I just finished looking over some new powered wheelchair concepts that caused an inverse reaction in my mood and had me reminiscing about wheelchairs of the past.

There have certainly been a number of classic powered wheelchairs that have for their unique reasons developed followers that speak of them fondly to this day. Old time wheelchair users often reminisce about their belt driven Everest & Jennings P series wheelchairs while others long for the return of the rugged Fortress series of powered wheelchairs.

I think of all these groups the users of the wheelchair pictured on the right are the most loyal and longing group. Yes, longing for a return of the wheelchair many users believe was the most rugged and well designed chair ever manufactured.

What was that wheelchair?

Relatively lightweight and maneuverable for a powered wheelchair with speeds up to 7mph and a drive module that could be removed to convert the chair into a manual wheelchair. Not pretty and not mind-blowing high tech, this wheelchair gained a reputation and the devotion of users for it’s durability and ability to take a licking. Most owners got 10 years or more of good service from the chair and only trashed them when parts and the cost of repairing an old wheelchair got tough. Most regretted dumping this workhorse for the much less reliable ones they wound up in.

What was that wheelchair? It was designed by Motion Designs and marketed by Sunrise Medical. You can find out the name of this beloved wheelchair and read reviews by users at:
http://www.usatechguide.org/itemreview.php?itemid=241