Stairs present a major obstacle to individuals with mobility limitations. Compared to level walking, steps require greater forces to be generated in the legs. Modification of handrails to a tandem double rail system could alleviate this barrier by minimizing the effort of the legs in stair walking; however this needed to be established through an effective testing procedure. An instrumented handrail was designed with a series of load cells. In combination with an imaging system, a scale for perceived exertion and disability measures, the usefulness of handrails could be assessed. Trials of the protocol completed with four younger and two older subjects validated the testing procedure and illustrated the promise of double handrails. Joint angles, generated forces and perceived effort results suggested the potential for the rails to minimize effort. Using the demonstrated protocol in a boarder study will establish the double handrail system as an effective assistive technology.