Pride Jazzy Air 2 power wheelchair review

A mid-wheel power chair whose selling point is a 12 inch powered seat lift, and the evaluation you should get before you spend this much.

Specifications

Specifications above come from the manufacturer's published feature list for this listing. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• The powered lift raises the seat 12 inches, which puts a seated person at eye level in a conversation and within reach of a kitchen cabinet or a shelf.
• Mid-wheel drive turns inside its own footprint, which is what makes a power chair usable in a hallway and a bathroom doorway rather than only outdoors.
• Suspension and a reclining captain's seat, which matter more than they sound if someone is going to sit in this for six hours a day.
• The listing includes in-home assembly and a walkthrough, which is not nothing for a 250 pound machine arriving on a pallet.

Where it falls short

• The 300 pound capacity is a limit, not a guideline. A stated weight capacity is the point at which the frame, motors and lift are no longer being used as designed. If your parent is near 300 pounds, or is likely to be, this is the wrong chair and the 450 pound Jazzy Elite HD is the honest answer.
• It does not fold and it does not come apart for a car boot. Getting it anywhere means a vehicle lift, a hitch carrier or a ramped van. Price that in before you price the chair.
• Buying a power chair at retail generally means giving up any chance of Medicare or insurance paying for it. Coverage runs through a supplier with a physician's order and a therapist's evaluation, and a chair already sitting in the living room cannot be back-dated into that process.
• Seat size, cushion, backrest and armrest position are all chosen by whoever fills the cart. That is exactly the set of choices a seating evaluation exists to make, and getting them wrong shows up as skin breakdown and shoulder pain months later.
• Mid-wheel drive can hang up on thresholds and lips that a front-wheel chair walks over. Measure your door sills.

What owners report

Owner reports on elevating power chairs are consistent on one point: the lift is the reason people buy, and it is the feature they say they would not give up. Reaching a cabinet, talking to a grandchild at their height, and being seen in a queue come up repeatedly, and none of those show up on a spec sheet. The second consistent theme is that real-world range falls well short of the quoted figure once you add hills, carpet, cold weather and a full day of stop-start indoor driving, so treat 15 miles as a ceiling rather than a plan.

The recurring complaints are about logistics rather than the chair. Delivery, assembly and later service are handled by whoever sold it, and owner experiences of that vary widely. Mid-wheel drive also draws consistent comment about getting caught on door thresholds, which is worth reading alongside our threshold ramp versus portable ramp guide before you assume the chair will simply roll into the house.

Who it suits

• Someone already evaluated for powered mobility who spends most of the day in the chair, indoors and out.
• A person under 300 pounds whose reach and eye level are limiting them socially or practically.
• Households with a level entry or a properly built ramp and somewhere to charge it.

Who should skip it

• Anyone who has not yet had a seating and mobility evaluation. Ask your parent's doctor for a referral first; the evaluation costs you a few weeks and can save you four thousand dollars.
• Anyone at or near 300 pounds, who needs a chair rated well above their weight.
• Families who need the chair to travel by car, who should look at a folding model such as the Porto Mobility Ranger Discovery.
• Someone who can walk short distances safely and only needs help with distance, for whom a mobility scooter is cheaper and easier to live with.

Alternatives worth considering

Common questions

Does Medicare cover a Pride Jazzy Air 2?

Medicare Part B can cover a power wheelchair as durable medical equipment when a physician documents that it is needed inside the home and the chair is supplied by an enrolled supplier who accepts assignment. Seat elevation has historically been treated as a non-covered option even when the chair itself is covered. What matters most is the order of operations: the face-to-face examination, the therapist's evaluation and the supplier all come before the purchase. Buying retail first almost always ends the coverage conversation. Our benefits checker is a reasonable place to see what your parent may qualify for before you spend anything.

Mobility scooter or power wheelchair: which does my parent need?

Broadly, a scooter suits someone who can walk a little, can stand to transfer, and has the trunk control and arm reach to steer a tiller. A power wheelchair suits someone who cannot, or who needs supportive seating for most of the day. We set the two side by side in our mobility scooter versus power wheelchair guide, and a physical or occupational therapist is the person who should settle it.

What is the seat elevator actually for?

Reach and eye level. Raised, a seated person can get into a wall cabinet, use a standard counter, and hold a conversation without looking up at everyone. Some users also find transfers easier when they can start from a higher seat, but that is a judgement for the therapist assessing the transfer, not a selling point to act on alone.

What happens if my parent is over the weight limit?

The chair is the wrong chair. A stated weight capacity covers the frame, the motors, the lift mechanism and the seat, and exceeding it is a failure mode rather than a safety margin being eaten into. Choose a chair rated above your parent's weight with room to spare, and tell the supplier the real number.

Will it fit through the doors at home?

Measure before you order: doorway widths, the turning space in the hallway and the bathroom, and the height of every threshold. Mid-wheel chairs turn tightly but sit low, so door sills are the usual problem. An occupational therapist doing a home assessment will measure all of this properly, and will also spot the doorway you would have found out about after delivery.

Keep reading

• Mobility scooter vs power wheelchair
• What an occupational therapy assessment covers
• Benefits eligibility checker: what your parent may qualify for
• Pride Jazzy Elite HD review
• Merits Vision Sport P326D review
• Porto Mobility Ranger Discovery review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.