Review of My Powerchair: Invacare TDX SP 2 NB

 

I’ve had my powerchair, which is the TDX SP 2 NB, meaning  it is the TDX 2 with a  narrow base  width of 61cm compared to 65cm which the other TDX 2 has,  for 2 years now. We bought it in June 2016 and it arrived that July. The chair is  Mid-wheel drive (MWD) and turns on its own axis as the “drive” (large) wheel is in the centre of the chair.  There’s a choice of 4 optional electric features for this chair,  and I have them all:

30° of recline

30° of seat tilt

LNX Central elevating legrest

30° seat raiser.

Batteries:

The batteries are 50AH and the chair can’t fit bigger ones because of the design of the frame. Despite that, I notice that this chair, the TDX SP 2 NB, is more responsive than my old one.

Motors:

There’s a choice of 6 and 10 KM/ H motors. I have the 6 but am planning to  change  to the larger motor when I can as it also comes with a light and indicator kit.

Colours:

Before we bought it, I looked at the colour options and by far the colour that I felt was most “me” was the Transparent Purple. You can see all the colours that were available when I decided on my chair in this photo: 

With my chairs,  I like the colour to be one that I like but I don’t like it to be too noticeable outside of what I’m wearing. I prefer people to see me and not my chair so much. I can’t stand garish colours on a wheelchair because I feel that that is the first thing that someone’s eyes are drawn to.

On my previous chairs, I’ve had colours such as black and silver which are muted colours. I really like the purple colour that I chose because I think it is different and it is the colour that I would’ve chosen anyway given the colour selection for the chair at the time that I bought it.
The other colours were red white black blue. I don’t like blue and have already got a black power chair which I use as a spare when needed. I do like white but then thought how it would easily get dirty and take much more time to get clean.

Since a while ago now, the colour options for my chair have been updated to include a more extensive range. But given the new colours, I think that I would either choose purple (Grape Jelly Bean on the new information sheets and shown in the photo above) or white. they also have a turquoise colour which is quite pretty. I like turquoise but I do not like blue. Now,  wheel rim colours as well as frame colours are interchangeable shrouds  which is another new feature introduced since I got my chair. Before, the shrouds were just for the frame. 

 I’m glad I have the colour I do at the moment though. Someday  in the future, I want to get my wheelchair shrouds changed for leopard print ones which I know can be done through Invacare’s custom service. 

Tyres:

I have grey tyres and now black ones are available. I’d prefer black and will change when my tyres are no use anymore.

Armrests:

I have armrests in a T shape which were, and still are  a standard option. They are strong and durable. There are a lot of armrest types including ones that you lift up for transfers. I wasn’t too worried about the armrest type as I can’t transfer sideways or independently.

Armrest Cover:

There were a lot of options for this chair and I chose soft armrests because the armrests on my old chair were hard and because pressure to build up on my forearms and elbows so they often got red. I am very comfortable with the softer armrest covers and have no pressure problems at all. The cover on the soft ones can be wiped clean. Because of  my body’s natural posture, I support mainly my elbow on the armrest and my arms face inwards towards my lap. With the soft cover, my arms are comfortable like this.

Seating:

I chose to use my J3 seating system (cushion and shoulder-height deep contour backrest) that I already had. If you saw my previous post, you’ll know that I recently got a new Jay3 cushion with an air insert. Not only to save money but because the seating options that were recommended on the order form were not suitable for me because the backrests were a very low height and did not have enough side contour  to be able to support me.The cushions were low-profile ( low height) and as I need a skin protection and positioning cushion they would not have supported me enough .

My chair can take different seating types and also custom moulded seating.That for me was an important decision when narrowing down which chair I would buy.

I saw that some chairs within the Invacare range were only adaptable to the Matrixx range of seating products (Invacare’s range).

During the time that I was looking for my chair, another version of the wheelchair came out. This is called the TDX Ultra but was out of my price range and could only accept Invacare backs. Other than that, Permobil

I find my wheelchair comfortable and the electrical seat options when used are quite quiet.
In the few years that I have had the chair I have only had a slight problem with the foot rest needing to be tightened up because of the length of my legs and the calf pads moved so that they support my legs better. There was one time when the foot rest was making a strange noise when I elevated it but that was quickly solved. All in all I am very happy with this chair.

The best thing about the chair is that it is very compact and fits me well.

I don’t feel the chair is bumpy at all and it gives a smooth ride because of Sure Step and Stability Lock. The chair has no curb climber and can climb obstacles of 7.5cm. 

Controls:

There are lots of different controls available. I find joysticks difficult to use and people have to help me guide and drive the chair and am looking into special controls as well as the environmental controls. 

See more of the chair’s specifics here

For more information contact your  Invacare dealer!