(no subject)

[alexseanchai]

question for the (esp part-time) wheelchair user contingent!

if you were to design and magically construct yourself a wheelchair, such that anyone looking at it would figure it for an ordinary if high-end wheelchair meant for you yourself to propel, what would it look like, structurally? visual aids welcome.

(it needs to be a magical wheelchair for reasons including but not limited to: it flies; anyone trying to steal it or to touch it without its user's permission will Regret It; it can both propel itself and fold up for lightweight unobtrusive storage.)

Comments

[davidgillon]

Google "carbon black wheelchair".

[alexseanchai]

sweet. thank you!

[conuly]

This sounds like an awesome wheelchair.

[alexseanchai]

doesn't it though

[niqaeli]

Hi yes so if I ever have stupid amounts of money to throw at my part-time wheelchair aspirations, an RGK Tiga FX is TOP OF MY FUCKING LIST, because holy shit it is such a sexy, clever fold-to-rigid wheelchair. IT FOLDS COMPACTLY ENOUGH TO FIT INTO AIRLINE OVERHEAD BINS, OKAY. SO SEXY. I mean that might matter less for someone whose wheelchair ITSELF can fly, but still.

Handles on the back actually would feature because having the zappy-magic aspect would help with the potential downsides. Because the thing is, yeah they have downsides, BUT, handles are deeply useful for slinging bags across the back of your chair. They are also a goddamned magnet for hlepy motherfuckers, but if your chair can zap the motherfuckers, that's much less of a downside.

The backrest probably comes up fairly 3/4 of the way up my back. Because okay look it is very SPORTY and all having a very low-backed chair, and that absolutely has its uses, but in terms of sitting the fuck around in the chair it's... Not Great. I found when I was using my chair a lot while teaching, I'd have rathered had more back support than having the sporty movement capacity. A whole lot's gonna depend on usage, though.

I would have mine blinged the fuck up sixteen ways from sunday with glittery shit in terms of colour coat, but that's me personally. My current chair has blue bicycle hand grip tape up the supports for the front castors, because that was as colourful as I could easily manage as an after-market mod.

[niqaeli]

PS: kaberett's article Reinventing the wheel: form, function, and your first wheelchair seems like it might be relevant to informing your thoughts on the subject.

I got my first wheelchair secondhand off Craigslist per various recommendations, including kaberett, and haven't regretted it, but also: MAN has the actual physical experience of using a chair affected and altered the things I want in a chair and I'm glad I didn't put the kind of money one has to into A New Chair sans insurance covering shit (which they never will for me) without having the experience of using a chair to inform what I want.

[alexseanchai]

whoops I should have thanked you for these thoughts months and months ago

anyway now that I am actually properly writing this bit: thank you many!

[niqaeli]

you're welcome! glad these thoughts have been of some utility. :)