Winnipeg’s Ambutech on Making White Canes Cool – and the Blind Inventor Behind Its Best Ideas

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Ambutech has been making white canes in Winnipeg for decades. What its team would like you to know is that a cane no longer has to be white — and that two of its cleverest products were invented by a blind man.

Steven Scott caught up with Bethany Moore at the Ambutech stand at CSUN 2025. The canes, she confirmed, are made in Canada.

“We make mobility canes, replacement cane tips, and some cane accessories like cane pouches and holsters, just to kind of make every day a little bit easier,” Moore said.

Canes you would actually choose

The range is deliberately not just red and white.

“You can do the red and white if you want to feel a little bit more traditional,” Moore said, “but it never hurts to go for your night out on the town with your blue cane or your lime green.”

The highlight handles come in pink, green, blue and most recently purple, with a matching tip at the bottom. Users can keep the traditional white body and add colour only at the ends, or go for an entirely green, blue or black cane.

Steven put the obvious objection to her — that changing the whole body of the cane is a contested point in the community. Moore did not dodge it.

“Yes, absolutely. We have had that question for sure,” she said. White with red at the bottom is written into law in some places, though she said she had never heard of anyone being ticketed over it. Her practical advice concerns visibility rather than regulation: avoid black reflective tape at night, because drivers pick up the brighter colours far better.

The NoJab, and the man who invented it

Moore’s favourite is what she calls the Cadillac of the range. “It’s called a NoJab cane, and it has a red hand-stitched leather handle.”

The name describes exactly what it fixes: the jarring blow to the ribs when a cane catches on something. “The handle itself has a retractable mechanism inside of it. So as soon as the end of your cane touches, say it comes at a curb really quickly, the cane itself will slightly retract inside the handle to eliminate that jarring feeling altogether.”

Then there is the Pathfinder 360, a tip that rolls in every direction rather than just side to side. “Over the years we have had quite a few people ask for a tip that rolls in all directions, sort of like a suitcase wheel or a caster,” Moore said.

Both came from the same person. “Honestly, my favourite part about it is it was invented by a blind gentleman,” she said. “His name was John McAteer. And he was the inventor of that tip as well as the NoJab cane. And we’re so proud to be a part of everything that he comes up with.”

Choosing a tip

Moore’s guidance is that terrain should drive the choice, but preference usually wins. A roller tip suits interlocking brick, rough pavement and cracked footways, and stops a narrow tip dropping into a street heating vent.

Plenty of users still prefer the ceramic tip, one of the smaller ones. It does not roll. “It gives the best audio and tactile feedback that I’ve ever heard,” she said, “and it’s our longest lasting tip.”

Ambutech sells direct in Canada and through distributors worldwide, including RNIB in the UK, Vision Australia, and LS&S and MaxiAids in the United States.

Resources

• Ambutech: ambutech.com