What are the main types of wheelchairs? That’s a question many people ask, and answers are often not so obvious. The market’s filled with many options and it’s easy to get lost in an incredible variety of everything it has to offer. Many years ago, when I bought my first wheelchair, the number of possible choices I could make was quite limited. Luckily, things have changed and the range of offers keeps growing each month. Blumil embodies all-terrain, off-road electric wheelchairs, but it’s not the only type of wheelchairs on the market. How many options does the wheelchair industry have in store for us? Find out below!
Main types of wheelchairs
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Electric wheelchairs
There are many types of electric wheelchairs. They differ in many aspects: both visual and technical. There are wheelchairs, which have from 4 to 6 wheels. They’re considerably heavy and they are not always suitable for all terrain adventures, though most of them are equipped to all-terrain escapades. They often have drive wheels in the front and are said to be easily configurated to users’ needs. They are often controlled by a joystick, which steers the vehicle.
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Beach wheelchairs
Beach wheelchairs often have three wheels. They’re designed to navigate easily on the sandy surface. Depending on the brand and needs’ of a user, there are quite a few models to choose from. They can be either pushed by others or self-propelled, depending on what one seeks. The weight? Said to be light. I have not had much experience with beach wheelchairs since I became a proud owner of my Blumil, but they, indeed, didn’t look too heavy. Nevertheless, they were definitely not small.
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Blumil
Blumil is an all-terrain, off-road electric wheelchair. It is different to most of the wheelchairs on the market, thanks to its size and weight. While a vast majority of wheelchairs are heavy and big, Blumil’s considerably light and small. It easily fits in narrow passages and is well-suited for both cities and the countryside. It’s based on the Segway technology and thanks to its small size, it’s compact and easy to navigate. You can easily control it yourself: no joysticks are needed. It’s fast, too: 15-20 kilometers per hour is the speed it can go into if you wish to race through the city.
Actually, since I have Blumil my friends are the ones who stay behind. Before, I would have some problems navigating through busy cities, but with Blumil I am always ahead of everybody. The first time somebody was able to keep up with my pace was in Budapest – I took part in the Segway tour and my guide and I were the fastest guys in the town. Possibly!
Types of Blumil
Blumil, just like other wheelchairs, has many models! Blumil S3 is a “city dweller” – perfect for park alleys, lawns and even for rainy days when everything’s a bit too slippery. On the other hand, the model x2 “Extreme adventure” will do perfectly well in every type of terrain: from cobblestone, sand to sand – to mention just a few. You can find all details in the Blumil comparison chart.
Blumil background story
Blumil is more than a wheelchair, and I am being completely honest here. It’s based on a Segway technology, so it’s more than a regular wheelchair. It is a fruit of years of work. The goal was simple: to create something that would allow me and other wheelchair users to experience freedom. I, myself, have been using wheelchairs for years and I know every inch of quite many models on the market. There was always something limiting about them. Some would be almost perfect, but too heavy and big for everyday use. Others would function well in cities but fail miserably off-road. It seemed I couldn’t have the best of both worlds: something that wouldn’t disappoint me in every-day life and would serve me well during Beach or mountain vacations.
What happened next?
I am not somebody who gives up easily, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. If nothing on the market could cater to my needs, then I would myself create it. With help of wonderful people, after many trials and errors, Blumil came to life! It is an all-terrain electric wheelchair, ready to accompany you on any adventure – after all, it was born out of love to freedom and travel!
Wheelchair Accessories
Coming back to the main subject of the post – aside from different types of wheelchairs, there are many wheelchair accessories on the market. What’s an interesting example of that? Handbikes!
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Handbikes attached to wheelchairs
Designed for outdoors fun, handbikes are quite a nice option for manual wheelchair users. If you attach a handbike to your manual wheelchair, your mobility’s higher and you can successfully explore the countryside. With the handbike, the wheelchair is not very compact, but definitely suitable for off-road trips.
As you see, there are many different options to choose from on the market. The beautiful thing is that you can choose freedom since wheelchairs have definitely evolved during the last few years and are definitely easier to navigate. Depending on your needs, research the offers carefully. Do you want to travel to the beach or spend your days in mountains? Or maybe you are more of a city dweller and you enjoy exploring urban settings more? Consider your needs and revise your options to find the perfect solution. Remember you can have both of the worlds with Blumil. As a keen traveler and a city dweller, I can vouch for Blumil. It is easy to navigate in Warsaw when my wheelchair can deal with cobblestone or problematic surface without problems. At the same time, mountains and beaches are not off limits, too. You can often find me on Spanish beaches (especially in Barcelona!) or in Polish mountains because limits don’t exist when I am on my Blumil. That’s what I call experiencing freedom.
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