Advice for buying a power wheelchair

March 24, 2022 7:18 AM

Looking for advice on buying a power wheelchair - search terms, questions to ask, technical words that might be helpful?

This is the first power wheelchair I'll be buying, so I'm starting from scratch.

I was prescribed an OT assessment, had the first consult today which determined the need for a power wheelchair rather than a manual model or a scooter. I will have a couple other visits to determine the suggested device and try it out, and I'd like to go into those appointments prepared!

I'll be using the chair mostly outside a small apartment including in the building and inside services. Its now needed due to leg weakness and fatigue (with attendant balance problems, falls, trouble walking, etc.) that make using my current 4-wheeled walker and brace unsafe and exhausting. My condition is expected to progress so I'll probably use it more as the months go by. I'm a smaller person - 164 cm and 52 kg - and will have some limitations on the exact device due to funding availability. I live somewhere with hills, heat, and snow and ice depending on the season, and travel by public transport.

From searching I'm wondering about battery and wheel options? Foldable or not? Things to look out for or be mindful of? Questions to ask the OT and vendor?

Any tips appreciated, from questions to ask to resources to read. I did fine one helpful askme from over a decade ago.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

This is something I've been looking into myself, but haven't actually made the leap yet, so take this all with a grain of salt. From what I can figure out, you can get a few thousand dollar foldable chair, of which there are many models sold by many companies, all of which are made in China, most by one company called JBH Wheelchair. If you have a lot more money to spend, you can get much fancier, more robust, non-foldable, more all-terrain chairs like those from Bounder, etc. The latter is definitely better for snow and ice, rough terrain, etc, but that doesn't help much if it isn't in your budget. These are also not going to fit in the trunk of a car like the foldable models, if that matters to you.

For the less expensive foldable chairs, the main differences seem to be wheel size (those with 12" or so wheels seem to be recommended over ones with smaller wheels), minor differences in weight, and if the backrest is adjustable, which may or may not matter to you. Don't even consider a chair with a lead acid battery. Many people in my world seem to order theirs online, because the options available from the larger companies that have stores seem to be significantly worse.
posted by ssg at 8:34 AM on March 24, 2022

Foldable or not will depend on whether you'll need it to go into a car. If you travel by car and don't have a wheelchair accessible vehicle, then a foldable chair will be light enough to lift into a car. The smaller foldable chairs are a nice backup, but I don't know whether they'll deal well with hills and snow. They will generally have a shorter battery life, so you won't get as far on a charge, if that's a concern.
posted by hydra77 at 9:14 AM on March 24, 2022

When i researched this for my mother about three years ago, actually the biggest issue or obstacle turned out to be where she was going to store it (she wanted to keep the regular one in the apartment because of the width of the inside doors) and where/how to charge it. Because of various building issues, it did not fit inside her apartment, and leaving it in the shared entry way where it also could have been charged also not permitted or feasable spacewise. The model she wanted was not foldable, because it needed to be sturdy, due to snow and ice and bumpy sidewalks.
posted by 15L06 at 9:20 AM on March 24, 2022

There are a few categories -
- frames that look basically like manual wheelchairs but with power assist
- basic power wheelchair (e.g. Pride Go Chair) - with seat that looks more like a mobility scooter, but joystick control rather than a steering tiller in front of you
- "complex rehab wheelchairs" (e.g. Permobil M3) - these are expensive but also super advanced and customizable, for people who can't get out of the chair, or need alternative controls, lots of positioning options, head support, etc - you would work with a wheelchair seating clinic to start ordering one of these, and they can take a long time to arrive once ordered

There will be a big tradeoff between indoor/outdoor considerations, so think carefully about what's important to your use. Indoors you want a tight turning radius, precise steering at low speeds, and maybe you want it to be lightweight for portability in a car from one indoor space to another; outdoors you want sturdiness and stable handling at faster speeds, ability to go over uneven terrain, and a bigger battery to manage longer distances.

For indoor use, the turning radius is critical. It will make a big difference to how easily you can navigate eg bathroom, getting into the places you need to in the kitchen, how much you scratch up your walls, etc. When you're starting looking, the Spinlife website lays out many features - eg the turning radius and the weight of the heaviest piece (for chairs that claim portability - eg if the heaviest piece is 40 pounds, you need someone who can lift 40 pounds to help).

You mention hills. For outdoor use, chairs should tell you in the specs how much angle they can handle; believe the numbers.

Also relevant is what type of drive it has: rear-wheel drive, mid-wheel drive or front-wheel drive. Comparison of pros-cons of different types of wheelchair drive here

How much will you be sitting in it? If you're spending significant time it, you need a wheelchair cushion to prevent injury. Talk with your OT about this.

Money - If you're in the US, understand what is covered by your insurance/medicare/etc. As I understand it, Medicare will cover only one wheelchair/mobility device per 5 years, so if you think you will progress to needing a more advanced wheelchair in the next few years, it may be better to get your introductory power chair out-of-pocket and save the Medicare coverage for a bigger-ticket chair in the future. Talk to your provider about this to understand the money situation correctly.

If you have a progressive condition it's possible there is an organization for that condition (MS or similar) and they may have equipment-loaner programs or some financial help, it's worth investigating. Also web forums for your condition may have useful tips.

The more complex the chair you get, the more you'll rely on your medical equipment vendor for service/adjustments etc. So for the more expensive/feature-rich chairs, pick a vendor that your OT knows is reliable.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:01 PM on March 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Follow Instagrammers and TikTokers who use power wheelchairs and you may find archived videos from the last time they replaced their chairs, talking about the choices they made. Here are some accounts. You can find more by searching terms related to your condition or others that are often associated with power chair use. Try searching them as hashtags too.

As you follow each account, there will be a few "recommended for you" accounts that pop up- immediately follow those too, the algorithm usually does an ok job of finding similar accounts and you can always choose to unfollow later.

Check out:
Shane Burcaw (also huge on YouTube)
Wheel Life in the Wheel World
Maayan Ziv
This Little Miggy

Good luck!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:55 PM on March 24, 2022

Public transit is designed with traditional wheelchair turning radius, so it will be easier to board with a lift, as well as get secured, if the turning radius is smaller, and not a 3-point-turn. Measure all of the narrow areas you encounter from the time you wake up to when you retire to sleep at the end of the day - you want mobility support that fits the dimensions of your life with minor adaption. There is plenty of good advice upthread.
posted by childofTethys at 11:43 PM on March 24, 2022