Manual wheelchair suggestions

[Lynnie]

Forgive me if this is not the right place to ask. I will be going on a trip to France with my son & daughter in law in a little over a month. When the trip was booked I wasn’t sure a wheelchair could be needed, at least for the entire trip. I now have great difficulty walking and am falling quite often. I’m in need of a manual wheelchair that will be sturdy enough to take the European streets but won’t break the bank as I suspect a power chair will need to be in my near future. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[ReginaS]

I have no experience with different models of manual wheelchairs.... When I visit my mother I push her around in a wheelchair on European streets and sidewalks. Make sure you have a good cushion bc it is going to be bumpy. My mother has a standard (European) model - the one her health insurance paid for, nothing special and I always wish that there was more comfort for her... she does not find it very comfortable. I am sure there must be something better ... if you think you need a power chair soon I'd start the process asap as it takes a while to get it.
Much luck, and I hope you will enjoy your trip to Paris!!

 

[lgelb]

I would look at the Karman and Top Mobility lines, among others. For cobblestones if that applies, Europeans will know best but I would think air-filled or partially air-filled tires would work best. And of course, the full-size wheels and casters on the higher end of traction.

 

[Stevmil]

I recently had to get a manual wheelchair because we were going on a 4 day mini cruise, and I knew the ship would be too big for me to just use my walker. I was able to try out a couple different ones through our local community health people, and decided on a brand called Motion. Very light chair and the wheels come off easily if you need to pop it in a car trunk. Back now from the cruise and the chair worked great.

 

[MandellFam]

Have you seen the jazzy carbon? It’s a small foldable electric chair. 40 pounds and can fold in a taxi trunk and fit in an airplane overhead bin. It’s expensive ($3k) but some associations or even PALS could lend it to you if you didn’t want to invest. My PALS is in a similar position to you mobility wise and has been using this a lot and it’s been great. He uses his cane for short distances but took this to my sons track race, a water park, etc. it can go over bumps and hills which is needed in Europe. make sure whatever you take can fit in a taxi trunk, as you will need to take the device places not walking distance. One other suggestion for Europe is to rent a device there. We rented a large electric scooter in March in both Denmark and Munich through Motion4Rent. They dropped off and picked up at hotel. The scooter was great for cobblestones and hills but it was too big to put in a taxi which meant if we went somewhere far we couldn’t take it with us. I wish we would have rented that AND something portable. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[steve613]

Be sure to get a Roho cushion