Foldawheel PW-1000XL review
Posted: 29 Dec 2014, 20:38I received my new Foldawheel PW-1000XL travel wheelchair a few days before Christmas, so I thought I'd share my first impressions. I'll also add to this thread as I learn more about the chair over the coming weeks and months.
But first a caveat: this is my first power chair (or wheelchair of any kind, for that matter), so I don't have a first-hand basis of comparison with any other product. Hopefully, the more experienced members of the forum can read between the lines and set me straight if I start rabbiting on about some "amazing innovation" that's actually available in every other chair on the market. With that said, here goes:
Delivery: It took about eleven days to receive the chair from the Malaysian manufacturer (http://www.wheelchair88.com) - five days for them to prep the chair and six days for DHL to deliver it to me. Manufacturer email support was fast and very helpful, right up to the point at which I started asking technical questions about the motors, batteries and controller. Then they went conspicuously silent. Things picked up again after I ordered the chair, with the support rep promising to expedite the order so it would reach me before Christmas. It spent an inordinate time clearing customs in Cincinnati, but then arrived at my doorstep in L.A. the next afternoon.
Documentation: The handbook arrived in digital form along with the DHL tracking number. The book is pretty light on detail, concentrating on getting the chair set up and operational. There is no documentation on the batteries, which is puzzling since the chair offers an interconnect system that allows three to be chained together for a claimed 30 km range. The set up of the interconnect cables isn't particularly obvious, but this wasn't a problem in my case, since the batteries were installed and wired up at the factory. I made a note of the configuration of the cables for future reference, but it would be easy for a novice user to get confused.
Packaging: The 100XL came fully assembled in a large cardboard box, with a piece of soft moulded foam protecting the top and bottom. It arrived in excellent condition.
Weight: The chair is advertised as weighing just over 50 lbs with one battery installed. With the full battery complement, it's about 55 lbs. While light by wheelchair standards, this is by no means a "fold it and stow it" product for people with anything but the mildest of disabilities. It's a solid weight and a somewhat cumbersome one, too, but should be easier to manage with a small ramp or car-mounted hoist.
Set up: The chair folds and unfolds much like a pram. Once erected, a sturdy plastic clip at the rear of the seat locks everything into place. The footplate folds down and the joystick can be quickly positioned and locked. A couple of wheelie wheels came in the box, but I found they weren't really necessary. That's it. The whole process is very simple and the chair feels extremely sturdy. On the negative side, I'm hoping the fold/unfold mechanism relaxes over time, because it's currently pretty hard for my feeble arms to make it work. Even my fit and able wife struggles with it. Again, I'll keep an eye on this and report back if the situation improves.
Fit and Finish: The chair feels extremely solid and stable. Fit and finish are excellent and everything works with a satisfying mechanical precision. The wheelie wheels I mentioned earlier aren't really necessary; so much so that there's no mention of them in the manual. I found on my outdoor excursions that the mounts they attach to are easily bent through contact with the ground. They are easy to realign with the included hex wrench, but it doesn't give me much confidence that the wheelie wheels would be able to provide much support if required. The batteries slot neatly into three dedicated bays under the chair (no aftermarket replacements, I fear) and connect together with dedicated interconnect leads. In operation, the chair feels like it's made from a single piece: no rattling or clanking. The motors give off a quiet whir and there are few clicks from the controller (only a rapid sequence of directional changes will make it produce clicking sounds).
Seating Position: Another caveat here: I have muscular dystrophy, but don't require any specific rehab seating and don't suffer chronic pain, so I'm pretty easy to please from a seating standpoint. The seat base is fixed and made of a reasonably supportive fabric-covered foam-like material (no instructions for care or cleaning were provided). The seat back is height-adjustable. The armrests, aluminum with a soft plastic upper surface attached, are narrow but reasonably comfortable. This is a travel chair not intended for long term occupancy, so it skimps on the creature comforts of a more fully-featured chair. Even so, I spent an entire day in the chair as a test and found it to be a perfectly pleasant experience. My only complaint is with the legroom. The 1000XL is sold as the model for larger people. I'm 6'1" and 11.5 Stones (160 lbs); unfortunately I find that my knees are pitched a little too high when using the footrest, with the result that my legs splay widely (due to the lack of functional inner-thigh muscles). This, in turn, brings them into painful contact with the parts of the chair frame that connect to the front casters. I've remedied the problem by using a strap to hold my legs together, but a little bit of seat-height adjustability would have been nice. Again, this is a travel chair, so I'm willing to make this compromise for the portability of the product.
Performance: Wheelchair88's website is a little confused, claiming a top speed of 6.8 mph on the main product page, but 6.2 mph in the specs. The owner's manual confirms the 6.2 mph number. In any case, the chair feels plenty fast, give its relatively diminutive size. The joystick module allows four speed settings. Setting 1 is fine around (at least for my novice skills) the house and Setting 3 is perfect for keeping pace with friends on a walk outdoors. Setting 4 feels very brisk and it's easy to get into a bit of trouble if you try to change direction at full gallop (I ended up in the middle of a neighbour's lawn, grinning sheepishly). Joystick control comes with a 1/2 second delay on first input from standstill, but subsequent inputs seem to be reasonably immediate. Releasing or centering the joystick activates the brakes, which activate very firmly. From top speed, this can result in an abrupt pitch-forward, which people with poor upper body control may find problematic. More progressive joystick inputs alleviate the issue, however. At lower speeds, the joystick is reasonably accurate and able to make small quick corrections smoothly (I haven't been able to determine the make or model of the joystick or controller yet, as both lack any external labeling). At high speeds, it tends to make the chair lurch more than steer, loading up the outside wheel and risking pitch-over. I wasn't thrown out at any time, but did get a couple of surprises trying to turn at speed. The preferred approach is definitely: speed, slow, turn, speed. Wheelchair88 claims the 1000xl can handle 15° inclines and I can confirm that it does so with aplomb. My driveway happens to have an exactly 15° slope (according to my iPhone's inclinometer), and the chair powered straight up and down it from a standing start, with no appreciable strain on the motors. Going downhill, I let it brake several times and it did so quickly and positively.
Comfort: A travel chair is never going to approach the comfort levels of it's bigger cousins, but the 1000XL isn't bad. My local pavements are pretty broken up, with cracks and abrupt elevation changes due to tree roots and subsidence (your L.A. County tax dollars at work), but the chair powered over them without complaint. I was bumped and buffeted a bit, but nothing to write home about. On the slightly soft ground of our local park, the chair again performed extremely well, handling bumps, cambers and mushy parts without complaint. At no time was I uncomfortable, in spite of the solid rear wheels (the two "suspension" springs under the rear of the seat may have helped, but only minimally as they are pretty stiff and short travel). In toto, I was very pleased that such a small chair could be so pleasant in the (admittedly suburban) outdoors.
Summary: At this early juncture, I strongly recommend the 1000XL for people of average, to slightly above average, height who want a travel chair that performs well and doesn't shake their bones to powder. It doesn't offer the adjustability and support that a rehab chair does, but if your needs align with its capabilities, it's a great companion for a trip that mostly involves urban environments. While light, it isn't a one-person job to fold or unfold, unless the user has good upper body strength, but adding a cheap ramp or hoist to your existing vehicle solves that problem and is a lot cheaper than a full conversion (I'm still working out how to get the chair in and out of my Smart car.) Performance is good and, while the joystick suffers from some of the programming quirkiness endemic to the breed, it isn't too off-putting. I can maneuver around the house with reasonable precision (haven't hit a door frame yet) and get up a good head of steam outdoors. Turning at speed needs caution, but I suspect that's more to do with the driver than the chair.
I'll update this thread as I experience more with the 1000XL. It's looking good so far, but time will tell.
But first a caveat: this is my first power chair (or wheelchair of any kind, for that matter), so I don't have a first-hand basis of comparison with any other product. Hopefully, the more experienced members of the forum can read between the lines and set me straight if I start rabbiting on about some "amazing innovation" that's actually available in every other chair on the market. With that said, here goes:
Delivery: It took about eleven days to receive the chair from the Malaysian manufacturer (http://www.wheelchair88.com) - five days for them to prep the chair and six days for DHL to deliver it to me. Manufacturer email support was fast and very helpful, right up to the point at which I started asking technical questions about the motors, batteries and controller. Then they went conspicuously silent. Things picked up again after I ordered the chair, with the support rep promising to expedite the order so it would reach me before Christmas. It spent an inordinate time clearing customs in Cincinnati, but then arrived at my doorstep in L.A. the next afternoon.
Documentation: The handbook arrived in digital form along with the DHL tracking number. The book is pretty light on detail, concentrating on getting the chair set up and operational. There is no documentation on the batteries, which is puzzling since the chair offers an interconnect system that allows three to be chained together for a claimed 30 km range. The set up of the interconnect cables isn't particularly obvious, but this wasn't a problem in my case, since the batteries were installed and wired up at the factory. I made a note of the configuration of the cables for future reference, but it would be easy for a novice user to get confused.
Packaging: The 100XL came fully assembled in a large cardboard box, with a piece of soft moulded foam protecting the top and bottom. It arrived in excellent condition.
Weight: The chair is advertised as weighing just over 50 lbs with one battery installed. With the full battery complement, it's about 55 lbs. While light by wheelchair standards, this is by no means a "fold it and stow it" product for people with anything but the mildest of disabilities. It's a solid weight and a somewhat cumbersome one, too, but should be easier to manage with a small ramp or car-mounted hoist.
Set up: The chair folds and unfolds much like a pram. Once erected, a sturdy plastic clip at the rear of the seat locks everything into place. The footplate folds down and the joystick can be quickly positioned and locked. A couple of wheelie wheels came in the box, but I found they weren't really necessary. That's it. The whole process is very simple and the chair feels extremely sturdy. On the negative side, I'm hoping the fold/unfold mechanism relaxes over time, because it's currently pretty hard for my feeble arms to make it work. Even my fit and able wife struggles with it. Again, I'll keep an eye on this and report back if the situation improves.
Fit and Finish: The chair feels extremely solid and stable. Fit and finish are excellent and everything works with a satisfying mechanical precision. The wheelie wheels I mentioned earlier aren't really necessary; so much so that there's no mention of them in the manual. I found on my outdoor excursions that the mounts they attach to are easily bent through contact with the ground. They are easy to realign with the included hex wrench, but it doesn't give me much confidence that the wheelie wheels would be able to provide much support if required. The batteries slot neatly into three dedicated bays under the chair (no aftermarket replacements, I fear) and connect together with dedicated interconnect leads. In operation, the chair feels like it's made from a single piece: no rattling or clanking. The motors give off a quiet whir and there are few clicks from the controller (only a rapid sequence of directional changes will make it produce clicking sounds).
Seating Position: Another caveat here: I have muscular dystrophy, but don't require any specific rehab seating and don't suffer chronic pain, so I'm pretty easy to please from a seating standpoint. The seat base is fixed and made of a reasonably supportive fabric-covered foam-like material (no instructions for care or cleaning were provided). The seat back is height-adjustable. The armrests, aluminum with a soft plastic upper surface attached, are narrow but reasonably comfortable. This is a travel chair not intended for long term occupancy, so it skimps on the creature comforts of a more fully-featured chair. Even so, I spent an entire day in the chair as a test and found it to be a perfectly pleasant experience. My only complaint is with the legroom. The 1000XL is sold as the model for larger people. I'm 6'1" and 11.5 Stones (160 lbs); unfortunately I find that my knees are pitched a little too high when using the footrest, with the result that my legs splay widely (due to the lack of functional inner-thigh muscles). This, in turn, brings them into painful contact with the parts of the chair frame that connect to the front casters. I've remedied the problem by using a strap to hold my legs together, but a little bit of seat-height adjustability would have been nice. Again, this is a travel chair, so I'm willing to make this compromise for the portability of the product.
Performance: Wheelchair88's website is a little confused, claiming a top speed of 6.8 mph on the main product page, but 6.2 mph in the specs. The owner's manual confirms the 6.2 mph number. In any case, the chair feels plenty fast, give its relatively diminutive size. The joystick module allows four speed settings. Setting 1 is fine around (at least for my novice skills) the house and Setting 3 is perfect for keeping pace with friends on a walk outdoors. Setting 4 feels very brisk and it's easy to get into a bit of trouble if you try to change direction at full gallop (I ended up in the middle of a neighbour's lawn, grinning sheepishly). Joystick control comes with a 1/2 second delay on first input from standstill, but subsequent inputs seem to be reasonably immediate. Releasing or centering the joystick activates the brakes, which activate very firmly. From top speed, this can result in an abrupt pitch-forward, which people with poor upper body control may find problematic. More progressive joystick inputs alleviate the issue, however. At lower speeds, the joystick is reasonably accurate and able to make small quick corrections smoothly (I haven't been able to determine the make or model of the joystick or controller yet, as both lack any external labeling). At high speeds, it tends to make the chair lurch more than steer, loading up the outside wheel and risking pitch-over. I wasn't thrown out at any time, but did get a couple of surprises trying to turn at speed. The preferred approach is definitely: speed, slow, turn, speed. Wheelchair88 claims the 1000xl can handle 15° inclines and I can confirm that it does so with aplomb. My driveway happens to have an exactly 15° slope (according to my iPhone's inclinometer), and the chair powered straight up and down it from a standing start, with no appreciable strain on the motors. Going downhill, I let it brake several times and it did so quickly and positively.
Comfort: A travel chair is never going to approach the comfort levels of it's bigger cousins, but the 1000XL isn't bad. My local pavements are pretty broken up, with cracks and abrupt elevation changes due to tree roots and subsidence (your L.A. County tax dollars at work), but the chair powered over them without complaint. I was bumped and buffeted a bit, but nothing to write home about. On the slightly soft ground of our local park, the chair again performed extremely well, handling bumps, cambers and mushy parts without complaint. At no time was I uncomfortable, in spite of the solid rear wheels (the two "suspension" springs under the rear of the seat may have helped, but only minimally as they are pretty stiff and short travel). In toto, I was very pleased that such a small chair could be so pleasant in the (admittedly suburban) outdoors.
Summary: At this early juncture, I strongly recommend the 1000XL for people of average, to slightly above average, height who want a travel chair that performs well and doesn't shake their bones to powder. It doesn't offer the adjustability and support that a rehab chair does, but if your needs align with its capabilities, it's a great companion for a trip that mostly involves urban environments. While light, it isn't a one-person job to fold or unfold, unless the user has good upper body strength, but adding a cheap ramp or hoist to your existing vehicle solves that problem and is a lot cheaper than a full conversion (I'm still working out how to get the chair in and out of my Smart car.) Performance is good and, while the joystick suffers from some of the programming quirkiness endemic to the breed, it isn't too off-putting. I can maneuver around the house with reasonable precision (haven't hit a door frame yet) and get up a good head of steam outdoors. Turning at speed needs caution, but I suspect that's more to do with the driver than the chair.
I'll update this thread as I experience more with the 1000XL. It's looking good so far, but time will tell.
