Review: Roamer Riding Chair

Product Information

Manufacturer: Roamer Technology, Inc.

Reviewed by: Rev. Diane Mettam from Bishop , California

Why did you purchase the product?
I purchased this chair as a lightweight travel chair, which is how it was presented. It was able to be folded up so we could rent a normal car and take it on our trips by train to see our daughter. I was encouraged to take it outside to test it on the sidewalk.

How well did the product meet your needs?
It was rough going on some pavements, but with my husband's help I did get around. It did fold up compactly so we were able to use a normal car and not a wheelchair van. But the pavement of New Orleans broke a weld and we were forced to rent a scooter and then buy a manual wheelchair to get me home.

Are there specific features of the product that you liked?
The light weight and the ability to fold. I met a couple of other Roamer Riding chair users in my travels and they were also fairly happy with the chair.

Are there specific features of the product that you disliked?
The joystick was very unstable and floppy, making it difficult to control the chair at times. The chair was always a bit "squirrelly," but as a long-time power chair user I was able to learn to control it fairly quickly. The ride was very rough and uncomfortable, even painful, on rough pavement. The broken weld was the death knell. We're still trying to find someone who can fix it. It doesn't look good.

Any other comments about the product's performance?
We bought a spare battery at the time we purchased it, and we were glad we did. One battery failed after a very short time. Without the backup, we would have been in real trouble.