FOREARM FORKLIFT MOVING STRAPS - Read This BEFORE Buying

Well the straps showed up right away on my doorstep which was great as we really needed them for our move the next weekend. Plain & simple, these moving straps are amazing!

If you've ever had to move before, especially up a flight of stairs, you know that the quicker you can get the furniture from point A to
point B, the better. The more times you have to stop & take a break, or exert bursts of energy to move something heavy up each step one by one, the longer the move takes, and the longer you're straining your body.

We got everything off the truck and up to his second floor apartment in 30 minutes! I asked my son what time it was when we were through and couldn't believe it. Without the help of the Forearm Forklift, it would have easily taken us 2-3 hours for sure.

Last time I moved I was so soar, I could barely get out of bed the next day and was hobbling around groaning like a baby for a week. This time, other than some sweat on my brow from the heat and my legs being a little tired from climbing so many steps, I was feeling surprisingly good. Who would've thought these lifting straps that cost so little could rid me of that debilitating pain you expect after a move. My advice, grab a set online whether you're moving equipment to a new home or not, as you can use them even to rearrange your furniture (which we've done).

I even got my wife, whose about 5'3", and 120 pounds soaking wet to help us move his couch out of his old place. I really just wanted to see if she could do it since I saw the ladies in the commercial below doing it. Since she's shorter, she had a little trouble at first because she had her arms in the top notch hole and was just trying to lift the couch with her forearms.
I showed her how to put her arms through the lower slots to get more leverage, and she was able to pick up her end like she did it for a living. She almost started laughing and said, "Oh my god, how'd I do that?" when the end she was lifting shot up.

When I bought their product, they were providing a limited time offer including some additional bonus items for free with my shipment. You can see what these free extras were to the left and then go
check their website to see if they're still honoring the special.

You get the two main leverage lifting straps that have 3 arm slots on each side. Basically what this is for is to make sure the person on each end can generate the most amount of leverage based on their unique height without straining their back.

I'm about 6 ft, so it was best for me to use the top slots so I didn't have to bend much. Like I said before, my wife used the bottom slots when she helped move the couch and my son I think was using the middle ones. I didn't know about the multiple slots when I bought them because it didn't say anything about that on their site, but it was a nice surprise and allowed for a perfect fit regardless of who used them.

BONUS ITEM #1: The first free bonus item that we got were the Forearm Forklift
extension straps. We didn't use these when I moved my son, but my wife & I did a couple weeks later when we had to move a really wide shelving unit armoire to get the carpet cleaned. The main straps just weren't long enough to move really wide furniture without having to bend over and squat down a lot, so I'm really happy we had the extensions or we would've had a rough time.

BONUS ITEM #2: The second thing that came were the felt pad furniture sliders. We have two hardwood floor rooms in our house, being the kitchen and a den. Even if you have a good protective finish on your floors, you can still scratch them up pretty easily if you're pushing or dragging heavy furniture. My wife has this thing (maybe yours too), where she's got to rearrange the furniture about every year. Whenever she would do this I'd complain, as she'd either scratch up the floors trying to move furniture herself, or I'd have to help move around a bunch of stuff 3 times until she got it the way she wanted. Now that we've got the felt pads I put under everything, she can slide things around herself with no problem.

BONUS ITEM #3: The last extra thing they sent were some grip gloves. Personally, I didn't need to use them to move at all. Since your hands are free to put wherever when you're using the straps, you don't have to worry about your hands losing grip or sharp corners digging into your skin. To be honest, I just threw them in my boat and use them when I go fishing. Maybe if you have heavy boxes or other appliances that are slick & awkward, but too small to use the straps for, these may come in handy. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find an alternative use for them, I mean come on, they're free! Again, it's worth checking their website so you
can see if the bonus items are still available.

They also throw in the detailed Forearm Forklift instructions on how to use the straps properly & ensure you're utilizing the right lifting techniques, safety information, different strap usage options dependent on the kind of furniture you're moving, and OSHA certification info.

So let's talk about two similar products to see how they stack up against each other, the Shoulder Dolly vs Forearm Forklift. I'll preface this section by stating I've never owned a Shoulder Dolly, so I may be a little biased, but nonetheless I'll give you the facts I've pulled together and let you make a decision on your own for what's best for you.

I don't think I need to talk about the Forearm Forklift if you've read this far, so let's discuss the Shoulder Dolly for a minute and determine the differences.

All things being equal, the two accomplish the same thing, however the design, lifting method, and price points are the biggest differences. Whereas the Forearm Forklift is more independent from your body, the Shoulder Dolly is connected to a shoulder harness. So let's discuss some safety pros & cons here:

God forbid you're moving something heavy, let's say up or down stairs, and it begins to wobble, tip, or fall. With the Forearm Forklift, you just drop your arms and get out of the way if need be. With the Shoulder Dolly, your securely strapped into a harness around your chest & shoulders, so there's really no "quick release" so to speak. Your whole upper body is tied to the strap supporting the weight of whatever you're moving. This made me apprehensive knowing sometimes, even with great leverage products, things can go astray pretty quickly when moving heavy objects, especially up & down stairs. I feel comfort in knowing I can get out of the way quickly with the Forearm Forklift straps.

Next let's address leverage. Each one has it's perks, but I have my opinion. Theoretically, something secured around your shoulders is going to provide more leverage, but consider this for a second: imagine suspending a 4-inch wide strap in the air, and then sticking a dryer on top of it, what's gonna happen? Tip over right? All the weight is focused on the center of your body on just the one strap, and your hands will be required to stabilize the furniture/appliance. With the Forearm Forklift, there are 2 straps criss-crossed under the unit, distributing the weight evenly as if picking it up under each corner with your hands. This way, there's less strain and weight on any given point of your body and is truly "hands-free".

Lastly let's cover price. The Forearm Forklift costs $19.95, and comes with the 3 bonus items listed above for free, where the Shoulder Dolly runs $49.99 on their main retail site, but can be found for $34.99 on Amazon, and only comes with the main product, no extras. I don't know about you, but I'm not inclined to pay almost double for another product that may very well not perform as well, and miss out on some freebies. Again, that's just my opinion.

If you want to read up more on each product, you can visit the following links and make a choice for yourself on the Forearm Forklift or the Shoulder Dolly.