Which are the lightest electric wheelchairs in the USA?
We have done a comparison after scouring through dozens of popular options listed on Amazon and Google.
As some wheelchairs come with fixed batteries while others have detachable ones, we will be using the weight excluding batteries as the criteria for sorting.
This list is sorted by ascending order of weight.
No. 1: Falcon Ultra-Lite Dual, 32 lbs
The Falcon Ultra-Lite Dual electric wheelchair takes pole position at 32 lbs, excluding batteries. It is easy to fold, and at this weight is light enough for most lady caregivers to carry up into a car boot.
The battery is small and easy to detach, making it very airline-friendly as lithium batteries generally need to be detached and carried on board as hand-carry luggage.
It also includes an attendant controller mounted at the back which allows it to be used as an attendant controlled electric power wheelchair.
However, it’s only drawback is that the armrests are unable to flip up, which makes it unsuitable for those who need to transfer in and out of the wheelchair from the side.
No. 2: Falcon Ultra-Lite 2, 35 lbs
The Falcon Ultra-Lite 2 is a viable alternative to the Ultra-Lite Dual for those who need to transfer in and out of the chair sideways because it has flip-up armrests. The additional 3 lbs of weight can be a small price to pay for such a convenience.
It also features detachable batteries, making it travel-friendly.
An attendant control bracket is included to allow the joystick to be moved to the back, allowing a caregiver to control the wheelchair. It is the only other electric wheelchair in the Top 10 to have an attendant control function.
No. 3: Rubicon D4, 38 lbs
On the surface, the Rubicon D4 is advertised as weighing only 30 lbs. However, that is quite misleading as tools are required to detach the battery. It is effectively 38 lbs, as some of its customers on Amazon have pointed out.
While it looks similar to the Ultra-Lite Dual, the features and performance are quite different.
Based on Amazon customer reviews, there also seems to be some worrying safety issues regarding its automatic brakes.
Apparently, this chair is unable to stop completely on a slope after you let go of the joystick. This can be very dangerous for the user if the wheelchair rolls backwards and the whole chair tilts over.
It is also 1 of only 2 chairs in our top 10 list to have a fixed battery. This makes air travel inconvenient as users will need to fumble with tools to remove the battery for hand-carry. It’s also conceivable that the tools (e.g. screwdriver) may not even be allowed to be brought along.
The armrests are also unable to flip up, which makes it unsuitable for those who need to transfer in and out of the wheelchair from the side.
No. 4: Travel Buggy Dash, 39 lbs
The Travel Buggy Dash is the last of the top 10 lightest power wheelchairs to weigh below 40 lbs.
It doesn’t have attendant control functions like the Falcon Ultra-Lite chairs, but it does have detachable batteries, making it suitable as a travel wheelchair.
It also features flip-up armrests, making it a better choice for those who require sideways transfer compared to some of the other models.
No. 5: Porto Ranger Royce, 40 lbs
At 40 lbs, it starts to get quite challenging for some ladies to bring the Porto Ranger Royce into the car boot.
However, it does have flip-up armrests and detachable batteries, making it suitable to bring on holidays as a travel power wheelchair for those who require sideways transfer.
No. 6: K KLANO D02, 40 lbs
The D02 is of similar weight to the Ranger Royce and features detachable batteries.
However, it does not have flip-up armrests, so the Ranger Royce has an advantage here.
No. 7: Air Hawk, 41 lbs
The Air Hawk is a very well-known model and has been around for many years. However, other lighter models of electric wheelchairs have emerged, and it is now No. 7 on our Top 10 lightest electric wheelchairs list.
But it does feature detachable batteries and flip-up armrests.
No. 8: Beyour Walker, 41 lbs
The Beyour Walker does have flip-up armrests, but it is 1 of only 2 electric wheelchairs in our Top 10 that doesn’t have detachable batteries, the other being the Rubicon D4.
Thus, it loses out to both the Rubicon D4 in terms of weight and the Air Hawk in terms of travel convenience.
No. 9: Innuovo N5513A, 43 lbs
The Innuovo N5513A is a full-featured lightweight foldable electric wheelchair which has both flip-up armrests and detachable batteries.
However, this far down the list, it is 21 lbs heavier than the 32 lb Ultra-Lite Dual.
No. 10: KD Smart Chair, 53 lbs
The KD Smart Chair makes the list, not because it is the lightest, but because it was the first lightweight foldable electric wheelchair in the market.
Unfortunately, its basic design hasn’t changed much over the years. Like the Air Hawk, it has been overtaken by newer, lighter alternatives.
In Conclusion
This list is compiled on a best-effort basis and is by no means a comprehensive comparison of ALL power wheelchairs in the market. It is likely that there are chairs which would have made the list based on weight but were never looked at.
Below is a quick comparison table of the Top 10 Lightest Weight Electric Wheelchairs. We hope shoppers will find it useful.
