Meet the next generation of mobility aids: the ‘Zeal’ walker

From beautiful walking sticks to stylish pill boxes and grab bars, we’ve noticed a growing number of clever designs adapted to the older generation in the past year or so. Now, it’s the turn of the humble mobility walker, which has just had a minimalist makeover courtesy of Zeal Lifestyle.

After four years of collaboration with users, the young British brand has come up with the distinctive ‘Zeal’ walker, a smart mobility aid ‘designed to promote independence, enhance confidence and provide style’ for the elderly and disabled.

Far from bland and utilitarian, the rollator is not only compact and foldable but also available in a choice of colours ranging from black to pastel shades, with matching accessories such as pared-back bags and backrests.

Each walker is made to order in Zeal’s Surrey workshop, and fully customisable – so customers can opt for a minimalist, all-white look or instead go for a rainbow of colours, mixing a Sage frame with Thistle vegan leather seat and Onyx wheels.

‘Our mission from the beginning has been to remove the stigma of using walkers,’ says Georgia Williams, CEO of Zeal Lifestyle. ‘We know choosing a mobility aid can be a huge decision, so we wanted to design a walker that customers feel proud to use. It is more than just a mobility aid – it’s a choice of style, identity and independence’.

Williams, a retail designer, and Zeal co-founder Joshua King, an industrial designer, started the company after wanting to purchase a walker for their loved ones and realising how limited and uninspiring the options were. ‘What we found on the market didn’t match their style, and as designers, we knew we could do better,’ writes the duo.

Their upgraded version is a lightweight, 5.9kg design that ensures maximum user comfort while providing stability and support. It also comes with adjustable handles, shock-absorbing wheels and enhanced grip handles.

Key to the project is the design duo's focus on sustainability, with the environmental impact considered at every stage, in collaboration with climate partners Flotilla. The ‘Zeal’ walker is manufactured to order using premium, aircraft-grade aluminium that’s infinitely recyclable, and 100% recyclable plastic.

In a first for mobility aids, users can replace or recycle each of its components. The rollator comes with a comprehensive three-year warranty (lifetime for the frame itself), but when time comes it can be disassembled fully, using only three Allen keys.