The best rollators: one winner for every kind of day

How we chose

We do not run a laboratory. We compare the manufacturers' data – weight, folded width, seat and handle heights, wheels, maximum user weight – read the independent tests that exist (Stiftung Warentest in Germany, Which? in the UK) and owner reviews, and we weight five things: weight, brakes, seat, fold and looks. Then we ask the only question that matters: would we recommend this one to a friend for this kind of day? Models change; we revisit this page when they do.

Best overall: Topro Troja 5G

The Norwegian all-rounder most women end up with. Not the lightest at about 7.6 kg, but the best combination of a stable frame, brakes that bite progressively and lock with one push, a comfortable seat with a backrest strap, two frame sizes – S for women of about 135–170 cm, M for about 150–200 cm – and a fold that stands on its own. If your days are mixed – flat, town, a bit of park – start here. Where the Troja is not sold, the Drive Nitro is the closest all-rounder.

Best lightweight: byACRE Carbon Ultralight

About 4.8 kg with a seat, folded to about 25 cm and standing upright, eight colours and three sizes – Compact, Regular and Wide. It is the rollator that made 'design rollator' a category, and it is one of the lightest rollators with a seat – the lightest of the carbon design models; only a couple of simpler models, such as the Spanish Forta Kanguro and Japan's Teicob Little Slim, weigh less. The price is premium. Two things to know: the seat is high (56 cm in Compact, 61 cm in Regular and Wide) and the handles start at about 79 cm, so it is not a rollator for petite women. For the woman of average height or taller who lifts her rollator into a car every day, it is hard to beat.

Best indoors: Saljol Page

A rollator designed for the flat rather than adapted to it: about 56 cm wide, with a tray for the cup and the plate and a seat for the moment you need one. It does not fold, and at about 9.3 kg it is not light – it is meant to stay at home. Instead of adjustable handles it comes in four fixed frame heights, from S (for women of about 135–165 cm) to L and XXL for tall women, so order by your height. Many women keep one at home and a different rollator for outside. Where the Saljol is not sold, the Stander Wonder Walker Plus – a 3.6 kg two-wheel walker without a seat – is the light, simple alternative for the flat.

Best for travel: Stander Space Saver and TrustCare Let's Go Out

Two very different answers. The Stander Space Saver (formerly sold under the Able Life name) folds into a compact block with a footprint of about 25 × 28 cm and weighs about 6.6 kg; its small 15 cm wheels are the price, and its seat (about 56 cm) and handles (from about 84 cm) suit women of average height rather than petite ones. The TrustCare Let's Go Out folds to about 20 cm wide – the slimmest fold we list – weighs about 6.4 kg and keeps 24.5 cm wheels for the cobbles at the destination. On a plane both go free as mobility aids.

Best value: Drive Nitro

One of the best-selling rollators in the USA and the UK, and for good reason: 25 cm front wheels that roll over cracks, a lengthwise fold to about 25 cm, a removable bag, a cane holder, brakes that lock with one hand, three sizes from the small Hemi (seat about 46 cm) to Tall (handles to about 105 cm), and a red finish that looks nothing like a hospital. At a mid-range price it does most of what the premium models do. Its carbon sister, the Nitro Elite CF, is only a little lighter – about 6.8 kg against 7.2 kg in the US versions – so the aluminium Nitro stays the value pick.

Best for shopping: TrustCare Let's Shop

Built around a large bag that sits low between the wheels, with a seat for the queue and Scandinavian looks. It carries a week's shopping for one without becoming front-heavy, and it is one of the few rollators that make the walk to the supermarket something to look forward to. The seat is high at about 60 cm, so it suits women of average height and taller. In Japan the silver cars play the same role; the Rollz Flex is the design alternative, and where neither is sold the Drive Nitro with its removable bag does the job.

Best all-terrain: Trionic Veloped

Four large all-terrain wheels, a climbing wheel at the front and brakes made for hills: forest paths, sand, gravel and light snow are its home. It is heavy at about 11.4–12.5 kg and about 76 cm wide, so it is a rollator for the path rather than the car boot or the hallway; the large frame reaches handle heights of about 104 cm for tall women. For town plus park the Topro Olympos and the byACRE Carbon Overland are the lighter answers.

Prettiest: byACRE Carbon Ultralight in Pale Rose

Beauty is a matter of taste, but this is the rollator that invented the design rollator: a slim carbon frame that, in Pale Rose, looks as soft as a summer coat. Champagne Gold and Morning Blue are just as lovely. Among the others the TrustCare Let's Go Out and the Rollz Flex are our favourites, and the Drive Nitro in red proves that looking good need not cost a fortune. The stylish page has the whole shop window.

Best for petite women: Rehasense Athlon SL and Topro Troja 5G in size S

Most rollators start their handle range at 78–80 cm, which is too high for a woman of 155 cm. The Rehasense Athlon SL in size S brings the handles down to about 63 cm with a 50 cm seat, in carbon at about 5 kg. The Topro Troja 5G in size S (handles from about 69 cm, seat 54 cm, for women of about 135–170 cm) is the sturdy alternative, and the Rollz Flex Small (handles 69–81 cm, for about 140–160 cm) the stylish one. In the USA the NOVA Zoom 18 (handles from about 70 cm, seat about 46 cm) and the Drive Nitro in its Hemi size (seat about 46 cm) are the models to look at; in Germany the Dietz Taima S-GT, in Japan the Teicob Little Slim. Often recommended, but not a petite model: the byACRE Carbon Ultralight – its Compact size has a narrower seat, not a lower one.