Plastic tube and heat, classic! This technique has been used for ever in electrics and electronics.

Still, I wouldn't want my Cleg to be anywhere near heat, to be honest.

Also, rentals? My God, you guys are miles ahead! You should let them know that "we" (C-Leg owners) are in need of protectors like these so they should come up with something to put them in production or something like that.

By the way, which way do you "park" your C-Leg to, say, charge it overnight etc.? For 14 years straight I "park" mine angled (90 degree angle) and I never had any issues with it.

[spyder]

If your are trained, got the right Tools and some experience, it should be no big act, to get this tube safetly installed !

Since i got my C-Leg i charge it straight Position and also "parking" too. Got my final knee now for ca. 1 1/2 year.

Does your health insurance not pay a protector ? Cause this is super low cost against the Price if the C-Leg for example !

[fommof]

Jul 2, 2021 12:20:59 GMT -7 spyder said:

Does your health insurance not pay a protector ? Cause this is super low cost against the Price if the C-Leg for example !

I know what you're talking about but it also goes the other way around. They paid a bucketload of money for the leg, so I can assure you that they are not willing to pay for anything else that is non-essential.

If it were up to them, they wouldn't even pay for the foot if it wasn't an actual part that comes with the C-Leg knee itself (true story). By the way, normally, my health insurance does not even cover the C-Leg or any other electronic knee out there. Let's say that - for reasons there is no point to mention - I am VERY lukcy I am an exempt (and one of the very few around here).

And truth to be told, the Ottobock protector is just optional, otherwise they would have either included it in the package or threaten that the lack of it will void the warranty.

But, I digress...

Anyway, good for the rental guys for their protector, but I wouldn't go the heat route myself, not with a device that costs more than my car and in which I relay to be able to walk, anyway.

If they ever come up with a "slip in", easy to install/uninstall solution, I'll be all about it.

Geeez, good thing I am not an athlete nor doing any extreme activities, huh?

[fommof]

Aaaalriiiiight!!!

Today I officially got my new C-Leg4 (and the new socket and seal of course) so I guess that this officially makes me a human tripod!

(left to right, my old leg, my old Cleg, my new Cleg)

Anywho, I also bought a new cell phone (Android 10 instead of the Android 7 that my old phone runs on) and it connected easily and without a problem!

[fommof]

Jul 1, 2021 12:10:12 GMT -7 spyder said:

Hey, spyder!

I took my dog to the park today (my new Cleg's maiden voyage, if you will) and I hit the back of the Cleg on a bench. No harm done, but I think I am gonna buy the bloody thing after all, just to be on the safe side.

Actually in my rehab center they showed me a brochure with dozens of different colours and patterns. I remember I prefered one called "Carbon 3" (standard black carbon colour and texture, just like my socket, that's my favorite texture/colour, very racing, therfore, very ironic, makes me laugh).

I think those have essensially two parts. One that protects the knee itself (upper part) and the rest that protects the tube all the way down to the foot. I wonder if I can buy and tell my guys to install only the upper part, though, I really don't like anything that covers the tube etc...

[fommof]

OK, I was wrong! I contacted the rehab centre and they told me the price is for an OKM protector (Spanish company)!!!

So, it looks like there IS a 3rd party manufacturer that makes some! I found their site.

This is the cover (in plain black): okmsl.com/en/producto/cover-black/

And those are their designs: okmsl.com/en/categoria-producto/okmdecoration/designs/

That was my 1st choice when I took a look at their brochure: okmsl.com/en/producto/carbon-fiber-3/

But I am digging this one as well: okmsl.com/en/producto/carbon-fiber-3/

Anyway, I am gonna give them a call on Monday, to ask how much the original boring Ottobock protectors cost and if we can install only the parts that protect the knee itself (not the rest that goes all the way down to the foot).

UPDATE #1: OK, I took a good look at the OKM brochure, it looks like their protectors are waaay to long for my tastes (I think they are that long because according to the manufacturer these protectors are compatible with all legs), I don't want to look like a bloody ancient Greek warrior, lol. I am gonna ask my rehab guys if they can be cut shorter...

Meanwhile, I did a little reasearch and I am pretty sure I answered my questions regarding Ottobock's protector.

All I am gonna need is their C-Leg Guard (4P862) and a Shield Insert (of those three different colours/patterns which are pretty boring, I would opt for the 4P863=1) and that's it. Not tube protection needed so I'll be fine.

So, the only other thing i have to do is find out how much those two parts cost, and go from there.

Why I have the feeling that those will be more even more expensive than the OKM's...

UPDATE #2: I contacted OKM to ask a few questions, and they recommended another cover for the C-Leg by this Polish company: nexttprosthetics.com/en/

I took a look and to be honest the material seems too soft for what I am looking for. Ok looks but my priority right now is the protection of the Cleg and not only from scratches.

UPDATE #3: OK, this is getting better and better. I found yet another manufacturer in the EU, it's called limb-art and they are in the UK (https://limb-art.com/). The pricing seems reasonable so I sent them email with a few questions specifically for a cover for my knee. There are quite a few manufacturers in the US but I wouldn't dare to order from the US, our customs will tear me a new one (it is going to be a bit better with any EU country and UK).

UPDATE #4: I discovered yet another manufacturer, UNQY (https://unyq.com/en-language/home-en/). Funny thing, there was a sample at my rehab centre and I didn't even know what the heck was it. Nice quality, and the back ofthe cover gets attached magnetically so it's a piece of cake to remove it and install it. Very convenient when for when you need to charge the Cleg4. I told my guys to give me a price for a couple of their designs.