Wheelchairs

Five wheelchairs, and who each one is actually for.

Not a catalogue. The chairs we would put a parent in, sorted by the decision you are actually making: how heavy it is to lift, how it goes in a car, and whether the person in it is pushing themselves.

Help me choose
Wheelchairs at Silvera

Almost every wheelchair buying decision comes down to three questions, and none of them are about the chair. Who is lifting it into the car. Whether the person in it will push themselves or be pushed. And how many hours a day it will actually be used. Answer those three and the field narrows to about two options, which is what this page is for.

Our recommendations

Feather Chair, Feather Mobility Best for lifting into a car single-handed Feather Chair This is the chair to buy when the person doing the lifting is the constraint. from $1,199 See why → Karman Ergo Flight (Ergo Lite 2), Karman Healthcare Best for comfort over longer sittings Karman Ergo Flight (Ergo Lite 2) The S-shaped seat frame is the reason to buy this one. from $899 See why →

In review

3 more we are working through.

These are real needs we intend to cover. We have not put a name against them yet because we have not finished checking, and a recommendation we have not verified is worth nothing to you.

Reviewing Lightweight transport chair If the chair is for appointments and the occasional day out, a transport chair does the job for a fraction of the money. In review What we are checking → Reviewing Carbon-frame rigid wheelchair For someone in a chair all day and propelling themselves, a rigid carbon frame is a different category of product: lighter, far more efficient to push, and it protects shoulders over years rather than months. In review What we are checking → Folding power chair, Category recommendation Reviewing Folding power chair A power chair restores range to someone who cannot self-propel and does not want to be pushed, and that is a large amount of independence for the money. In review What we are checking →

How to choose

The three things that decide it.

Weight is the specification that decides everything

A chair that a caregiver cannot lift into a boot will not be used, and an unused chair is a total loss. Under 20 lb is liftable by most people. Over 30 lb needs a plan.

Transport chair or self-propel

Small rear wheels mean somebody else pushes. Large rear wheels mean the user can move independently. This is not a minor feature, it is two different products, and getting it wrong is the most common expensive mistake in this category.

Seat width is measured on the person, not the chair

Measure the widest point while seated, add roughly an inch. Too wide is as bad as too narrow: it costs posture, and it stops the chair fitting through a standard interior door.