Opinions between seat pan and bolt on upholstery

[teacher2sped]

So wondering what people think between these two options on a Ti Lite ZRA,
I do use a power attachment Firefly often so can hit many bumps
and was also wondering if seat pan can bend

have had my upholstery for 6 years and it just gave out, is this a normality??
also been using the Firefly for 5 of those years

Thanks for any input

[ChesBay]

I went to a seat pan about 15 years ago and use Roho cushions. It has become my preference. I am using onTiLite ZRA.

[ToastGuard]

I whole-heartedly endorse a solid seat pan, but a lot depends on your situation. I spent the first 9.5 years in the chair with a bolt on fabric upholstery. I don't know why rehab chose that, but they did and I didn't know any better so I stuck with it. Rehab had also prescribed a solid seat insert (wooden board) for my seat cushion to help with stability. Again, I used it without really questioning for way too long. The bolt on upholstery, especially with the solid cushion insert resulted in every cushion cover developing holes where the bolts were. They were nice rounded bolt heads, but still the rubbing between the wooden board and the frame caused holes to develop almost immediately.
I finally bought a chair spec'd the way I wanted it and got a TiLite ZRA with solid seat pan. I love the rigidity it added to the chair and when i'm tearing the chair down for the car or a flight I don't have a heavy board in my seat. I opted for the aluminum seat pan. I think there is a carbon option, but I was worried about longevity.
There is little to no chance you can bend a solid metal seat pan. The way your weight is distributed puts almost all the load over the frame of the chair and on top of it, the plate is relatively thick. I cannot speak for the carbon seat pan, but like I said before, I whole-heartedly endorse a solid seat pan over fabric.

[funklab]

I’ve had a solid seat pan on my tra for the past year after ten years of fabric slings. I don’t see a huge difference one way or the other, but I assume in the long run there will be less adjustment on the solid seat pan and no sag in the middle which was an issue after a few years with the fabric.

[Oddity]

You'll sit up ~.5" or maybe a bit more with a solid seat pan bs upholstery, so folks sensitive to a specific back test height might also need an adjustment to that.

I use carbon fiber sheets from Arriss (ordered off Amazon), trimmed to fit, and velcroed on. 2.5-3.00mm depending on weight and width is plenty thick not to sag. IMO.

[pfcs49]

You'll sit up ~.5" or maybe a bit more with a solid seat pan bs upholstery, so folks sensitive to a specific back test height might also need an adjustment to that.

I use carbon fiber sheets from Arriss (ordered off Amazon), trimmed to fit, and velcroed on. 2.5-3.00mm depending on weight and width is plenty thick not to sag. IMO.

Not seeing large enough. My seat is 17x18" (431x457mm) Arris is selling 400x500 (15.8x19.7)
I sent the question to them.

[Oddity]

I'd use 2 pieces then. That's how CF ergo seat pans are done and it doesn't affect how they work. I'd use one main piece for the load then a smaller one behind my knees.

[NW-Will]

You'll sit up ~.5" or maybe a bit more with a solid seat pan bs upholstery, so folks sensitive to a specific back test height might also need an adjustment to that.

I use carbon fiber sheets from Arriss (ordered off Amazon), trimmed to fit, and velcroed on. 2.5-3.00mm depending on weight and width is plenty thick not to sag. IMO.

What is the width of your seat pan ?
How heavy are you?

I'm hoping to go this route... I'm 18" wide and 230lbs... want to make sure I get something that doesn't break, when I do a little bit of an energetic transfer etc..


Also .. Am a novice with carbon fiber, what do you look for when looking at carbon fiber sheets?


100% 3K Plain Weave Carbon Fiber Sheet Laminate Plate Panel

What's 3K ?
Plain weave ? Twill Weave ? as apposed to ?

Laminate? how many laminates is good / bad etc?

anything else to wonder about ?

[Oddity]

16", ~150lbs.

K value is about filament count. 3k is what you want. Google 'Carbon fiber K' for tech but that's not super important for our uses. 3k is strong and cheap and easily available. It's the "standard" stuff. It isn't a case of fewer or more K is better or worse it's all down to the applications. 3k is right for chairs IMO.

"Laminate" refers to some other material in the middle of CF veneers. Often some form of fiberglass or light weight wood. I stick with 100% CF weaves. No real reason. Just seems like a better thing to me. Laminated are often used to make the sheet cheaper to manufacture. Doesn't mean they aren't "good". I just avoid figuring that out by sticking with 100% CF weaves.

[NW-Will]

Just ran across this.. If only it was carbon fiber really like the idea of the hooks to the tubular frame so you can adjust the seat pan height to where ever is comfortable.

Will have to see if I can find the hooks

https://www.rehabmart.com/product/protech-drop-seat-base-40600.html

[NW-Will]

$300.00
rated up to 200lbs !

https://adi.stealthproducts.com/seating-systems/seatbases/

[Oddity]

$300?! That's more than 3x the cost of the Arriss sheet use.

[NW-Will]

$300?! That's more than 3x the cost of the Arriss sheet use.

totally...
can't find the thickness of it.

seatbase only (15 x 15″): 0.7 lbs / 318 grams

[Oddity]

Pretty sure the ADI seat pan comes with some brackets and supports underneath as well. They make high quality stuff but when it comes to a seat pan, I suspect it doesn't have to be that complicated. A CF sheet, some edge trim, and some heavy duty Velcro and I've never had an issue. I considered drilling a couple holes and using the existing seat pan holes and grommets to secure it but just didn't see the need. It's solid and never moves a bit.

edit: actually I didn't use "Velcro", exactly. It's Heavy Duty 3M Dual-Lock. It's a bit sturdier IMO.

[NW-Will]

Pretty sure the ADI seat pan comes with some brackets and supports underneath as well. They make high quality stuff but when it comes to a seat pan, I suspect it doesn't have to be that complicated. A CF sheet, some edge trim, and some heavy duty Velcro and I've never had an issue. I considered drilling a couple holes and using the existing seat pan holes and grommets to secure it but just didn't see the need. It's solid and never moves a bit.

edit: actually I didn't use "Velcro", exactly. It's Heavy Duty 3M Dual-Lock. It's a bit sturdier IMO.

Thanks for the tip.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/dual-loc...-fasteners-us/