Anyone buy a new light weight chair recently? I'm in the market for one. Have a van so don't require the absolute lightest chair. Just need something that is strong and won't break down.
My first had a sling back which fell apart. The armrest brackets kept coming loose (among other things) and my chair didn't last long. I'm very active and do multiple chair to truck transfers a day so the VA got me another Quickie TI with a Roho JetStream Pro Wheelchair Back (low height for me but they come in different sizes, but it is extremely adjustable), different casters, wheels, and front forks. I've had it about a year, and I do a "once over" every few days checking the nuts, bolts and the like and so far, so good. It is extremely light, easy to take apart and store in any vehicle (I can lift the entire chair with one arm easily) and I love the back. I never had good luck with sling backs or upholstery so I just "plussed" mine up. I also use 25 inch Spinergy wheels (the permanetly inflated kind, I can't recall the name but I hate worrying about putting air in tires) which I like.
In the back of my truck I carry a small repair kit and extra wheels. My first chair was a Quickie GPV which was a rugged but heavier chair which lasted me about 7 years. I almost cried when I had to turn it in to the VA lol, but it was pretty trashed. I have a back up folding chair which I hate (too heavy and cumbersome for my needs at this point) and that is also a Quickie. I have one more chair which is one of those monoshock ones that I bought off of Ebay years ago and that is a nice chair too, but it is heavy.
Just remember to do maintenance on your chair, have tools to repair it yourself if possible, and try to plan for wheelchair "mishaps" (and believe me, Murphy is just waiting) if you can. I come from the school of hard knocks, so you should come from the academy of "lessons learned"...ha.
What I do is good for a Paraplegic (I'm a T-5 complete) and may not be for everyone... I'm aware of that.
I think it is a trial and error process. Now I don't mean go buy a chair realize you hate it and try again but make sure you try lots of demo chairs. I wouldn't go with the Quicke Ti, I considered buying it a few weeks back because the government buys my chair and they won't buy a titanium chair so I am trying to secure funding from another source. I have done a lot of reading up on the Ti and there have been several problems with it (backrest breaking, upholestry sagging, problems with the frame breaking and flex in the frame). Flex in the frame is a real issue if you have spasms as you could get thrown out of your chair. I would recommend looking into TiLite. Several people have them and LOVE them; this is what I'm trying to get.
Registered: 03/31/04
Posts: 1889
Loc: where the wild roadrunners roa...
TiLite is the new darling, but I've used a Quickie Ti for 6 + years and have not had a problem with it. Quickie is more a mass produced product, but I've had very good luck with their chairs for over 20 years.
