Jump to: Purchase considerationsTypes of mobile scootersFeatures to look out for
Mobility scooters provide one of the most versatile and far-reaching solutions for seniors with mobility challenges. They ensure you or your loved ones can get around with ease – both at home and outdoors – giving you the opportunity to maintain an active lifestyle.
This page is meant to help you uncover and understand all the factors involved in choosing the right mobility scooter for you or your elderly parents. We’ll discuss considerations, types and features in order to help you narrow down the ideal scooter for your needs.
If you’re researching or purchasing a mobility scooter for someone else, be sure to discuss the features discussed below with them. Not only will this give them some sense of excitement over the process (akin to purchasing a new car!), it’ll help you narrow down what exactly they need to be comfortable and happy.
Things to consider prior to shopping
Before we dive into the specifics around scooters, it’s important to keep a couple considerations in mind. These will help you narrow down your search right off the bat and ensure you don’t end up with a product that isn’t suitable for you needs.
Weight capacity: Ensure the scooter your considering has a sufficient weight rating for its rider.
Indoor vs Outdoor: Not all mobility scooters are built alike. This is an especially important factor to consider when determining whether you’ll need to take off on an outdoor adventure or not. If you do you require something suitable for outside, you’ll need to consider the scooter’s class rating.
Types of Mobility Scooters
Three-wheel vs Four-wheel
Mobility scooters come with either three or four wheels, both which have their own advantages.
Three-wheel scooters are notably more maneuverable since the single wheel located at the front of the scooter allows for tight turns to be made. This is advantageous when navigating indoors, such as the narrow aisles in a store.
While four-wheel scooters require a wider turning radius, they are often much more stable given their larger contact with the ground. If you plan on taking your scooter outdoors, specifically in areas that are uneven, you’ll likely want to opt for a scooter with four wheels.
Portable or Travel Scooters
Portable mobility scooters (otherwise known as travel scooters) tend to be more compact and lightweight than your typical scooter. Some even less than 50 pounds! As their name suggests, they’re a great solution for those wanting to bring a mobility aid along with them while traveling beyond their immediate neighborhood.
There are a number of scooters on the market that make it exceptionally easy to travel with. One of the more worthwhile features in this category is the ability to fold into a compact size. This allows for storage in a car or airplane. Some foldable scooters are even TSA approved, which certainly makes life a lot easier when booking that vacation. Just note that this isn’t always the case, as approval depends on the type of battery the scooter has (more on this below), so be sure to contact the airline for confirmation.
Other travel scooters can be disassembled into smaller, lighter pieces. While perhaps not as convenient as a folding scooter, this type still offers a very easy way to bring your scooter anywhere you go.
Heavy-duty
Heavy duty mobility scooters are designed to provide safety and peace of mind for practically any user. They’re rated to carry up to 550 pounds, and typically feature wider bases for improved stability, and larger tires to accommodate rougher terrain. On top of that, heavy duty scooters utilize motors with substantially more power than their lightweight counterparts, ensuring you get where you need to be.
Important Features & Specifications
Like any reasonably expensive purchase, it’s important to consider all the potential features available to you before clicking that buy button. While the underlying purpose of a scooter remains the same, there’s actually quite a few things that need to be considered.
Wheel Type
Wheel size and type play a crucial role in allowing you to navigate over potentially uneven terrain found outdoors. Larger wheels provide more traction than smaller wheels, ensuring your scooter doesn’t slip and slide on various surfaces.
The type of wheel refers to whether they are solid or filled with air, much like a bike or car tire. If you’ve ever ridden a vehicle with non-inflatable wheels, you’ll know how uncomfortable an experience it can be when rolling over even a small bump or divot. It’s for this reason that having proper pneumatic tires (ie. ones filled with air) is so important if you intend to take your scooter out for a ride.
Transportability
As we discussed above, these features tend to be specific to Portable Mobility Scooters. Apart from being capable of folding or disassembled, there is one other feature that may be worthwhile look out for – freewheel mode. This essentially allows you to put your scooter into “neutral” via a lever, which can be helpful when maneuvering it with the power turned off. This is a pretty standard feature, but one to make note of when searching around.
Drivability & Maneuverability
Turning radius refers to how much space is needed to make a circular turn. If a scooter has a high turning radius requires, it’ll only be capable of making a wide turn, requiring ample space to maneuver. Conversely, with a smaller turning radius, you’ll be able to make tight turns with relative ease.
For the most part, three-wheel scooters will out-perform four-wheelers when it comes to turning radius – this simply comes down to physics.
Another spec to look for is the climbing angle. Unfortunately, this isn’t always shown, but it’ll give you an idea of how steep on an incline the scooter is capable of driving up. This will come down to a number of factors, but mostly the motor. If you don’t have any plans on riding up hills, there’s no need to worry about this.
Safety features
Most mobility scooters these days incorporate plenty of features to ensure the safety of the driver and those around them.
If you’re looking for an outdoor mobile scooter, particularly a Class 3 one rated for streets, you’ll need to have the following:
- Front and rear lights
- Signal lights and hazard lights
- Horn
- Rear view mirror
- Head rest and arm rests
- Battery level indicator
- Brakes (duh)
In addition to these standard safety features, keep an eye out for some of these as well:
- Reverse warning siren
- Puncture-proof tires
- High visibility reflectors
- “Push-too-fast” mode: This prevents the scooter from picking up too much speed when the freewheel lever is engaged. The last thing you need is your scooter rolling away from you!
Battery/drive range
A scooters battery and its drive range go hand-in-hand. Some premium scooter batteries these days provide enough power to keep you going for up to 45 miles. Most typically need to be replaced every 12 to 18 months.
- Lead acid or “Wet cell” – most scooters use lead acid batteries. These are quite heavy and last about 3 years.
- Gel cell – More expensive than lead acid, but they can be charged more times before needing to be replaced.
- Li-ion – Li-ion batteries are still quite new to the scene as far as scooters go, and are unfortunately quite expensive. They certainly make up for that cost with their lightweight and 4+ year lifecycle. Since Li-ion are substantially less heavy, that also means you can go further on a single charge.
As we noted before, the type of battery plays a bit part in whether you can bring your scooter on a plane. Typically, TSA approval requires the battery to be sealed – which all Lead acid batteries are. If you’re looking at a scooter with a Li-ion battery that isn’t sealed, just be sure to find one that doesn’t exceed 300 amp hours. This, of course, only applies if you plan on taking your scooter with you on a flight.
Comfort
If you’re going to be using your scooter for even a moderate amount of time, you’ll want to put seat comfort at the top of your decision-factor list. Sufficient padding is a must. Along with that comes proper lumbar support.
For some more ‘advanced’ features in this category, look 360-degree rotating seats to allow for safe and easy access, as well as one with powered height adjustments to ensure your legs are in an ergonomic position.
Storage
You’ll likely want to use your scooter as more than a comfy seat on wheels. Going about day-to-day activities like grocery shopping will require some extra room for storage. Look out for scooters with baskets and containers to ensure you have somewhere to put your things!
Our recommendations for the best mobility scooter
Drive Medical Scout 4
Med Mart | Check it out |
Scooters ‘N Chairs | Check it out |
Electric Wheelchairs USA | Check it out |
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