Did your first chair suck?

[voxina]

My first chair was borrowed from an CPA who was working with my grandmother (she was an incomplete para from an AVM) Anyways, I was barely 14, with an Invacare Standard...standardly craptastic down to the *blue VINYL sling* and steel rebar frame. I swear it was made of rebar... Second chair was an Invacare Patriot (heavy much?!) rental...but alas it was returned....still better than what I currently use! There's a Breezy from Quickie's standard line, from Craigslist while on vacation...fits about as well as you'd guess. And then there's my K3 which was made in China, practically a transport chair that happens to have pushrims on the 24 in molded plastic wheels... I've got an Ebay ZRA Ti on the way....hoping it will give me a better ride. (Well, what couldn't? There's not much competition in the way of the chairs I'm using now!)

Note: I'm a part-time user due to a fluctuating neurological disorder.

[bubbagump]

My first chair was an Everest & Jennings chair that my parents got at a local thrift store. It was the type that the armrests didn't come off and the footrests were not adjustable. Because the armrests were not adjustable or anything, it was very hard to push the chair on my own, because my arms were at an uncomfortable position. After using that chair for over 3 years, my insurance covered a Quickie wheelchair, which I loved. We eventually donated the E&J chair back to the same thrift store we bought it from.

[Soliloquy]

My first chair was awesome. It was a tiny Quickie with a Damoco motor and battery under the seat, so it could be disassembled and put in the back of a station wagon. Perfect for my needs at the time.

My second chair, however, was just awful. We went through the same guy because he had done such a great job on the first chair, but he really dropped the ball on the second one. Nothing fit right, the cushion was just plain foam and completely inadequate, and it was controlled with a single switch plus scanner so it was impossible to steer straight. I'd be in searing pain within two hours whenever I sat in it, so it really limited my ability to go out. And he refused to make any revisions or even add any kind of chest strap or truck support, and of course no other vendor would touch it. The model it was built on (Invacare Action Arrow, with the belt drive) was even recalled for being a fire hazard, and the motor died, but still no one would touch it! It was a nightmare, but I finally managed to get my current one a few years ago.

[Human]

Looking back after getting my second one, yea.

It was heavy, cheap feeling and too big.

gpv quickie

[gac3rd]

My first chair was an E&J. Probably 60 ~ 70 pounds. Did it suck? I was better than anything else going, but I became a very early (3 digit serial number) Quickie 1 purchaser. Which with all new parts and a custom build wooden seat, I am sitting in as I type.

[jgrant27]

I had a Quickie TNT - which seemed like a good idea (TNT = takes no tools), but failed in execution.

The "easily adjustable" wheel locks would randomly vibrate off my chair. Sometimes this would be when I was crossing busy streets & I didn't notice that they'd failed - so I replaced them probably 6 times and I only used the chair for 2-3 years.

The levers on the caster housing would flip open, and if not noticed would get snapped off.

The whole thing was quite heavy - I'm glad I wasn't loading into a car at the time!

[baldfatdad]

Oddly, no. It was a Quadra. It was a rigid chair that was left over from the VA games. Bent spokes, all scratched up, back about a foot tall, no brakes, no arm rests. I straightened the spokes, cleaned it up and got in. Holly crap, it taught me balance in about 2 seconds. I had only been in hospital chairs. I figured out how to transfer with fixed front end, no brakes. Got more rehab from that chair than all the PT.