Power wheelchair users understand the importance and advantages these types of chairs provide. But depending on the electric wheelchair you have it can be difficult to use while traveling. For those that like to travel finding the best power wheelchair for travel can break barriers and keep you exploring around the world both indoors and out.
Our in-depth guide explores some of the best electric wheelchairs for travel that make storing, transport, and using much easier than other bulkier models. These models should meet and exceed your travel mobility needs.
What makes a good travel power wheelchair?
There are aspects to travel power wheelchairs that other electric wheelchairs might not have. What makes a good travel wheelchair comes down to a few key areas.
How easy it is to travel with the electric wheelchair, How long the battery lasts, what is the drive distance, how light is the wheelchair, how easy can you fold the chair, and are the wheels large enough to still travel over different terrain? These are all important factors in what makes a good travel electric wheelchair.
In a lot of cases power, wheelchairs are heavy-duty, take multiple pieces when breaking them down, and require help to move them from one location to another like a car, airplane, or train.
Choosing an electric wheelchair that combines lightweight materials, ease of folding, easy portability, and good drive distance is crucial to having a good versus great travel experience with your wheelchair.
- What makes a good travel power wheelchair?
- Top 5 Best Power Wheelchairs for Travel
- Best Power travel wheelchairs comparison chart
- 1. (Best Overall) Featherweight power chair
- 2. Move Lite Folding Power Chair
- 3. FeatherFold+ Power Chair
- 4. eVolt Traveler Power Chair
- 5. Model X 35lbs. Travel Power Chair
- Power Wheelchair for travel buying guide and tips
- What to look for when buying a Power wheelchair for travel
- Call ahead to the airline your flying
- Charging ability while traveling
- How easily do the electric wheelchairs fold?
- Seat comfort while traveling
- Features to Consider When Buying a Power Wheelchair for Outdoor Use and travel
- Final thoughts on electric wheelchairs for travel
- Related questions
Top 5 Best Power Wheelchairs for Travel
Rank | Power Travel Wheelchair | Our Score |
---|---|---|
1. (Best overall) | Featherweight Power Chair | 4.8/5 |
2 | Move Lite Folding Power Chair | 4.7/5 |
3 | FeatherFold+ Power Chair | 4.6/5 |
4 | eVolt Traveler Power Chair | 4.5/5 |
5 | Model X 35lbs. Travel Power Chair | 4.5/5 |
Best Power travel wheelchairs comparison chart
Key Specs | Featherweight Power Chair | Move Lite Folding Power Chair | FeatherFold+ Power Chair | eVolt Traveler Power Chair | Model X 35lbs. Travel Power Chair |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Product weight: | 33 lbs. | 50 lbs. | 35 lbs. | 48 lbs. | 35 lbs |
Weight capacity: | 242.5 lbs | 300 lbs. | 220 – 330 lbs. | 220 lbs. | 220 lbs. |
Max speed: | 3.7 mph | 5 mph | 4 mph | 5 mph | 5 mph |
Driving range: | 13 miles | 15 miles | 10 miles | 12 miles | 8 miles, 13 miles |
1. (Best Overall) Featherweight power chair
Our number one overall choice for the best power wheelchair for travel is the Featherweight Power Chair. At only 33 pounds this is the lightest electric wheelchair you can get. what makes this so great for travel is:
Ease of folding: This electric wheelchair folds really small. The seat will collapse to 13″ while the back folds to 28″. Because of this, you can fit this in almost any car or truck.
Lightest you can get: At 33 pounds it’s just extremely light making it almost possible for anyone to lift the chair.
Excellent range: With a full battery charge you can travel 13 miles. This should be plenty of range for most people in a single day.
For those that are looking for a lightweight power wheelchair that is easy to travel with, checking into airports, with long drive times this is the travel power wheelchair you should be looking at.
Key Specifications
- Weight capacity: 242.5 lbs.
- Chair weight: 33 lbs.
- Seat width: 17.72 “
- Seat depth: 16.5 “
- Turning radius: 47.24″
- Top speed: 3.7 mph
- Driving range: 13 miles
Score: (4.8 / 5)
Pros
- Lightest power chair you can get
- Great drive range
- Easy folding frame
- Easy to lift
- Easy to transport
- Easy to operate
- Airplane approved
Cons
- May not be great over extremely rough terrain
2. Move Lite Folding Power Chair
Read our full review of the Move Lite Power Chair
Another excellent folding power chair that excels in making travel easier with an electric wheelchair is the Move Lite Folding Power Chairs. This chair offers lightweight one-piece folding power chairs that can hold up to 300 pounds.
What makes this wheelchair a top choice is aluminum that is extremely light but strong. Featuring 12″ flat-free tires makes this power chair is excellent for a lot of different terrains.
This power chair can easily fit into most cars and trucks making you gain back independence while both home and when traveling.
Key Specifications
- Weight capacity: 300 lbs.
- Chair weight: 50 lbs.
- Seat width: 18.8 “
- Seat depth: 16″
- Turning radius: 31.5″
- Top speed: 5 mph
- Driving range: 15 miles
Score: (4.8 / 5)
Pros
- Lightweight
- Easy to fold
- Easy to transport
- Airline approved
- Flat free wheels
Cons
- Does not have swing away foot rest
3. FeatherFold+ Power Chair
Extremely lightweight power chair that is great for those that travel a lot. Because it folds up super small this is a go-to chair among travelers of all ages. This particular chair is so light almost anyone can lift the chair into a car or truck and even stairs by a caregiver.
Developed with a simple one-touch fold and lock design this chair is excellent for the senior population that may have weak hands. When folded this chair can fit into some really tight spaces. You can fold this chair into an 18″ x22″ 26″ space.
This chair can be had in two sizes. the standard 18″ seat width that has a solid weight capacity of 220 and 8″ rear tires. Or the HD version with a 20″ seat width and 10″ rear wheels. Either model has a 10-mile range on a full single charge.
Key Specifications
- Weight capacity: 220 – 330 lbs.
- Chair weight: 35 lbs.
- Seat width: 18″ – 20 “
- Seat depth: 16 “
- Top speed: 4 mph
- Driving range: 10 miles
Full review on: FeatherFold+
Score: (4.8 / 5)
Pros
- Airplane approved
- Folds in seconds
- Anti-Tippers included
- Alunimum frame
- Lithium Battery
Cons
- Footrest does not swing away
4. eVolt Traveler Power Chair
For that are looking for lightweight foldability but with a strong motor, the eVolt Traveler Power Chair is a strong contender. This chair has two 250w motors for a combined 500w of power. With its large rear wheels, this chair can go over a lot of different terrains.
We love that fact when traveling you need to think about space, ease of folding, and how many pieces it takes to break down the power wheelchair. This chair folds in 3 seconds with its one-button fold option.
The battery is airline-approved and weighs in at only 48 pounds. We think this will be a strong container when it comes to power travel wheelchairs.
Key Specifications
- Weight capacity: 220 lbs.
- Chair weight: 48 lbs.
- Seat width: 17.5″
- Seath depth: 16″
- Max speed: 5 mph
- Driving range: 12 miles
Review on: eVolt Traveler Power Chair
Score: (4.8 / 5)
Pros
- Lightweight
- One button fold
- Folds in seconds
- Battery is Airline approved
- Strong dual motors
- Easy flip back arms
Cons
- Footrest do not spread apart
5. Model X 35lbs. Travel Power Chair
This power wheelchair is the lights travel chair you can get. At only 35.5 pounds almost anyone can lift this chair into an SUV, car, or truck. It is extremely light because of the brand-new materials that are used to make this electric wheelchair.
Standard features that come with this char are also great and are loved by many users. For example, it comes standard with a seat belt, removable seat and back covers, and charger and batteries. For optional features, you can get anti-tippers and push bars for anyone that would also need a caregiver to push manually.
We would recommend upgrading batteries so you can take advantage of the 13-mile drive range. This becomes nice when traveling and you want to make sure you have the range for all-day use.
Key Specifications
- Weight capacity: 220 lbs.
- Chair weight: 35 lbs.
- Seat width: 18 “
- Seat depth: 16 “
- Max speed: 5 mph
- Driving range: 8 -13 miles
Score: (4.8 / 5)
Pros
- Extremely lightweight
- Flip up leg and armrest
- Batteries and charger are both included
- Advanced lithium-ion batteries
- Foldable frame
Cons
- Upgraded battery should be done and that is an extra cost
Power Wheelchair for travel buying guide and tips
Traveling with a wheelchair or other mobility device can get stressful, especially if the electric wheelchair you have is heavy and hard to fold. Another obstacle is the electric wheelchair itself airline-approved? If not problems and delays can happen to make traveling exceptionally stressful.
Almost every airline is required to assist those with disabilities. This means aircraft doors and wheelchair-accessible aisle seats are a must. The only exception to this is aircraft that have less than 30 seats. Aircraft with more than 60 seats are required to have these means in place for disabled passengers and are required to have a wheelchair on board.
But what about if you have your own electric wheelchair and you want to bring that along to your next travel destination. Choosing the best power wheelchair for travel will allow you to bring your device with you and do so much easier.
What to look for when buying a Power wheelchair for travel
You will want to look for basic and consider things like foldability, wheelchair weight, seat width, and drive distance. However, there are other things to keep in mind for travel electric wheelchairs. They are:
- Type of battery the chair uses
- Portability
- Weight capacity
- Ease of folding
- Size when folded
- Drive distance
- Battery life per charge
Call ahead to the airline your flying
It is wise to call ahead to the airlines you are flying to confirm their policies on flying with an electric wheelchair. Each airline will have exactly what they require for you to be airline-approved when bringing an electric wheelchair on board.
These airline regulations will explain the size and type of batter that can go with you on the airline. This can help determine if you might need a different type of battery and an extra battery because of the length of your trip.
Power wheelchairs and the Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration sets guidelines for batteries for both electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters. If the batteries are protected properly they are best kept within and remained installed in the mobility aid. But, there may not be possible for some devices and when this is the case the batteries must be removed.
This happens when the wheelchair battery does not have the proper housing of the lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery size is limited to 300 watt-hours or 25 grams equivalent lithium content.
Or one spare battery that does not exceed 300 wh or two spare batteries not exceeding 160 wh. Each may be in carry-on baggage.
Lithium metal batteries are not prohibited with this device at all. Lithium-ion batteries are removed from these types of mobility devices with the terminal protected from a possible short circuit.
Charging ability while traveling
Traveling within the United States you will not have any trouble charging your batteries. However, for those that will be traveling abroad and to places that require a power converter it’s important to know what type of converter is needed in order to keep charging your battery.
Some power wheelchairs can travel much longer than others and each battery may last different amounts of time depending on the make, models, and age of the battery.
How easily do the electric wheelchairs fold?
Folding power wheelchairs are essential when traveling. The ability to fold the electric wheelchairs quickly will make travel much easier.
Folding the chair will need to happen during transport to the airport or during the drive. Unfolding the chair should be just as easy. Most of the electric wheelchairs we review offer extremely easy folding and unfolding options that make traveling easier.
Seat comfort while traveling
Being comfortable on trips using your electric wheelchair is important. Because you may not be aware of road conditions and other factors that could make sitting and using a power chair more uncomfortable.
For example, road conditions on your trip may be rougher causing pain or even sores to develop for those that sit for prolonged periods of time.
To combat this problem we suggest using the proper wheelchair seat cushions to get extra comfort while traveling in your power wheelchair.
Features to Consider When Buying a Power Wheelchair for Outdoor Use and travel
The portable electric wheelchair offers a comfortable option for keeping yourself independent while travelling outdoors. Aside from being lightweight, these wheelchairs also offer many options to select from in an ideal way that ensures the best experience possible.
Comparison to Daily Use Chair
Check out the features you use daily in a powered chair to find out which help you the most. Then, consider what features your standard wheelchair has that are valuable to you as you travel. Finally, find the right chair to provide these benefits.
User-friendliness
A wheelchair can be easily installed in the house or on the road; a portable wheelchair can fold up for storage or transportation. Of course, you and any person accompanying you must use the wheelchair in the first place.
Final thoughts on electric wheelchairs for travel
In terms of mobility aids power, wheelchairs will be more expensive than manual wheelchairs but they will also provide you with much more freedom and even comfort over other types of mobility aids.
Take a look at the models we have reviewed as any of them will provide excellent travel capabilities because of the lightweight, foldability, and ease of use for those that want to get out and travel.
Related questions
What is the best brand of motorized wheelchairs? There are a lot of great brands to choose from when it comes to a powered wheelchair. Brands like Pride Mobility, Golden Technologies, Drive Medical, Merits Health USA, and more all provide excellent electric powered wheelchairs.
How do you transport a power wheelchair? The process is the same as a manual wheelchair in that travel electric wheelchairs typically fold or can be broken down so they are lighter. Make sure you understand how a power wheelchair folds and what the heaviest piece is before making a purchase. However, most travel power wheelchairs have the ability to fold and transport easier then other power chairs.