Ordering wheelchair online.

[KonaDude]

I live on the big island of Hawaii and need to have a wheelchair shipped from the mainland. There are no vendors here for quality chairs and only two clinics that can kind of do measurments for a manual chair. My question is, has anyone been successful ordering their chair over the Internet and doing your own measurements? I noticed that most sites have a measuring chart to help. ill be getting something that is rigid and somewhat adjustable like an Aero Z. This will be my first chair.

[KonaDude]

I have read through the other posts about online orders, I'm mostly concerned about getting all the measurments right.

[QTiPi]

In the absence of prior experience with a well-fitting wheelchair, I'd say you should seriously consider the Icon because it lets you change so much after purchase and so easily. Frankly, I'm not sure anyone's first chair is exactly right, even WITH the assistance of a seating clinic etc. So adjustable is definitely the way to go, and you can't get more adjustable than the Icon. That said, the Aero Z is pretty adjustable and online dealers will usually do their best to help you work out measurements--I've heard good things about SportAid in this respect and better things about the guys at BikeOn.

[-scott-]

I've ordered my last 4 chairs online, but I know exactly what I need. If you're a first-timer, you should look for adjustability so you can mess with it to figure out what works for you the best. I agree with QTiPi's recommendations.

[Kristopher]

I do my own measurements but I have had multiple chairs and done a lot of research. Can you tell us a little more about your current abilities and where you see your abilities being at two years from now. Also, what kind of surfaces will you spend most of your time on? What type of vehicle do you drive and will you be loading your own chair?

[chasmengr]

I read your bio - my wife and I are soooo jealous of your move

I have MS, too.
I have full feeling. Do you? If not, my wheelchair advice is no good because I know zilch about protecting against pressure sores.
I can still stand walk a bit. Can you? If so get the Flip-Back Footrest. I love mine.

I love my AeroZ. I took my own measurements, but then had them verified at a seating clinic (no changes) who then ordered my chair and had it shipped to a DMEs from whom I picked it up. My understanding is chairs are shipped partially disassembled, so you'll need to be handy and have tools to assemble it.

I measured seat width by sitting on the floor with one thigh against a door, and placing a large book vertically against my other thigh. Then my wife measured the width, and I rounded up to the nearest inch.

I measured seat depth by sitting on a hard kitchen chair, and scooting my rear around until about 1.5 inches existed between the front of the chair and the back of my legs. Then my wife marked and measured the distance from my back (sitting with good posture)m to the front of the chair.

I measured footrest distance by sitting on a telescoping office chair, and setting it (with wife's) help so my lap was level when my feet (with desired shoes) were flat on the floor. Then measuring the seat height minus my compressed cushion thickness (remember the cushion - TiuLite measures to the seat upholstery [bottom of cushion]). Then, when ordering a TiLite chair, subtract 1/2" from your measurement, which provides a better adjustment range.

Rear Seat Height (RSH) and Front Seat Height (FSH) are a bit more involved. In another post. . .

[~Lin]

Yea I don't think you can get perfect measurements without experience in a chair. Most people's first chair is pretty out of whack for that reason. I got lucky and between a decent seating guy and researching myself very little was off in my first chair... However, having finally being in a chair with those things fixed an inch here and an inch there makes a WORLD of difference.

I highly recommend the Icon chair, that's for sure! I'm not sure how comparable it is to an AeroZ in price. I assume you're paying out of pocket? Know anyone in a wheelchair that you could sit in to have something to go from size wise? Though measurements do not stay the same from manufacturer to manufacturer, its a starting point.

For making an online purchase, I'd speak with user Stephen212 here. He can give you personalized measurement assistance .http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthr...=1#post1758009

[chasmengr]

The Icon was not on the market yet when I got my AeroZ. Icon may indeed be your best choice. You can still provide your measurements to Icon, and they will set it up for you. Then you can configure to your heart's desire. Also virtually no waiting time exists for Icon - waiting time for a TiLite is minimum ten days after approved order plus shipping time.

The Icon was invented by a very active wheelchair user (CCC member JeffAdams) who was frustrated with existing products. It's unique in the wheelchair market. Watch the videos on his website.

[nonoise]

I could give you a big long story about my purchases, instead I'd say consider the Icon since you are not zeroed in on measurements. As a benefit of Icon you do get two chairs out of one because of the way you can turn the casters forward for longer wheelbase, and for that matter I suppose you could swap out larger casters at the same time for a short while. Another thing is that since these chairs can be adjusted to fit so well, I would think that their resale value would not crash like custom chairs do. I could be wrong, I don't have one, never even seen one, but search this site and you will find it is a top rated chair and company.

[rolling01au]

I ordered my zra2 online from sportaid and delivered to Australia.