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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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For those with limited dexterity, the rubberized, rotating, and anti-slip jaw made this a gamechanger when grabbing small and medium-sized items.
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It's just out of reach: the TV remote, a dropped vitamin, or a book. We've all been there, but this experience is one most keenly felt in the disabled and aging communities. Fortunately, there is something called a “reacher grabber” tool—that is, a long metal or plastic instrument with a claw and/or suction cups on one end and a trigger on the other—that serves as an extension for the arm, hand, and fingers.
These tools are great for scooping up dropped items without having to bend down or collecting small objects from a high-up shelf without climbing on a step stool. For those with mobility constraints or conditions like cerebral palsy, the extra reach can be a lifeline.
But there are many grabber tools on the market with different features, like suction-tipped claws and even LED lights, making it difficult to know how to select the right one for your needs.
We tested 11 popular reacher grabber tools—including the well-advertised Birdrock, Grab-It, and Gopher—and landed on the Vive Rotating Reacher Grabber
(available at Amazon)
as the best reacher grabber for snagging items around the house.
Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
The Vive Rotating Reacher Grabber outperformed all other reaching aids.
Best Reacher Grabber
Vive Rotating Reacher Grabber
While there are many reacher grabbers available, this emerged as the best reacher grabber tool on the market after rigorous testing. Its rubberized, U-shaped jaw ensures an effortless grip on anything you reach for. The claw opens wide enough that you don’t have to think much about lining it up with the items you’re looking to grab, and its tight hold and easy-to-manipulate trigger means you won’t drop anything, either.
You can also rotate the jaw 90 degrees by pulling it gently out of its socket and twisting it, a handy feature some arm extension tools lack. It adds a generous 32 inches to your reach. It’s great for collecting small and medium-sized items on top shelves and off the floor, but the lightweight aluminum never feels unwieldy, even with heavier items in its grip.
This RMS reacher grabber could be a game-changing item for those with dexterity disabilities.
Best Reacher Grabber For Limited Dexterity
RMS Health Grabber Reacher 2 Pack (32 inch)
Upon reading the product description for this RMS Reacher Grabber pack, I was intrigued by its 90-degree rubberized rotating jaw and anti-slip jaw. In practice, these features were gamechangers. The anti-slip jaw was particularly effective, gripping onto my iPhone with ease. The moment it securely held my phone, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
It was as if years of reacher-related frustrations were suddenly lifted. The ergonomic handle was a godsend for my left hand, which, despite its relative strength, appreciates a comfortable grip. When I used it to pick up a Fiji water bottle, the bottle’s square shape posed no challenge (beyond the weight of the liquid). It was like the reacher and the bottle were made for each other. If you struggle with a dexterity disability or are an elderly person with declining hand strength, this product will likely be your best bet.
This is a perfectly good reacher grabber tool. It has a rubberized, U-shaped jaw that grips onto things well and can be rotated 90 degrees by grabbing it, pulling it out of the socket, and twisting it.
However, having tested the Vive model, it’s obvious which one is better. Both have the same basic design, purpose, and promise, but the Birdrock feels flimsier. That said, if you got the 32-inch-long Birdrock without comparing it to another device, you’d likely be satisfied with the results.
This “As Seen On TV” device has three features most grabber reachers we tested do not: an LED light for illuminating tight spaces, a magnet for attracting iron-containing items (like stainless steel silverware or paper clips), and a hook above its claws that’s designed to snag pieces of jewelry and other small items.
These bonus features work as intended, but its core function comes up short. The oddly shaped handle is (in theory) designed with both lefties and righties in mind, but in practice, it can feel like you’re holding it the wrong way no matter how you grip it. It’s also hard to squeeze, so it may not be the best option for someone with arthritis or diminished hand strength.
On the plus side, its claws are solid and pick objects up well, so, if you’re into the bonus features and not as concerned about the handle, it’s not a bad reacher grabber option.
Pros
Extra features like an LED light and small bonus hook
The 32-inch-long Gopher has suction cups on its claw that create a secure grip around anything you want to pick up, whether it’s a book, stuffed animal, vitamin, or a glass of water. The only problem: You have to put some thought into lining the suction cups up with whatever it is you want to grasp, lest you drop it—which is less of an issue with something like a remote control than it is with heavy or potentially messy objects, like a book or beverage.
The heavy-duty suction tips also make the claw end feel weightier than the one on other products, which can make this reacher grabber a bit awkward to hold and maneuver. Still, it’s a good tool, one with a strong grip and ample dexterity to pick up big and small objects alike.
Pros
Suction cups on claw gives it a secure hold
Claw’s dexterity allows it to pick up range of small to large objects
The 32-inch Vive suction cup reacher is nearly identical to the Gopher reacher grabber in both design and function. With its suction cups, it grips almost any item securely, provided you line it up neatly with the object you’re picking up. However, the trigger caught and pinched the flesh between my index finger and thumb (ouch!), a huge drawback that negated most of the utility it offered me.
The Saymeto and Zayad Reacher Grabber Tool are listed as two different reacher grabbers. But when we ordered them, we received two of the exact same devices. They appear to be made by one company but are marketed or distributed with different purposes: The Saymeto is listed as a “commercial trash picker,” while the Zayad is marketed as a traditional mobility assistance tool.
Either way, both of these 32-inch-long grabber tools are just OK. They have a decent grip on soft, lightweight items (like our test stuffed animal), but their weak triggers and untextured, unwieldy claw ends mean smooth, heavy objects, like books and glasses of water, slip upon picking them up.
Pros
Good grip on soft objects
Cons
Weak trigger
Untextured claw ends means smooth, heavy objects can slip
The “easy grabbing” feature of the FitPlus PowerGrip T9 caught my eye, but it was anything but easy in practice. While it managed to pick up my wallet and a paperback book, it struggled to grasp my iPhone, as the phone kept slipping out of its grip. There was a point where I felt my eyes roll, so I decided to take a break mid-test.
Eventually, I was able to grab the phone, but I had to slide it around the floor, wedge it against a wall, and slide the reacher underneath the phone to get it on its side before I was successful.
After thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that trying to wrangle my iPhone with the PowerGrip T9 was the equivalent of trying to catch a fish with your bare hands—slippery and frustrating. The magnetized end was a nice touch but didn't make a significant difference when I tried to pick up a set of keys. They just dangled precariously before falling back to the ground.
This Unger reacher grabber has magnet-tipped claws and feels solid and sturdy, but its claw end feels much heavier than others. This makes it unwieldy to maneuver, particularly when you’ve grasped a weighty object.
If you are looking for an effective trash grabber, the Unger Nifty Nabber is a fine stick grabber option. It has a mostly metal frame, which makes it seem more like an outdoor tool anyway, but the bottom-heavy design means it’s not the best reaching aid for everyday use, particularly for someone with diminished strength or mobility issues.
Pros
Sturdy, high-quality frame
Strong claws grip onto objects well
Magnetic tips
Cons
Heavy, uneven weight distribution makes it difficult to hold
The grasping end on the Sammons is shaped somewhat like a parrot beak, with one curved, ridged claw meeting a longer, straight piece with a magnetic tip. This makes it useful for picking up soft items that can be scooped or hooked, like jewelry or clothing. But because the claw is made of hard plastic—unlike the textured rubber tips or suction cups featured on other models—it struggled when picking up smooth items like books, even if they weren’t exceptionally heavy.
Pros
Can pick up soft, light objects
Has magnetic tip
Cons
Claw doesn’t hold onto anything other than light, soft items
RMS Health 26" Long Grabber Reacher w/ Magnetic Tip
This is not a great reacher grabber. It looks like the Sammons model with a single hooked claw meeting a straight, smooth one with a magnetic tip, but the handle felt flimsy, and the claw pickup tool portion failed to pick up anything other than soft, easy-to-grab items like stuffed animals. It might be useful for picking trash up off the ground, but probably not much else. If you want a grabber reacher tool with a curved claw, try the Sammons version instead.
Pros
Can pick up soft, light objects
Has magnetic tip
Cons
Claw doesn’t hold onto anything other than light, soft items
A reacher grabber is a tool that works as an extension of the arm. There are different variations of the tool, but most have a claw-like end that grips items that would otherwise fit in someone's hand, a 2-to 3-foot-long rod in the middle, and a handle with a trigger on the opposite side to manipulate the claw.
What Are Reacher Grabbers Used For?
These tools allow users to pick items up without bending down or pull items off high shelves without straining or climbing to reach them. Also called grabber tools or grabber reachers, they are commonly used to pick up litter along roadsides or in parks. You can buy reacher grabbers at most major retailers.
How We Tested The Best Reacher Grabbers
Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Testing involved grabbing items off of hard-to-reach places.
Our testing of reacher grabbers consisted of three rounds: two objective rounds, in which Sarah tested the tools’ capability at performing various tasks, and one subjective round, in which Sarah evaluated how easy it was to use.
For the first objective round, Sarah used each reaching assist tool in a series of tests designed to mimic common tasks:
Collecting a book, a can of vegetables, and a stuffed animal from a high shelf
Pulling a notebook and a phone charger from an unzipped backpack
Snagging a half-full glass of water and a remote control from a table in front of me
Picking up a croquet ball, a stuffed animal, and a Lego brick off the floor
Next, Sarah used the top four best-performing reacher grabbers—the Vive rotating reacher, the Vive suction cup reacher, the Gopher, and the Birdrock—to perform more objective tests to determine their versatility and claw strength:
Crushing an empty soda can
Picking up vitamin pills from the floor
Pinching a squishy stress ball without rupturing it
Moving sandbags from place to place with both my dominant and non-dominant hand
Picking up books of varying sizes to see if the grabber’s reacher claw had a weight limit
Finally, Sarah reviewed the user experience of each grabber reacher tool: what the handle felt like, how natural it felt to hold, how adjustable it was, and how using it differed between my dominant and non-dominant hand.
When testing for use with disabilities, we enlisted Kyle Ankney, a contributor who specializes in assistive aids for use with cerebral palsy. Through lived experience with the condition, he’s had a mixed relationship with reacher grabbers in the past.
He used the RMS Rotating Jaw and FitPlus PowerGrip T9 to pick up an iPhone 14 Pro Max, travel bag, wallet, credit card, pen, Fiji water bottle, pair of reading glasses, set of keys, and a paperback book. These were chosen as a solid selection of everyday objects those with limited mobility or dexterity may struggle to grab.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
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Sara Hendricks is a former Health and Fitness editor for Reviewed. She has several years of experience reading and writing about lifestyle and wellness topics, with her previous work appearing in Refinery 29, Insider, and The Daily Beast.
Kyle Ankney is a Reviewed contributor who specializes in adaptive tools and accessibility devices for people with cerebral palsy. He's also spent a decade in public relations, helping firms and their clients create powerful media strategies. In addition to writing for Reviewed, Kyle is also the Head of Public Relations at Wisteria PR.
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