Manual or power: which wheelchair to start with

People shop brands first. The decision that actually holds up is duller: who supplies the energy, over what distance, and does the chair have to come apart.

A manual chair is the right start when the rider can push, or when a caregiver can, and the day is not a long outdoor route. A standard Drive or Medline is enough for many of those days. A Quickie 2, Catalyst 5, or Helio C2 is the start when pushing is the main way the person moves and the chair should be fitted instead of merely folded.

Power is the right start when shoulders, fatigue, or distance make that push unrealistic. Inside power, split the purchase again. A Jazzy Carbon or Go Chair is a travel chair. A Jazzy EVO is an everyday base. A Permobil, Quantum, TDX, or Amylior is a rehab system, usually with tilt or other seating, and usually with a clinician in the room.

The expensive mistake is buying the travel power chair because it was lighter in a video, then discovering the person needed tilt and a seat that is not 17 inches. The other expensive mistake is ordering a rehab base for someone who only needed a trunk chair for appointments.

If you are between two of those, request both. Comparing two quotes is cheaper than returning a configured frame, which often cannot be returned at all.