Electric Wheelchairs and Power Chairs

Electric wheelchair for indoors or out?

Start with where the chair will spend most of its day. If that's the house, the shops and the back of a car, a folding chair is lighter, cheaper and fits in a boot.

If it's footpaths, kerbs and a few hours outside at a stretch, you want a full power chair with bigger wheels. Most people need a bit of both, and that's where it gets harder.

Folding or full power chair

Folding chairs are built around the car. The Ikon Enduro PowerLite ($4,399) folds sideways to 275mm wide and weighs 13.2kg before the battery goes in. The Jazzy Carbon Ultra-Lite ($3,900) is 15.3kg without its battery. The Aspire Aerolite ($3,999) folds the same way and comes with two lithium batteries.

The Jazzy Carbon 27X ($4,499) is the lightest chair Pride makes, with a heaviest piece of 12.5kg. The Jazzy Carbon HD ($5,199) folds too, but it's rated to 181kg and has full suspension.

The Jazzy Passport ($4,499) folds in a few steps. The Pride Go Chair ($3,499) pulls apart into pieces instead of folding, which suits someone who can't lift a whole chair in one go.

The trade is small front wheels and a lighter build. They're fine on paths and in shops, not on rough ground or a steep driveway.

Full power chairs don't fold and need a hoist or a ramp to get into a car. In return you get bigger drive wheels, suspension and a proper seat. The Jazzy EVO 613 ($4,499) is the everyday indoor chair and turns in 56cm. The Jazzy EVO 614 HD ($5,299) is rated to 204kg and still turns in 55.9cm.

The Jazzy 623 2.0 ($9,499) is the quick one, at 9.6km/h, and still turns in 50.8cm. For riders over 200kg, the Jazzy 1450 ($14,999) is rated to 272kg with a seat up to 81cm wide.

Which wheels do the driving

The motors sit on the front, middle or rear wheels, and that decides how the chair turns. Mid wheel drive turns on the spot, which is what you want in a hallway or a small kitchen. The EVO 613, EVO 614 HD and 623 2.0 are mid wheel. Six wheels on the ground and Pride's Active-Trac suspension keep them steady over a ramp lip.

Front wheel drive puts the big wheels first, so it climbs a kerb or a doorsill better and still turns tightly. The Jazzy 1450 is front wheel drive with 14 inch flat-free tyres. Rear wheel drive, like the Ikon Enduro and the Carbon folding chairs, tracks straight but needs a wider turn. The Ikon's turning circle is 1,080mm.

The numbers side by side

Max user weight is the first number to check. Range is the maker's figure on flat ground with a full charge, so expect less on hills.

Chair	Type	Max user weight	Chair weight	Range	Drive	Price
Pride Go Chair	Pulls apart	136kg	Not published	Not published	Not published	$3,499
Jazzy Carbon Ultra-Lite	Folding	125kg	15.3kg without battery	Not published	Not published	$3,900
Aspire Aerolite	Side folding	Not published	Not published	20km	Not published	$3,999
Ikon Enduro PowerLite	Side folding	140kg	13.2kg net, 15.8kg gross	Up to 18km	Rear	$4,399
Jazzy Carbon 27X	Folding	124kg	Heaviest piece 12.5kg	Up to 12.8km	Rear	$4,499
Jazzy Passport	Folding	113.3kg	Not published	Not published	Not published	$4,499
Jazzy Carbon HD	Folding	181kg	Heaviest piece 14.6kg	Up to 20km	Rear	$5,199
Jazzy EVO 613	Full power	136kg	Heaviest piece 42.6kg	Up to 20km	Mid	$4,499
Jazzy EVO 614 HD	Full power	204kg	Heaviest piece 65kg	Up to 21km	Mid	$5,299
Jazzy 623 2.0	Full power	136kg	Heaviest piece 62.3kg	Up to 24.9km	Mid	$9,499
Jazzy 1450	Full power, bariatric	272kg	Heaviest piece 88.4kg	Up to 25.2km	Front	$14,999

Where a maker hasn't published a figure, we've said so rather than guess. Ask us and we'll pull it from the spec sheet.

Check before you buy

Who lifts it into the car? A 13kg frame is a shopping bag. Add the battery, the seat and a bad back and it's a different job. Stand at your own boot and picture it before you fall for the lightest chair on paper.

Kerbs and slopes. The Ikon and the Jazzy EVO chairs are rated to a 6 degree climb, which is a gentle driveway. Big front wheels and anti-tip wheels help, and so does a ramp at the front step.

Will it fit through the door? The Ikon is 555mm wide, the Jazzy EVO 613 558mm and the Aerolite 630mm. The Jazzy 1450 is 742mm. Measure the narrowest door in the house, and the turn into the bathroom, before you choose.

The seat. Folding chairs have a padded sling seat, 460mm wide on the Ikon and 450mm on the Aerolite. The EVO chairs have a memory foam high back seat that swivels to the side for transfers. If someone sits in the chair most of the day, a pressure cushion on top is a separate purchase and worth it.

Flying. The Aerolite's two lithium batteries are IATA approved for air travel and the Ikon's battery is listed as aeroplane safe. The Carbon 27X has a 240Wh lithium pack. Even so, the airline has the final say, so call them with the battery's watt hours before you book.

Complex seating. The Aspire Rehab RX2 ($3,499) sits in this collection but it's a manual tilt in space chair, pushed by a carer. It tilts to 35 degrees and the seat adjusts in width, depth and back height. If posture or pressure care is the main need, start there or with our manual wheelchairs.

Driving it safely

Turn the speed down for the first week and keep it down indoors. Approach a kerb or ramp square on, never at an angle, and keep anti-tip wheels fitted. Charge the chair after every day it's used.

If a carer is helping, their job is the transfers and the car, not steering. Switch the chair off before anyone stands up from it, and do up the lap belt before moving off. A safety lap belt is $36.30 if the chair didn't come with one.

NDIS and power chairs

Every chair here is over $1,500, so it's mid or high cost assistive technology. The NDIA wants a written OT report that says why a manual chair or a cheaper model won't do, and what the chair costs. Most OTs will want a trial first. The NDIA's own page on assistive technology explains the bands.

We're NDIS registered (4050144759) and quote the same day the OT report lands. Plan managed and agency managed participants order through us, and self managed participants pay and claim. The process is the same as for a scooter, which we walk through in getting a mobility scooter through the NDIS.

Questions we get asked

EVO 613 or EVO 614 HD?

EVO 613 for most people, at $800 less. EVO 614 HD if the user is over 136kg or needs a wider seat. Both turn in about 56cm, so the bigger chair doesn't cost you anything in a hallway.

Can I try one at home?

We run free home trials in Sydney, Macarthur and the Southern Highlands. Tell us which chair the OT is leaning towards and we'll bring it out. Your own doorways and your own car are the real test.

Power chair or scooter?

A chair if you need to drive it indoors, transfer from it, or can't hold a tiller for long. A scooter if it's for the shops and the street and you walk fine inside.

How far will it go?

The published figures run from 12.8km on the Carbon 27X to 25.2km on the Jazzy 1450. Hills, a heavier user and a cold battery all cut into that.

Can I take it on a plane?

The Aerolite and the Ikon both come with batteries their makers list as air travel approved, and the Carbon 27X is built for travel. Check with the airline first, as each one has its own rules on lithium batteries.

What about spare parts?

Anything we sell, we can get parts for. Tyres, chargers, joysticks and batteries can all be ordered, and we'll handle the warranty claim if it's a fault.

Can I see one first?

Call before you drive out to Picton and we'll tell you what's set up that week.