Wheelchair Weight - How Important Is It?

Over the past fifty years just about the chair makers have striven to create their product lighter and lighter by victimization light-weight materials like Al in situ of the steel frames and elements.


They have managed to scale back the load of a typical folding chair by ten to twenty pounds however have exaggerated the value of those chairs by up to $800.00 before accessories and choices.


The question is, is it well worth the added  expense to own a chair that's thirty to forty pounds rather than fifty to sixty pounds. For athletes wherever 100ths of a second matters, thuslution} would clearly be affirmative except for the on a daily basis user the solution is not so clear.


If the chair user weighs one hundred sixty pounds and that they square measure employing a chair advisement forty pounds their total weight are two hundred pounds. If an equivalent user contains a chair that weighs sixty pounds their total weight are 220 pounds. during this case, the quality weight chair is five hundredth heavier than the light-weight chair however once the user sits within the chair the distinction in weight is regarding 100 percent.


If the user happens to weigh two hundred pounds, the distinction between the 2 total weights is nearer to eight. because the user's weight will increase, the distinction in weight between the 2 wheelchairs is down till it's nearly negligible.


Even with our original one hundred sixty pound user the distinction in weight between the quality and light-weight wheelchairs would hardly be noticeable after they square measure self-propelling or being pushed by a caregiver. In fact, if the light-weight chair has smaller wheels or the frame is therefore lightweight it flexes once being pushed there may well be no distinction in any respect.


There square measure instances wherever the load of a chair is a crucial issue however they sometimes have very little to try to to with the user. The factors that build the load vital square measure typically associated with the caregivers.


If the chair should be upraised into a vehicle, or anyplace else for that matter, then the distinction in weight between a forty pound chair and a sixty pound chair are important and will otherwise be well worth the added  price.


The weights I've quoted during this article square measure typical for traditional folding wheelchairs. Non-folding rigid or sports wheelchairs are lighter and reclining or tilting wheelchairs are abundant heavier in weight.


If weight are an element once selecting a chair it is vital that the customer check the specifications closely. Some makers publish their product weights with footrests and/or armrests excluded. I've truly seen a sports chair manufacturer exclude the wheels from the load computations.


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