A lower limb disability significantly affects the capacities of an individual to perform various activities of daily living (adls) independently and productively. a knee-ankle-foot-orthosis (kafo) is commonly prescribed to individuals with severe lower limb muscle weakness due to poliomyelitis, trauma, incomplete spinal cord injury, certain neuromuscular defects, aging, etc. to help them walk. the international committee of the red cross’ (icrc) market sizing study (2015) estimates that there are about 10 million people in india who need a kafo. the knee joint in a kafo is the key component that decides the functional performance of the orthosis. a kafo with drop-lock type single-axis knee joint is the simplest, low-cost, and most commonly used device in india and other developing countries. the user has to bend down to lift the locks to enable the knee to bend for sitting down. this is difficult and can be embarrassing in crowded places such as buses, trains and market places, etc. bilateral users find it even more difficult to operate the drop locks on both legs simultaneously to sit down. in addition, when a kafo user stands up, the drop locks can sometimes get stuck and not lock automatically, leading to instability and safety concerns. current designs of these orthotic knee joints also have sharp edges and protruding parts that tear clothes. the majority of the available locked-knee joint designs provide around 110 degrees of knee flexion which is not sufficient to do various adls such as cross-legged sitting, kneeling and squatting, etc., which are an integral part of life in india. imported alternatives to the drop-lock type knee joint are very expensive, mostly available only in urban areas and maintenance of such devices is costly and a time-consuming affair, hence beyond the reach of a majority of the kafo user population in india. our simple design of an ez-lok joint solves all these problems. users operate a single lever unobtrusively located at the hip to unlock the joint. the lock clicks into place when the user stands up, thereby not requiring a manual intervention to lock the knee joint. the new joint design solves the problem of tearing of clothes and provides 122 degrees of knee flexion to improve comfort while performing various adls. furthermore, the ez-lok joint design is tested using finite element analysis (fea) and mechanical testing to meet the safety and quality standards. the knee joint is made up of standard available components and materials, hence easy to maintain and affordable.