Truform Stockings Donner, Helper for Applying Compression Socks, Regular Size Foot Zone for S-XL Garments

I've been wearing compression knee highs for several years due to CVI, so I'm sort of used to the process of getting them on and off. I've been using another donner since December 2014, and I have a routine for getting them on that works for me. But it's starting to show its age a bit -- it's still usable, but I wanted to see if I could find another one that might be a little sturdier. Saw this Truform donner, and decided to give it a try. It's about half the cost of my original donner, so I wasn't expecting it to be as sturdy as my old one. But I figured for the money, if it lasted more than a year, it was still a little ahead of the old one. I needn't have been concerned. This is MUCH sturdier than the old one. The wire that makes up the frame is larger, so that gives it a less "flimsy" feel. I got the larger size with the 5"-wide opening (the smaller size is 4" wide) -- my calves are about 19" -- and it's perfect. Bear in mind that if you wear smaller stockings, the 5" opening may be too large to get the socks onto the frame. So pay attention to size, and order the size you need. A quibble (seems to be common with every donner I've seen): There are minimal instructions provided with this. If you are new to using a donning device like this, be prepared for a "learning curve." It may take you a week or so of daily use to get comfortable with the whole process (loading the sock onto the device, then getting it onto your foot/leg). First things first: the socks aren't easy to load onto the device at first (you'll get used to it with more practice). This donner is easier than my old one, probably because the "wire" is large and the sock slips on easier. I load my socks based on the instructions, just to the point where the heel has cleared the opening. I put mine on sitting down (bad back/etc.), so once the sock is loaded, I just get my foot into the sock, lining up the heel, then put my foot on the ground and pull until the sock is about halfway up. Then, I just grab the top edges of the sock and finish easing it off the device, and up my leg, being careful to ease out any wrinkles on the way. Getting the heel placed correctly is CRITICAL -- miss that, and you'll have problems with pinching, etc. Honestly, without a donner like this, I wouldn't be able to get into my socks at all, and I HAVE to wear them every day or risk the consequences (really, not pleasant ... ). That I can get a donner for a reasonable cost that has high-quality materials and construction is a huge relief! Solid well-earned 5 stars.

I should have read the review posted on January 18, 2018 that explained why the LARGE donner doesn't work. I have the regular donner. I can use it but thought the large donner would be more comfortable. I expected it to be made like the regular only in a larger size. Unfortunately, once I received the LARGE donner and placed it next to the regular it was easy to see why no one can make it work. The "legs" of the guide for the regular donner measure 4 1/2 inches at the top and 4 1/2 inches at the point that is 5 inches down from the top. So the "legs" are parallel to one another top to bottom. Once you stretch the stocking over the opening, it is easy to slide it down the donner "legs" and get the entire stocking in position for donning. The "legs" of the guide for the LARGE donner are not arranged this way. They measure 6 inches across the top but 7 1/2 inches at the point that is 6 inches down from the top. Instead of the legs on the LARGE donner being parallel, they are flared widely at the bottom. So although you can stretch the stocking 6 inches across the top with not much effort, as you slide the stocking down and try to get it into position, the flare is so extreme that the stocking just slides right back up to the top as soon as you remove your hands to try to continue putting the stocking on the donner. It will not stay in place because the flare is too severe. This is a design flaw. I was expected to pay for the return shipping. Although the item is not really heavy, it does require a large box making the return shipping likely to eat up any refund I expected to get for my purchase price. So I am stuck with a LARGE donner that by its very design is not able to be used as intended. Here are pictures showing both donners side by side so you can see how the flare is the issue. I have used some fabric to block parts of the donner so that the picture highlights the problem area. Hope this helps you to see how the unit is designed to NOT work as intended. DO NOT BUY THE LARGE DONNER.

I’m updating my first Review to pass the word that the Amazon listing for TruForm Compression Socks Donners was fixed within 24 hours of my review and my order for a Tall Handle Regular Zone Donner, with the 18 inch tall handles arrived yesterday and it is PERFECT! I used it this morning to put on my TruForm open-toe compression socks and, while they are tight, the longer handles made “donning” them very easy. Once the socks were on my legs, I used the donning gloves to slip the top of the docks down a little, to have them about 1 1/2 inches below the top of my calf. I used the gloves to smooth out the wrinkles in the elastic fabric of the socks and I stood up and realized my calves feel very comfortable. The donner comes with very good user instructions with accompanying color pictures. I remain very impressed with TruForm and their line of products. *************** Original Review My vascular surgeon has me wearing 20-30 mmHg compression socks before vein surgery. She demonstrated their Truform Donner and it made putting on the tight socks very easy. I came home and purchased the Regular Zone Donner, like my doctor had used, and it works perfectly. But after inserting my toes and heel into the sock, I was having trouble reaching down far enough to grasp the handles and start using the frame to pull the sock up my leg to the point where I could let go of the handles and pull the top of the sock up. I took my Donner to an appointment on Thursday and showed her the problem and she said I need the larger Donner. I came home and initiated the return of my original purchase and went back to the Amazon listing and, seeing only two Donners listed, ordered the Large Zone Donner. It arrived today (Sunday) and it is HUGE! My socks won’t stretch over the sock expansion guide bars. So, I looked at the Amazon listing again and realized the descriptions include only a Regular Zone and a Large Zone - nothing said about a Tall Regular Zone Donner. I went to the Donner Page and looked, and then I re-read the Amazon listing and looked at all the pictures, and found that there are two Regular Zone donners - one with handles 13 inches tall, and another with handles that are 18 inches tall. But the TALL Regular Zone Donner isn’t one of the three choices in the Amazon listing. However, I scrolled down the listing and (finally) realized that there is a Truform-provided sizing chart with a full description of the three donners - and their individual Model Numbers. The REGULAR ZONE Donner with 13 inch handles is their Model 0752/R. The TALL REGULAR ZONE Donner is their Model 0752/T - and the Amazon listing has it mistakenly identified as something like “One Unit Package” - or words similar to that. (I can’t scroll up to check the exact wording without losing this writing) If you want the TALL Regular Zone Donner, it is identical to the Regular Zone Donner except the handles are five inches taller - making it much easier to use. I’m 5’8” and the 13 inch handles are just too short. The LARGE ZONE DONNER, Model 0752/L, has a “mouth,” or area for your foot/calf to start into the sock, that is 6 inches wide. Both REGULAR DONNERS are only 4 inches wide in that area. The handles on the LARGE ZONE DONNER are 18 inches and the “Donning Zone” (sock slide down area) is 10 inches high, one inch more than the REGULAR ZONE donners. Until the listing is changed, if you pick the item listed as “One Unit Package” (or similar description), scroll down until you see the manufacturer’s information about the item you picked and just verify that you are ordering the Model 0752/T. One other, very important discovery. Trying to slip the tight socks over the donner frame or up or down my leg was a pain in the tookas. They wrinkled or rolled up on my leg and my hands and fingers could not smooth them out. My doctor told me I need to wear gloves that have a rubberized gripping area. She handed me a pair and sliding the socks onto the donner frame and up onto my leg and smoothing them out was suddenly almost effortless. Truform sells Donner gloves for about $9, but I found that cheapy $1 gloves with rubber on the palms snd fingers worked - and blue Nitrile gloves also work. However, I bought the Truform gloves and they do work the best. I’m probably going to be wearing compression socks from now on, and the Truform socks and their Donners and Donning Gloves, are well-designed and work very well, like a system. My legs feel much better when the socks are on and smooth fitting. The donner frame and gloves make the task of getting the socks on a very easy task.

Pros: It works effortlessly and makes your compression stockings feel really good. (if you get the right size). Cons: I didn't measure the actual dimensions, but the XL size is HUGE and needs an area about 12"wide x20"tall x 16"deep to store it. The ergonomics need adjusting to make it usable. The handles and foot part are tall and at a severe angle such that the device barely stands up on it's own. This placed the handles uncomfortably in my groin area. If I tilted the device forward to get the handle out of my groin, it made the foot part tilted too far forward and at the wrong angle to be able to put my foot into the stocking. It would work considerably better if the angles were more upright. While this concept works great at putting compression stockings on, the ergonomics makes it difficult to use. It's also important to get the correct size. I assumed since my calves are too big for cowboy boots that I'd need the XL size. I didn't. The part the sock goes on is close to 7" wide and probably 14" or so tall. The width was too wide to get my medium compression socks onto it but worked fine for low compression. The handles are ~20" tall and due to their angle they're 6-8" behind the foot part. As stated above, this put the handles in my groin area. With me being fat, my belly got in the way of lifting my foot high enough to get into the stocking. I would suggest that TruForm change some of their angles, and provide some sizing guidelines so people know what size they need.

If you're feet don't swell, this is wonderful! However if your feet or ankles or even your lower legs swell, you will get stuck! So it's 5 stars if you don't swell. My foot slipped right in and I was able to pull the compression sock up easily. However on my swollen leg it was a nightmare to use, even to get my foot out! This was so easy to use if you can't easily reach your feet. For that I would even give it ten stars. Even with support hose.

It's not often that one finds an example of a device with no moving parts that meets a need as well as this thing does. I'm recently out of surgery to remove a defective kidney and the remaining one isn't doing much better than just limping along. Intermittently I end up with feet that look like the "after" of some Wile E. Coyote misadventure and I need to put on my very-tight compression socks. Doing that with a large, fresh, surgery scar is impossible without assistance. I had one of those sock-sled things - looked like a cross-section of a very large, thin-walled pvc pipe with ropes tied to two corners and a foam friction pad stuck to the other end - that never worked well for me (I have very wide feet to start with and when they swell, getting that sled to work wasn't much better than not using it at all. I have a (thankfully very patient) room mate who got my socks on me for the week or so it took me to get this thing. It's an absolute breeze to use. I follow the directions about as well as anyone who has read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" follows directions (which is to say, I read them to get a general idea of how stuff is supposed to work and then find my own way of doing it). Essentially, I set the device in front of myself. I fold the top of the sock around the inner frame and pull down enough to hold it in place. I flip the device over and reach in through the side frame and continue pulling the sock down in bunches until all but about three inches of it are past the lip of the inner frame. I flip it back over and put it on the ground and stick one set of toes in and gently shove one foot farther and farther in as the sock peels off the frame and onto my foot. As the sock slips past my ankle and about eight inches up my calf, I lift my foot back up (removing the sock from the frame). I reach down and pull the sock up my leg until the heel of the sock is properly aligned with the heel of my foot. I stretch the upper part of the sock all the way up As a matter of preference, I take the top few inches of the sock and fold it back down over itself (at its natural position, my compression socks are right up under the knee joint and that causes some binding and irritation). I can do both socks, solo, in a matter of about three minutes now where it was a half hour of grunting and straining for my room mate to try to stretch them over my toes and up my leg before.

I have been undergoing wound care on my ankles for over three months. Because of this, my lower legs are heavily wrapped with 4 layers of different bandages and wraps. Needless to say, they are ugly and embarrassing. To add minor compression, I wanted to top off the wraps with a mild compression stocking, which not only looks better but provides a bit more compression. As my doctor says, "Compression is my friend". This device works great for sliding up my compression socks. I highly recommend this for anyone struggling to put on their compression stockings.

I was looking forward to getting this item. I've been having problems putting on my compression socks lately and though this might help. It does to an extent. When I first got the thing it took me a while to figure out how to use it effectively. The minimal picture instructions are next to useless. Add to the fact that the unit I received was not shaped properly. When you look at the thing, it should have the same distance between what I call the handles and the sock support. Mine did not. I had about 1-3/4 inches of space on one side and about 5/8 of an inch on the other. Considering your hands have to slide down the side of the sock support between it ant the handle on both sides as you guide the sock on. I have big hands and it made it almost impossible for me to get enough room to get my hand on the sock to pull it down onto the support. The issue was not easy to fix as the taper of the unit itself left little room to be able to bend the rods to acquire the room needed to pull the socks onto the unit. I had to put the unit in a padded vice and pry one side wider at the bottom to allow my hand to have access. Second issue I had was that even though I have the largest size Jobst socks the upper end of the sock support is almost too big to get the sock stretched wide enough to pull over it. Once the sock is over the top it takes an incredible amount of hand strength to pull it down far enough to actually use the mechanism to put the sock on your foot. All that being said, a couple of tips for those that are bound to purchase this unit (hopefully you get a properly welded unit.) Tip 1: after pulling the sock over the top use your hands to grip and slide the sock down the support to just above where the support takes a dip back in toward the center of the unit. Pulling it farther down into this dipped area will facilitate the sock being too tight in the foot when you attempt to put it on. Pulling a gather in the side works fine and may be needed to get that heal to roll over the top. Tip 2: Ensure you pull the sock on until the heal rolls over the top bar of the support. Then use your hand to furrow the top of the sock for ease of foot insertion. Now for my final grip about the unit. The handles, in my case at least, need to be longer by about 3 or 4 inches. That would make it possible for me to get my foot in the sock and pull it on from a sitting position. As it is, I have to stand up the do both those things. It works, but you have to work at it. Just a little more thought would have made this a very nice appliance to use.

This is not comfortable to use for old age lady

Funciona perfecto para calcetas talla 2XL. Fácil de usar y resistente a dobleces.

المنتج رائع في لبس الجوارب الطبيه كان لدي تورم الغدد المفاوية في الساق وكان هذا المنتج يسهل عملية لبس الجوارب

Hubby loves this to put his compression stockings on..works great very easy for him..he is 62 yrs old had total hip replacement which has extended his left leg by 1/2" and he is limited in his bending but he is able to use this apparatus with ease.I just have to take them off for him..This makes putting these stockings on easy and at an affordable price.If a person needed longer length due to lack of reaching one could easily tie on some extended grab handles like rope..belts..whatever could work..or bend a coat hanger to extend the grab area. Great product.

This sock donner has longer handles that allow my dad to put on his tensor stockings. Works so slick. The metal is strong. Do know that you need to stand when first inserting your foot. Dad uses the table to balance as he is doing this. As a nurse, I give it an "A".