I have finally been out and about in my new Freedom Chair. It is just such a brilliant power chair. We have finally mastered splitting and joining the chair and have no problems fitting it into the boot of our little Yaris – with room to spare – that’s how compact it is when split. I love that it is so simple and quick to set up and be off and about.
I took it to a local botanical gardens to put it through its paces and gain confidence in using it. These gardens have a range of different surfaces and grades and so was perfect for me to gain confidence and skill in navigating it. The chair feels so stable and secure when traversing all different kinds of surfaces from cobbles, to paving, asphalt, cement, wooden bridges, gravel, dirt and rough grassy areas. It effortlessly surmounted road speed bumps and I found that I simply needed to just trust the chair. The chair has the capacity to move at speeds up to 7km/hr – I only had it up to 3km/hr and felt like I was flying – so amazing capacity in a chair that feels so secure.
I stopped on a downhill slope and the brakes are amazing. The chair comes to an instant stop the second my hand is removed from the joystick control and you can actually feel the electromagnetic braking system hold the chair in place – it feels very much like engaging the hand brake when driving, but with the Freedom Chair, it just does it automatically.
Climbing back up a lengthy slope of around 8 to 11 degrees and 100plus metres, was just so effortless for this chair. It has an incredible amount of grunt and there was not an instant of strain or difficulty for this chair to literally zoom effortlessly up this slope. It is recommended that the maximum grade for use with the chair is 12 degrees even though it has been tested and found safe at 15 degrees. I surmounted a very short but steep slope up onto a bridge that measured 14 degrees and the chair didn’t falter or have any difficulties at all. The anti-tip wheels are so easy and fast to slide on for added safety, but not once on any surface or any slope did I feel that the chair might tip – I really felt safe in this chair and quickly learned to trust its many and amazing capabilities.
The joystick control is amazingly intuitive and instantly responsive to minimal pressure. This is ideal for anyone with limited finger and hand mobility or difficulties with fine motor control as you can literally navigate the chair with just a fingertip.
However, I would recommend practising using the joystick before attempting to go through tight spaces just to get used to the minimal amount of pressure needed for the chair to respond, as it is easy to over exert the pressure until you get used to using it. It is fabulous that there is the choice of mounting on either left or right with the turn of a screw. The displays on the joystick like speed and battery charge remaining are bright and super easy to read.
The large footplate is brilliant. It is so much better and more comfortable than the twin pedal style footrests found on traditional wheelchairs. I found that the large footplate enables you to assume better posture for a more comfortable journey than the traditional twin rests. The double jointed design is also incredibly functional for moving out of the way and folding more compactly.
I love that the armrests can so easily be unlocked with the turn of a handle and lifted out of the way for ease of getting on and off and also to fit right up to tables. The usb hub in the armrest is an added safety feature to ensure your phone can stay charged when out and about and I think this is a great feature.
Both the pouch at the back of the chair and the zipped carry bag under the seat are really large and useful. I also found that I could clip a drink bottle to the push bar at the back which was very handy.
It is really easy to flick the red levers to change the chair from power driven to push along. This is great for me so that I can walk as much as I am able, then flick the levers and be back in control seated in the freedom chair.
The batteries are super easy to remove and replace back into the chair. Charging the chair is also incredibly simple and the batteries have a really huge capacity of up to 15km with the ability to just add 1 or 2 more batteries. This is a feature many other power chairs do not have. It makes me feel a whole lot safer too have a back up battery on board. I used the chair for around 2 hours and the battery charge indicator was still reading fully charged – amazing capacity.
Already – on my first day out in it – I have been able to access areas of the community that have been inaccessible to me for over 15 years. I am just so utterly thrilled that this chair is giving me the freedom to get out and about and enjoy participating in areas of the community that I have been unable to enjoy for such a long time.
The overall design of the chair is very contemporary and sleek – not at all like traditional wheelchairs – the silver and black colouring give it a really modern, sporty appearance that invite you to get out and about in it. The mud guards on the back wheels are great and very functional.
This is a really brilliant, value for money power chair that more than lives up to its name – Freedom Chair!
Thank you so much for all your help and support.
Best wishes
Michelle
Dr Michelle Morgan, PhD
Associate Editor of The International Journal of Disability, Development and Education School of Education | The University of Queensland St Lucia Q 4072 Orcid ID: 0000-0002-0443-7635
