Shoshiplatypus

I’ve been dying to try the funkiest coolest off-road wheelchair and today I got my opportunity. Introducing you to the Trekinetic.

Today Mal came to demonstrate the Trekinetic all-terrain wheelchair and give me a chance to try it out. I have been in contact with Magic Mobility and they arranged for Mal to come.

I have been aware of this extraordinary wheelchair for a number of years and had pangs of the green-eyed monster for quite a while. After we saw two of them at the County Show recently, we both decided it was a great idea and perhaps the time had come to make the investment. This wheelchair is not cheap. Far from it. However, it was designed by a Formula 1 engineer – a complete redesign from the ground upwards, and it is Radical! You can see the story here.

My existing mobility kit

Buggies

We decided the Trekinetic would be an excellent replacement for my two buggies. The big one won’t go in the car, and I can only use it for going out straight from the house – the garage actually, as it certainly won’t go in the house!

A few years ago we decided to buy another one, a small one which would come apart to go in the car.

It’s been very useful, especially for trips to places like National Trust properties that we like to visit. I can use it around the grounds. We also put my power-assist manual wheelchair in the car, and we can use this in the house and in the restaurant. The buggy is not good for restaurants because it takes up too much room and I can’t get close enough to the table to be comfortable.

If I go shopping on my own (a rare occurrence, mainly because of fatigue issues but also because of my necessary mobility aids), I can get to the shops on one or other of the buggies but once there, only the small one will go in the shops and some shops are really too small. I can’t go any distance in the wheelchair because despite the power assist system, it is far too fatiguing for me, being self-propelled. What I needed was a power chair, but these are quite limiting because they tend to be pretty large and heavy and I didn’t think it would be very practical for us.

The Trekinetic, on the other hand, ticks all the boxes, and then some. It is now available in the powered version, and it has two settings for the wheel camber, one for off-road, and the other for regular and indoor use. It is compact, and comfortable, and will go quite a long distance on a single charge. Best of all, it is completely all-terrain and you can even go on the beach – something you couldn’t even think of doing with most wheelchairs, apart from dedicated beach buggies.

Oooh, and it’s so funky and cool! The buggies don’t do much for my street cred, but the Trekinetic… well! That’s another story.

Wheelchair – power assist

I have always decorated my power-assist chair:

and everywhere I go, people always comment on it, and come over for a chat. I have found that with a decorated chair, people see beyond the disability and focus on the individual and the creativity. On the rare occasions when I have removed the decorations, I have become invisible, and there is a marked difference in people’s attitude.

A Trekinetic user on one Youtube video said that he had to leave his house ten minutes earlier each day, just to allow for the time it takes to stop and talk to people who comment on his funky wheels! I know the feeling.

Image and street cred

Those who know me will know that I am not a very conventional person! It’s not enough for me to sit in some clinical-looking wheelchair made of tubular steel. Thank goodness that in recent years, wheelchair design has changed quite a bit. The modern light-weight variety with the low back and minimalist look is an awful lot more attractive. They are also much more manoeuvrable and comfortable, with more thought going into such things as centre of gravity and efficiency.

However, the basic design with the drive wheels at the back and small castoring wheels at the front, limits the chair to smooth surfaces only. Even carpet is pretty hard work, and grass and gravel well-nigh impossible, and forget anything else.

Until the Trekinetic, if you wanted to go anywhere and do anything the slightest bit adventurous, you needed at least two different vehicles. We know from experience that this means having a car that’s big enough to carry both the wheelchair and the buggy. With the motors and batteries on these things, you really need some sort of crane to lift them into the car. Carrying this lot means that you can’t really have more than two people in the car, and if you are going away on holiday, you’ve got to have a trailer. This certainly applies to me, because since becoming disabled, going away with me is like going away with a baby, with all the extra equipment we need to carry with us!!

Trekinetic here we come!

We’d already decided to trade in both buggies, and one or two other items I have which I no longer need or want, to fund the purchase of the Trekinetic. Then out of the blue I discovered I should have been receiving my state pension about two years ago. This is now coming through plus increments because I was late claiming it, together with quite a substantial lump sum that was owing to me. I’ve decided to use this for the Trekinetic, and we will eventually sell the other stuff which is now redundant.

The Trekinetic trial

After some research online I found Magic Mobility, a company which supplies the Trekinetic. “Magic Phil” who owns the business, has been corresponding with me by email, and he fixed up with Mal to come down to us today – he drove all the way from Bolton in Lancashire!! – to give us as much time as we wanted, to try out his demo model.

I was keen to try both the beach and the woods, as being two very different environments, but both having notoriously difficult surfaces for your average wheelchair. Neither presented any problems for the Trekinetic. Mal calls it “the best wheelchair in the world.” He challenges anyone to put a better wheelchair in front of him, which nobody has yet been able to do!

The only difficulties I had during the trial today came from my own limited experience. However, by the end of the trial I was definitely more confident. I was getting the hang of the fairly sensitive joystick, and the slightly odd steering that you get from the three-wheeled design with the drive wheels at the front.

I asked my hubby to video me, and this is the result.

Choosing the options on the Trekinetic

When we got back to the house we had a cup of tea, and I went through the list with Mal. On top of the basic model there are loads of different add-ons. I’ve chosen quite a few. Many are definitely recommended, like the fold-down handlebars at the back. This makes for easier carrying in the car. I’ve also chosen spare inner tubes, and a cushion amongst other things.

Unfortunately the brilliant and cool umbrella is no longer available. The monocoque carbon fibre seat of the chair still retains the umbrella socket, though. My hubby said, “Never fear, I’ll rig something up for you.” Going out in a wheelchair in the rain is a no-no. Sitting down, your legs get very wet indeed, and you can’t hold an umbrella at the same time as driving the chair. Not to mention that rain on the delicate electrics of the power system isn’t a good idea.

The Trekinetic’s power system

The power systems are the same on both my existing chair and the Trekinetic. This Yamaha system has the motors in the wheel hubs.

It is brilliant that the Trekinetic and my existing wheelchair both use exactly the same battery. This means that in effect I’ve already got a spare. The Trekinetic comes with its own charger, so we can keep both charged. We can take a spare with us if we are out for a long day. My hubby always dreads my battery running out at the bottom of the hill as we are leaving the County Show. He is tired after being on his feet all day. It’s fine for me, sitting down all day! He then has to push me and the dead weight of the power system back to the car. This is just too much!!

Now, the waiting game

I asked Mal how long delivery would take, and he said the normal waiting time was 4 months. I was pretty horrified at this because by that time the summer will be over! We’re really keen to make full use of it during the summer months when we can get out and about. He said he’d have a word and see if they can expedite it a bit for me. Here’s hoping, anyway.

Each chair has to be made to order, with the chosen extras incorporated, and it all takes time. The factory is not enormous and they don’t have huge production runs. This is also reflected in the price, of course. My hubby said it was a bit like ordering a Morgan sports car. Apparently you have to wait years for one of those!!

So now we’ve got to wait. That is going to be haaaard… Can’t wait to get my cool funky lean mean machine.

See the old lady go. “When I am old….” I shall not necessarily “wear purple” – I do already anyway!! Neither will I “spend all my pension on brandy and summer gloves,” but on the mountain bike of wheelchairs with its cool steampunk look.

Warp 9.7 in five seconds. Delta Quadrant, here we come.

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