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Philadelphia, PA
Aug 17 2013
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Wanted: Power wheelchair bling

Sep 02 05:51

I first got the idea of finding someone who sold sexy power wheelchair body work after seeing Professor X’s wheelchair in the X-Men movie. His sleek wheelchair was encased in this amazing body, making it look uber-streamlined. Most power wheelchairs, including mine, are so bulky, and for no good reason to boot.

Wires, screws, more wires, awkward wheel wells, and arm rests are all high on the list of power wheelchair eye sores. But hey, the wheelchair nor the user can help it. Power wheelchair users need a lot of wheelchair accouterments, but nothing is rarely done to prevent these things from being exposed. Manual wheelchairs get all the cool body work, why not us? Permobil is one power chair company that‘s on the right track, but most state insurances don‘t approve their chairs.

Money of course is the likely reason these companies don’t put a ton of effort into aesthetics, and now days that's totally understandable. That is why customized, or even stock, wheelchair body parts that can just snap-on to your power wheelchair, especially if you have an extra bulky chair like mine (Invacare and Quickie), would be amazing to have. They could hide the entire body, leaving just the seat and joystick exposed. I also reaaaally want cool wheel covers for my powerchair wheels (what? too much? never).

I also once saw a power wheelchair all chromed out, which was a custom job done by a paraplegic wheelchair technician. It looked so badass, but sadly the parts weren’t for sale, nothing like that was available online or offline, and he wasn‘t interested in doing it for anyone else. Do I need to make friends with a guy who owns a shop, and turn him onto wheelchair mods? But should it really be this difficult?

When you have to use a powerchair everyday for the rest of your life, we deserve some pretty too. And btw, plastic body makers - this is your “in” to meet an unmet need in an industry. Help us!

How have you made your powerchair look cool?

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1. sportaid | Sep 14 11:23

That is a great thought. I would love to see more personalized accessories for power wheelchairs. Could you imagine (in my personal case) a control stick shaped like a lightsaber or even the full control panel from the Millenium Falcon?

2. Greathouselabs | Sep 23 03:27

Check out www.racegreathouselabs.com Lance Greathouse

3. ex-Gooserider | Oct 04 10:13

I don't care all that much about how it looks, I want a chair that WORKS instead of the absolute crap put out by the industry... It should be no wider than the users seated width, and no longer than the seated length, with rounded corners to maximize the maneuverability. It also should be equipped with WIDE soft squishy tires and suspension to give the best possible all terrain capability without beating you to death... The industry refuses to make such a chair, instead sticking you with oversize underpowered tanks on rock hard skinny tires... The industry sells the same old crap they've been selling for years, with fancy new paint schemes... I'm building my own chair following the ideas set out on Wheelchairdriver.com - target is a power chair with the footprint of a manual, that handles like a sports chair. But why should I have to build it?

4. Powerchair Pimp | Oct 05 06:55

Im strapped in a complex rehab 1. Im never done pinping so, here R a few quick 1s I got a colorful roho cover, my headrest is kinda U shaped but small enough so bandannas fit. Now I have a bunch 2 choose from. I didnt go with the red color for my chair even blue or black would of been better and with some chairs U could even choose hot pink or yellow, I just found a company online could cool hubcaps they work 4 powerchairs 2 if any1 also pimps I would like what U did 2 yours wheelieblind at youtube.

Spin 2.0

By Tiffiny Carlson

Tiffiny Carlson Disability buzz, travel, fashion and dating — fun things to amp up everyday wheeling life.

Tiffiny Carlson is freelance writer and writes the “SCI Life” column for New Mobility. She's also a C6 quad from a diving accident that occurred when she was 14 years old. A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Tiffiny has been a writer in the disability community for over 10 years and writes for several publications and blogs, as well as her personal blog BeautyAbility. Her work has also appeared in mainstream publications such as Nerve.com and Playgirl.