Buy It And Try It: Forearm Forklift

When you move, you need muscles, and Musclemen Moving LLC of
Sacramento says you should leave the lifting to them, the experts.

"You need to protect your back," said one of the movers. "As soon as
your back goes, you have many more health problems."

So while out on a job in Lincoln, I gave them my Forearm Forklift to
try out. It's supposed to encourage proper lifting and make moving
quicker and easier.

Let's see if it's really that easy.

First you lay out the straps in an X, then move the furniture on top
of it. A person on each side puts their arms into the straps, and then
lifts with their legs.

"You hardly feel the weight at all this way. You feel a pull on your
forearms, but you're not straining your muscle like you do if you're
just lifting the piece."

So, through the house, and into the bedroom: It worked well on this
dresser, but let's try something a bit more challenging.

Our movers put a 100-pound sofa right on the X, and head for the
house. It does move easily, but we don't get far. They have to ditch
the straps to tilt the sofa, and once they get it through the walkway
and front door, they don't bother using the straps again as they put
it in place.

But now, they have to move the heaviest item of the day: A 225-pound
wooden TV stand. The movers struggled with it, especially since it's a
long piece of furniture. They say, once inside, maneuvering around
tight corners with the forearm forklift is tough.

"That piece was a lot heavier than the dresser, and it was larger. We
got through the turn, but it was harder to work the turn to get
through the door."

These guys think the product does what it says, but claim the
challenge comes with odd-shaped bulky items and tight quarters.

I paid $19.99, and bought the Forearm Forklift online. The movers
thought the device would be useful in homes with hardwood floor, so
you don't scratch the surface sliding things across the floor.