♿️ MOBILITY AID REVIEW: How to choose a power add-on/ power assist for your wheelchair

If you are wondering what power add on is right for you, then I hope this video can help you further with your research.

Please remember this is a video on questions to ask yourself when choosing a power add on. Not a video on the different types of add on's that there are. There are so many different types now, and I only touch on a few in this video. Anyway I hope it helps. Happy wheeling.
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I knew from the beginning that I was going to need a power assist of some sort – my right shoulder has been either subluxed or fully dislocated (it bounces back and forth) for the last almost 17 years, and my left shoulder got dislocated just a few months before I got my first custom chair and has been bouncing back and forth between subluxed and dislocated (mostly just subluxed) ever since (almost 5 years now) – hEDS, so can't just pop it back into place and let it heal like someone without EDS could. I knew I was going to have to break down my chair to get it in my car, so I knew I needed to go for the lightest possible option, which automatically ruled out power assist wheels (I knew Twions were super heavy, and when I looked up the other types of power wheels, they were also all too heavy for me to lift, and there's absolutely no way I would be able to lift my chair with them on), but I knew it had to be light enough for me to lift it in one piece into the back of my parents' van, so the chair when put together also had to be really light; it also ruled out the E-Fix, because that is super heavy and only goes on folding chairs (or at least it did back when I got my first chair – I don't know whether they've come out with a version that can go on a rigid one), as well as the ZX1 (also insanely heavy). I also knew that a front attachment was not going to work for me, because I need to be able to get under tables without removing anything. Basically, my decision came down to Smoov vs. SmartDrive MX2+, and, based on ease of operation, ease of attachment/detachment, and (most importantly) weight, I went with the SmartDrive.

SmartDrive pros for me: can go 7-7 1/2 miles on a single charge, handles hills on pavement just fine (as long as the hill isn't too steep – I've only run into that issue once, and it was super super super insanely steep), handles grass (not on super wet ground, though – damp with dew is fine) and hard packed dirt fairly well, and handles dirt/gravel roads fairly decently; also, if its tilt goes outside of a certain angle range, it will instantly shut off so that it will not pop under the chair, nor will it keep running if it falls off its bracket; it's also not too insanely heavy if I wheel manually with it disengaged (the weight is noticeable, but I can do it). Until I got my chair's COG adjusted to where it needed to be, I was able to put it on my chair while sitting in it (arms are short enough that I've always had to take it off out of the chair).

Cons for me: with the setup I have (pushtracker only), can't slow down without disengaging then reengaging the motor (the control dial that now comes standard with it mitigates that, but I personally don't have one because it could easily get broken in the cargo hold of a plane and it's neither easy nor fast to take on and off), which makes it really difficult to match pace if someone is walking with me; on pea gravel/polypave it tends to spin out so hard that it craps out (though that could have been the motor starting to fail – had to get a new motor with my first one); sometimes it refuses to connect to my pushtracker when at the airport (generally restarting my pushtracker will fix it); and it doesn't handle loose dirt, or sand coating on pavement, very well. I also learned the hard way that I couldn't use it in my house (I lost track of the number of divets in the sheetrock I had to spackle in and paint over). Now that my chair's COG is where I need it, I can't put it on or take it off while in my chair.

The electronics and motor on my first one quit working properly and the DME supplier wasn't sure whether it could be fixed (turns out it could be, but it took a long time to happen), so I ended up getting a second SmartDrive (thank you, insurance coverage!!! – never would have been able to afford any of my mobility equipment without it), and now I have one that I use if I know, or at least suspect, that I'll be running into sand/gravel/rougher paved roads/etc., and one that I use if I know for a fact that I won't have to worry about any of that – my rough road one is pretty beat up, but still runs just fine and I'm eternally grateful to have it, especially in spring, because the street sweepers where I live absolutely do not do their job in any kind of timely fashion whatsoever (snow is gone by early-mid May at the latest, but they don't sweep the streets until mid-late June, so there's a ton of sand/gravel still on the roads – except along the main street (which is actually a US highway and therefore governed by different rules), due to the rules that were in place when they were put in, there are few sidewalks and even fewer curb cuts in my town, and while I'll hop down a curb if I need to, my days of hopping up curbs are long gone (after the last time I tried ended with the entire SmartDrive bracket broken and it took me half an hour to wheel the 4 blocks home with the SmartDrive on my lap), so I'm stuck wheeling in the road most of the time, especially at night, since there are even fewer street lights here than curb cuts).

I used to have to have someone push me through the airport when I flew, but the first time I flew with my SmartDrive, I had to do 4 gate changes (including 2 concourse changes via underground tram) at DEN (anyone who's familiar with that airport knows it's huge!), and if I'd had to rely on someone to push me, I would never have made it to my gate in time (even though my layover was almost 5 hours long), because no one would have come back to push me to my gate when it changed – they push you to your gate and then leave, so you're completely on your own after that, even if your gate changes to the total opposite end of the airport (which those changes actually were). When I fly, the SmartDrive goes in either the wheelchair closet (if the plane has one – not all do), or the overhead bin above my seat – it's only 12.5lb, so just light enough for me to lift it in and out on my own without messing up my shoulders; it cannot go in the cargo hold.

Thank you for the indepth advice, it's just what I needed!
I'm ambulatory and use my smart crutches a lot. I use my K series wheelchair when I am in a flare when I'm out and about. I'd like a power add on and I'm leaning towards a batec style because I'd like to be able to go anywhere, even on gravel which is my nemesis!

My problem is A) cost and B) where I live. I'm in Cornwall, miles away from places where I can easily try out devices in a showroom. My local mobility centre doesn't stock power addons. I'd have to travel 100s of miles to find a shop that does.

Love your positive content! 😊

I can't believe what wonderful timing you have! I have been researching these for the last few weeks and have just heard that I will be getting the funding I'm waiting on sooner than expected. I expect to make my purchase within the next couple of months.

Does anyone know anything regarding weight limits? I am approx 17st and am concerned about the amount of power required. I don't expect to travel more than 5 or 6 miles round trip per day maximum with most journeys being within a mile or 2.

I have a firefly by Rio Mobility which is similar to the Batec, I find it hard to use long term. It also hurts my neck, arms, and hands. It’s also not as portable as I’d like. I want to try a smart drive but they are so expensive. (I am an ambulatory user so I don’t get assistance from insurance)

I use Smart Drive everaday for about 5 years and i love it !

My batec mini 2 has over 7000 kms on it, the battery lasts for a long time to even though its the travel battery, its incredibly fun to drive, and i feel its much safer a d easier to control than something like a smart drive that doesn't have the handle bars to hold onto. Woohoo is definitely the word🧑‍🦽

OMG I needed this Gem 🙂 thank you!

stay away from the smart drives folks they are a scam they will be broken in 6-12 months im telling you ive got 5 in my garage over 8 years insurance kept buying/replacing them but they keep breaking or the battery would brick itself if you didnt power it on for a couple of weeks . Just get a front attachment with a extra battery. TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for this video! As a wheelchair newbie in the process of choosing a wheelchair and power assist add on it is really helpfull, in fact, all of your videos are! Thanks!

im getting a brand new one called r90 😅 I almost got one like a bike system but hated how it worked without the handlebars. I plan to pay out of pocket for a firefly which is …. ouch but worth it lol

Coming back to this video 6 days before I get my new wheelchair on October 8th! I'm so excited! And I'm probably going to be trying the smartdrive mx2+ and see if that would be helpful for me. The smartdrive also has a dial that attaches to the front of the frame to control it, too. If I get the smartdrive, I'm honestly wanting to get a new galaxy smartwatch just to put that app on. And if I came to the UK, I'd totally let you try it out gem 😂😂

Im wanting to get the elesmart a8 but cant really find any consumer reviews to give me any confidence in my purchase. I cant afford the expensive ones. Anyone have experience with elesmart?

I use the navigo power system. I have a joystick driver and the wheelchair wheels have the computer inside them. Super neat system

I’m just about to get a batec myself, I have 2 sets of Twion wheels one updated for cruise that work only on Android as Invacare messed them up when updating them and that set won’t connect to iOS but does have cruise control. Other set has no cruise control and is iOS or Android. I also has a smartdrive mx2+ that I got new from Recare who really were amazing!

The Twion wheels.

Love these, both sets I own were bought super cheap, both sets have been sent off to Invacare once each, one for a pushrim error and one needed new batteries, both sets under £500 when I bought them, fixing costs about £400 each. They’re ace! I’ve had them for years and they have covered 100 on set 2 and 300 set 1. Yell if looking to buy any of these with errors cheap and I will talk to you about my experience.

The smartdrive.

Was great at first! I found the Facebook group utterly useless as for some reason any time I asked a question they wouldn’t approve it no matter what, favoured Americans so I left. I had no issues with the smartdrive till out of nowhere they dropped Android support without even emailing any of their end users and mine started acting crazy, ramping up at full speed randomly, it sent me flying in Sainsbury’s and even though I have iOS products now I’m too scared to use it as I har no way of knowing if they’ve suddenly changed anything.

So I’ve decided on a brand new batec which I hope to collect in the new year.

is it better to add on a paper
assist or get a power
chair

For BAD symptom days: Im somewhat able to use my smartdrive inside my house for very short distances. But I cant use it outside the house or long distances due to the effort involved with steering my wheelchair. You have to basically have your hands on your push rims at all times to steer and it can take a LOT of energy for your arms. If you have any upper body weakness that's definitely something to consider with any power add-ons.

I like you wheelsnoheels ♿️👩🏻‍🦽‍➡️😁🤩⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Totally relate to the shoulder and beak pain is the main reason I’m looking into some sort of power assistance.
Very helpful