When choosing the right wheelchair for your mobility needs, it’s important to choose a model that is the correct size for both your safety and comfort. Information like its specifications, such as width, height and weight are all necessary to consider, whether it comes to navigating through your home or transporting it in a vehicle. These factors, such as the width of a wheelchair, depend on the model and its intended use.
What is a Wheelchair?
A wheelchair is a device that aids in mobility. It is typically used by people who have a medical condition and have limited mobility.
There are different kinds of wheelchairs that serve people with a wide array of needs, from ambulatory wheelchair users to complex rehab wheelchair users. There are many ways to classify and categorize different types of wheelchairs. Sometimes they are categorized by the individuals they serve. Other times, they are categorized by activities they are used for.
Types of Wheelchairs
Power wheelchairs are joystick-controlled and typically used by individuals who cannot use a manual wheelchair or electric scooter. They are also known as motorized wheelchairs or electric wheelchairs because they are battery powered. Unlike with manual wheelchairs, a joystick is used to control the movement of the motorized wheelchair. Every power wheelchair has a base, which is equipped with four or more wheels that serve different purposes. Learn more about power wheelchairs.
With travel wheelchairs, travel is the name and portability is the game. They can either be manual or motorized. Electric wheelchairs for travel can be broken down further into two categories: folding wheelchairs and wheelchairs that disassemble. What makes them so travel-friendly is that they are lightweight and easy to transport.
Bariatric wheelchairs are heavy-duty wheelchairs used by individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. Bariatric wheelchairs are both wider and heavier than traditional wheelchairs for the purpose of accommodating more weight.
What is the Width of a Wheelchair?
Each wheelchair is unique, and its width depends on its function and purpose. For example, because they are designed to take up less space, travel wheelchairs are typically smaller than traditional power wheelchairs. The Go Chair® travel wheelchair has a width of 22.5″, compared to our other power wheelchairs which have widths between 22.75” and 24.5”.
Bariatric wheelchairs have a wider seat and base to provide stability for the bariatric patients that use them. To accommodate their users, these heavy-duty wheelchairs have a width between 24.25” to 29.25”.
If you would like more information on the width of our wheelchairs, you can look for a specific model and its specifications on our main website or you can find a document that contains all of our current models and their specifications in the Resources tab of our site.