and this isn't to say power chairs aren't important, rather that they're just not for me, but
before i got this chair, and i borrowed powered chairs and scooters
i was always a bit unnerved by how vague the controls they give you are for small movements?
i know some ppl mod their power chairs to improve that, but
that is something i rly appreciate about my argon >.> especially this one which was actually made for me and doesn't have slack in any bearings, the precision is so. satisfying and comforting
@hvee thought: in many ways this is like a spine augment rather than a legs replacement, in my case
since my issue was the huge level of hip and back pain caused by standing
but now the chair can bear the load instead. and it like. incidentally just has wheels. kind of
@hvee especially since i do use foot propel as an option sometimes (mostly to assist in braking or taking turns than actual locomotion, tho that's mostly just cos the rigid single-piece footrest would get in the way of that and you need Something there structurally either way)
@hvee (if foot propulsion was my main use case i would probably have ended up with a slightly less lightweight chair that had its own under-frame reinforcement so there could just be space there? but as it is the footrest is very structurally important on my one. i'm told if i were to remove it the chair would buckle)
@kit oh yeah if as a weight reduction they designed the footrest to be a part of the rigidity, sure
ahh wheels are so cool though
@hvee they are!! and i owe the existence of this entire category of wheelchairs to a guy in california who made his own from road-bike tubing in the late 70s when he was unsatisfied with all the steel folders (non-locking folders, i might add)
@kit yeah that makes sense, you're redirecting that work from your lower spine to a thing that has a mechanical advantage for movement
@hvee yes absolutely!! and i've never felt more cyborgy like. in a realised way instead of just. kin stuff