Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

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Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Amadeus » 29 Mar 2015, 21:56

Having before the chance to try the Handicare Puma 40, I was interested how Puma does compare to its older sibling Alex and I was wondering which one is better. I was able to request a demo of the Handicare Alex so here is my subjective experience with them.

Handicare Alex (aka You-Q)

It came with: Grey base with green accents, not sure about the group battery but keep reading bellow, maximum 8 mph, 4 wheel independent springs, R-Net controller, swing-away joystick hardware, SEDEO-QLASS Rehab Seat system with power Tilt (45 degree), lift up padded arm rest, swing-away footrests (footplate adjustable manually), 14’’ drive tires and 10’’casters (all air filled), overall size 25.5’’wide, 46’’ long (with the footplates expanded) and 17.5’’ height (ground to the seat pan), Sedeo Pro flexible headrest, no led light package.

My impressions. The base frame resembles the Quantum Rival pwchair from Pride Mobility. Alex is a compact chair, too long with the swing-away footrests for making tight turns, relatively low seat. Everything needed to be tweaked to fit into the seat. The Sedeo-Qlass is not as easy to set comparing to the Sedeo Pro seat system. The chair runs nicely and it drives better than Puma, no skidding on tight turns. It can go up to 8 mph and it definitely excels in outdoor environment. The R-Net controller is responsive, coming with two set modes (indoor and outdoor). The speeds needed programming. Good suspensions. When not moving, the chair bounces back and forth on the drive wheels axis. The power tilt is ok, it does have a speed inhibitor. The biggest concern with this chair comes from the batteries and their compartment. I never saw a chair that drains the batteries so insanely. Probably the chair came with small battery size otherwise I don't want to know what could drain them in such rhythm. I couldn’t go outside more than 1.5 km. It was used any drop of energy and wasn't sure I can get home safely. Beside this, the access to batteries seems to be a real hassle, I a counted no more than 12 screws to access the backside battery panel. The chair comes with hooks to be secured but still they are not designed to secure the chair with the user siting on it on public transportation. The backside hooks are movable pieces, up and down, I think they cannot provide a proper securement. The motors seem to be powerful but due their low ground and horizontal settings, they can hold mud and snow. The guy who brought the chair to me said he had serviced such chairs with problems on the handle that set the motors on manual mode: they tend to get rusty and stiff, hard to release.

Overall, I find Alex as being a rear drive powerful chair that runs smoothly even on high speed. This is definitely a chair for outdoors lovers but there are certain things to watch out and to consider for improvement. There is a Canadian guy who got very frustrated with this chair, I cannot confirm all his criticism just because I don't have a long term experience with this chair but you can definitely check out his website and make your own understanding before trying or buying the Handicare Alex chair: https://wheelchairrights.wordpress.com/ ... uspension/

If I had to compare Alex to Puma 40, which I reviewed on this posting viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4749 , I would say I would like to see Puma 40 coming with the motors and the suspensions of the Alex. Perhaps Puma 40 S is such chair but most likely Handicare will not provide that on the Canadian market. Which one is better? Hard to say but probably I would opt for an improved Puma version because overall it exhibits an upgraded design. I like Alex for its motors and suspensions and I like Puma 40 for its simple design and the remarkable seat system (Sedeo Pro). Also, if I had to compare Alex with the Quantum Rival I would definitely go for the Rival. I think Rival shows an overall better design with the same features as Alex.

So, I am still looking for my chair. Next, I hope to try the Quicky S-646 and perhaps the new chair from Permobil, the F5, which is a FWD chair.

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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby mous3 » 13 Jun 2015, 22:05

just one Q witch Alex did you try the standard or short wheel base as I couldn't work out how you had measured it? I'm waiting to take delivery of my swb Alex with centre adjustable leg rests any time now.
thanks for the review I have a lithium pack ready to fit and the solution to the tie down anchors is rock climbing slings around the main frame. I will liberally wax the manual motor release and I will let you know how I get on. :roll:
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby rover220 » 13 Jun 2015, 22:44

Alex can only uave 60 ah battery but the puma can fit the 74ah. Battery access is also very easy on the alex and isn't done how you imagine it.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby mous3 » 13 Jun 2015, 23:13

that's good to know I have 60ah lithium that replaced my 30ah pb on my last chair so I should be able to squeeze more in or carry a second pack
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Step » 14 Jun 2015, 10:47

rover220 wrote:Alex can only uave 60 ah battery but the puma can fit the 74ah. Battery access is also very easy on the alex and isn't done how you imagine it.


Not true.
My Alex came with 72ah batteries 4 years ago and never had anything less.
Currently, it has Cellpower CPX 12v-80Ah batteries.
Not the best option, they're slow to charge with the standard charger but they work for now.

The battery box height can be changed so it can hold many battery sizes.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby rover220 » 14 Jun 2015, 19:29

Step wrote:
rover220 wrote:Alex can only uave 60 ah battery but the puma can fit the 74ah. Battery access is also very easy on the alex and isn't done how you imagine it.


Not true.
My Alex came with 72ah batteries 4 years ago and never had anything less.
Currently, it has Cellpower CPX 12v-80Ah batteries.
Not the best option, they're slow to charge with the standard charger but they work for now.

The battery box height can be changed so it can hold many battery sizes.


Certainly in our market 60ah is all I've seen fitted. Maybe different for your market.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Burgerman » 14 Jun 2015, 19:31

Ah doesent really help here.

Does it take 22, 34, or 24 sized battery cases? And does it need lower (34) sized batteries with certain seating because a few years back this was frequently the case. If so then Odyssey is a group 34 (low height) battery and 68Ah.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby rover220 » 15 Jun 2015, 07:01

Burgerman wrote:Ah doesent really help here.

Does it take 22, 34, or 24 sized battery cases? And does it need lower (34) sized batteries with certain seating because a few years back this was frequently the case. If so then Odyssey is a group 34 (low height) battery and 68Ah.


Group 34 so mk 60ah size.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Burgerman » 15 Jun 2015, 08:59

Well that's a no brainer then.
Odyssey PC34/78, 68Ah is about 14 percent bigger at the 20 hour rate where it doesn't matter. And much bigger at the sub 1 hour to 3 hour rates we actually use.

If it takes 22nf or 24 sized batteries its more of a problem to decide.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Step » 15 Jun 2015, 14:20

rover220 wrote:Certainly in our market 60ah is all I've seen fitted. Maybe different for your market.


Your market's brochure: http://www.handicare.co.uk/media/233408/br_alex_en.pdf
Battery options are 60 and 78ah.
If you can't get decent batteries from your vendor, buy the chair without batteries.
You can get them cheaper elsewhere anyway and if he says you can't fit them... he proves to be another 'normal' vendor who doesn't know his product.
Show him the brochure & manual here.

On page 14 in the parts manual, you find the height adjustment set (pos 1) to enlarge the battery box (height) to allow for larger batteries.
http://www.handicare.co.uk/media/233432/parts-alex_en-20141208.pdf

In our market, the 72 or 78ah batteries and heavier charger are recommended when choosing the 12,5km/h motors.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Amadeus » 26 Jun 2015, 19:50

mous3 wrote:just one Q witch Alex did you try the standard or short wheel base as I couldn't work out how you had measured it? I'm waiting to take delivery of my swb Alex with centre adjustable leg rests any time now.
thanks for the review I have a lithium pack ready to fit and the solution to the tie down anchors is rock climbing slings around the main frame. I will liberally wax the manual motor release and I will let you know how I get on. :roll:


I tried the standard wheel base. As for the measurements I did it in two/three ways: a) distance from centre rear wheel to centre front wheel; b) distance between sides at exterior without and with footplate.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Amadeus » 26 Jun 2015, 19:55

Burgerman wrote:Ah doesent really help here.

Does it take 22, 34, or 24 sized battery cases? And does it need lower (34) sized batteries with certain seating because a few years back this was frequently the case. If so then Odyssey is a group 34 (low height) battery and 68Ah.


On the Canadian brochure, Handicare can provide for the Alex Grp 34 (60 Amp) Grp 24 FT (75 AMP). As I mentioned in the review, I am not sure what kind of batteries were provided with the trial but they were a huge disappointment.
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Re: Handicare Alex (aka You-Q) vs Handicare Puma 40

Postby Burgerman » 26 Jun 2015, 21:24

The smaller GRP 34 batteries were only ever used for 2 reasons.

1. cheapness... They were supplies - and fit the exact same length/width as a taller bigger Ah GRP 24 battery.
2. Because a few years back most chairs with risers needed the extra 25 to 40mm to fit the mechanism. And this seems to now be a thing of the past on most chairs.
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