Buying guide · Lift chairs

Dual or quad motor lift chair?

Name: Connect Mobility
Address: T27/9 Margaret Street, Picton, NSW, 2571, AU
Telephone: 1300 216 888
Price range: $$

Written by Nadim Assaf, registered pharmacist, Connect Mobility in Picton

Both lift you to your feet. The difference is how many parts you can move on their own. Let's look at when the extra motors earn their price.

What the motors do

A dual motor chair moves the backrest and the legrest separately. You can raise your legs and still sit upright to eat or read.

A quad chair adds a powered headrest and lumbar support. The headrest tips your head forward when you're reclined, so you can watch TV without a stiff neck. The lumbar pad pushes into the small of your back.

Every chair here also lifts you forward to help you stand. That part works the same on all of them.

Which one fits

You want to raise your legs while sitting upPride C6 dual$1,999

You need a better fit, in small, medium or largeSignature 2 Dual$2,599

You spend long hours in the chair and your neck or back achesRenoir Quattro$3,299

Pressure or sliding is a worryGabriel X tilt$4,669

If a single motor is on your list too, our dual vs single motor guide covers that choice.

Are more motors better?

Not always. Each motor adds buttons to the handset. Four or five functions can be too much for someone who gets confused, and pressing the wrong button can tip them forward.

In Ontario, a coroner reviewed three deaths. All three people had memory or thinking problems, worked the chair themselves and fell. None of the chairs had been checked by a health professional first.

If memory is slipping, a simpler handset is often the safer choice. An OT can help you decide.

Recline or tilt

When a chair only reclines, the body can slide down the seat. That rubs and drags on the skin over the tailbone.

Tilt rocks the whole seat back, so weight comes off the sit bones. Seating specialists say 15 to 30 degrees is usually enough. That can help people at risk of pressure sores, and some people with Parkinson's say it brings them to their feet more gently.

The Aspire Gabriel X tilts as well as reclining. It has five motors, so it's worth trying the handset in the showroom first.

Getting up to stand

The lift raises the whole seat and tips it forward. It does the hard part of standing up, but your legs still finish the job.

Before you press the button, shuffle your bottom forward and put your feet flat, under your knees. Rest your hands on the armrests.

Let the chair rise until your feet take your weight. Then lean forward, nose over toes, and push up from the armrests. Pride's manual says not to stand until you can do it safely, so stop the chair wherever feels steady.

If you use a walker or stick, park it in front of the chair before you sit down. In one Canadian case, a woman nearly fell standing up from her lift chair because her cane was out of reach.

Helping someone up

If you're the carer, let the chair do the lifting. Stand beside the person, not in front, and keep their walker still with the brakes on.

Don't lift them under the arms or pull on their hands. UK manual handling guidance warns that under-arm lifts cause pain, and it puts your own back at risk too.

Give short, clear prompts. Feet back, bottom forward, lean forward, push. If they can't take their weight when the chair is fully up, stop and lower them back down. That's the time to talk to their OT about a standing aid or a hoist.

Raising your legs

A dual motor is the cheapest way to get your feet up while you sit upright. That can ease swollen ankles.

Harvard Health's advice is to raise the legs above the heart only if you're not short of breath. If you have heart or breathing problems, check with your doctor before you spend long periods with your legs up.

Keep standing up

Getting in and out of a chair is good daily exercise. It keeps the legs strong.

Some physiotherapists warn that a lift chair can make people rely on it, until they can't stand from any other chair. Use the lift only as much as you need. Practise standing from a firm chair too.

Getting the size right

A chair that's too high leaves your feet dangling. Too deep, and the seat edge presses behind your knees. Too wide, and you'll lean to one side.

The Pride C6 seat is 56 cm wide and 48 cm from the floor. The Signature 2 and Renoir Quattro come in small, medium and large. Bring your measurements and we'll match them.

Safety at home

From the makers' manuals and NSW Fair Trading

Nothing goes under the chair. Pride's manual names pets and small children in particular. NSW Fair Trading has recorded children aged 6 months to 5 years hurt and killed in recliners.

Plug it straight into the wall. Aspire says never to use an extension lead. Leave room behind it to recline. Pride asks for 76 cm. Aspire's chairs need anywhere from 16 to 80 cm, depending on the model.

In a shared home, keep the handset in the chair's side pocket, so nobody else presses it by mistake.

Looking after it

Aspire says to spot clean fabric with water and a microfibre cloth, without soaking it. Wipe vinyl with water only, no soap. Pride suggests vacuuming, then spot cleaning with the foam of a mild detergent.

Check the power cable runs clear of the lift mechanism, so it can't get pinched. If the chair won't be used for a while, Aspire says to take out the lithium backup battery.

Our dual and quad chairs

DualPride C6$1,999Seat 56 cm wide, 48 cm high. Lithium backup battery. Up to 136 kg.View chair

DualAspire Idaho Dual Action$1,999Seat 48 cm wide, deep and high. Up to 150 kg.View chair

DualAspire Signature 2 Dual Action$2,599Small, medium or large. All-day battery backup. Up to 155 kg.View chair

QuadAspire Renoir Quattro$3,299Powered headrest and lumbar. Small, medium or large. Up to 130 kg.View chair

Five actionAspire Gabriel X$4,669Adds tilt-in-space to the four quad functions. Heat and massage.View chair

QuadAspire Rembrandt Quattro$5,999Four motors. 5-year frame warranty. Up to 159 kg.View chair

Paying for it

All of these chairs cost between $1,500 and $15,000, so the NDIS treats them as mid-cost assistive technology. You'll need written evidence from your OT or another allied health professional. Our NDIS lift chair guide walks you through it.

On Support at Home, ask your provider about the AT-HM scheme. The health professional assessment is fully funded.