Ultra Lightweight wheelchair help

[summy32]

I am looking to purchase an ultra lightweight wheelchair for my son. He is 24 with autism and has toe walked all his life. This has caused mobility issues when he has to walk for extended periods of time. We currently use a transport chair but it is getting hard to push. He is around 250 lbs and I just need something that rolls easier and smoother. I also cannot lift something that is super heavy. Does anyone have experience with some of the ultra lightweight chairs. I am looking at the Feather chair. There are two options the regular a wide option that holds higher weights (350). I am also looking at the So Lite and Karman ultra lightweight. We would be using it when going shopping for extended periods but mostly when we go to Disney or other similar vacations

 

[Groot]

I don’t know much about the makes/models you mentioned. What I found about the Feather is that in order to get down to the aforementioned 13.5 lbs (15 lbs. for the HD version), you have to remove the rear wheels (which there’s a button that you push), otherwise the TOTAL WEIGHT is around 19 lbs. (or 22 lbs. for HD).

When it comes to the other makes/models that you mentioned, it’s the same thing. The TOTAL WEIGHT of the chair is different from the weight when the REAR WHEELS are removed.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Does your son have medical coverage? They may cover the cost and if so the vendor works with you to help find what works best for your son’s specific needs. We went that path when our child with autism outgrew her stroller, then child’s wheelchair. Both times they were a great help.

I do know they told us the bigger the back wheels the easier it is to push. Sorry but I don’t know more than that.

 

[summy32]

Thank you for your responses. I have been researching the actual weight with and without various parts removed. He currently has Medicare. Years ago he got a custom special needs stroller that was covered but he outgrew that. We were then told that it would not be covered for him to get a wheelchair or larger special needs stroller. His mobility issues are not enough for it to be covered.

 

[DodgerGirl]

You might have to look at Amazon and The Home Depot for wheelchairs for your son. I know that whenever Mom and I learned that my dad needed a wheelchair we searched Amazon for my father's wheelchair and we found him one at a good price and it's a good wheelchair and it's easy for Dad to wheel himself around in. Sometimes Amazon will have sales on wheelchairs but have a look at Amazon's wheelchair section and you might find a great deal on one
Glad to be helpful,
Dodger

 

[summy32]

I have been searching Amazon. I will have to look online at Home Depot as well. We have always used a transport chair except when we are in a store like Kohls or Walmart and use the full size chairs they have for customers. We also rented a full size chair when we went to Hersheypark last year. They seem to move more smoothly and are easier to push. That is what I am looking for overall. A chair that is easier for me to push but also that I can lift in and out of my car.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Another place you can try is Betty Mills and they have a huge assortment of wheelchairs too. But I think when it comes to getting mobility equipment getting it through insurance is a huge annoying pain. Because when my mom was trying to get a wheelchair for my dad she had to search through dozens of wheelchair places and even called our pharmacy which is where my dad was gonna get his but it was flooding and the pharmacy couldn't deliver the wheelchair to our house so mom went to Amazon and bought Dad's wheelchair