They've Got the Look

In today's fast-paced and high-tech society, designer products have become a way of life. People want to be seen driving a Mercedes or a Porsche, wearing Calvin Klein or Prada, telling time with a Rolex or pulling lipstick out of a Louis Vuitton.

Image is everything, and now this culture is ingrained in the custom, sport and lightweight wheelchair market.

Particularly with the K0005 ultra-lightweight segment, sales are largely consumer-,not Medicare-, driven. This demand gives manufacturers a chance to experiment with new materials and designs to meet the look and functionality users need. And most experts agree that the hottest trends focus on taking style and performance to a whole new level.

“Most innovations are occurring in the K0005 (ultra lightweight) chair segment,” says John Vadeboncoeur, Invacare Corp.'s product manager for custom manual wheelchairs. “This is where technology is taking over from being just a basic wheelchair.”

In fact, Sunrise Medical's Brent Hatch, product manager of standard mobility, says technological evolution for manual wheelchairs seems to be swinging more toward the ultra-lightweights — and less to everywhere else, including the lightweight (K0003) and high-strength lightweight (K0004) segments.

“The K0004 used to be a more customized chair,” he says, “but as more competitors enter the market, there is a need to be more price-sensitive, which means producing chairs with fewer features.

“In many product segments, you'll often see features ‘pulled down’ through the chain of the product line,” he continues, but he notes this trickle-down is at a “much slower pace” for lightweight wheelchairs. “It's because of price competitiveness, and the fact that [the more basic chairs] are a rental business.”

Hatch adds, though, that lightweight and high-strength lightweight business remain strong. “The real story behind the K-1 through K-4 chairs is how dealers manage the business,” he explains. “On the dealer end, it involves fleet maintenance and careful managing of chair deployment in order to make a profitable venture.”

Scott Higley, vice president of sales for Pride Mobility's Quantum Rehab, agrees, noting that there is “not as much cutting-edge stuff” in K0003 and K0004 because of price constraints. “You are tied by the reimbursements,” he says.