The good news is that I’ve picked a chair that I think will suit me well. The frustrating news is that the company I want to buy it from doesn’t seem to want to sell it to me. Contact with them has been sporadic and mostly in the wrong direction. If I don’t have any success today, I’ll assume my time has been wasted and look elsewhere.

The chair I’m looking at is this one:

It’s the Kuschall K-Series (not to be confused with the Kuschall K-Series 2, which it frequently is).

Choosing a chair is difficult. It’s hard to tell from the specs which will better suit my needs. This is partly because those specs tend to go into unnecessary detail about the manufacture and materials which:

1. Are largely irrelevant to how the chair will perform in practice, and
2. Seem to be there mostly to distract me from the fact that most chairs are fundamentally the same.

So I made my decision based on these factors:

1. Price. I want to spend something in the region of £1500-£2000 on the chair. I could go higher, but from what I’ve seen, spending more than this yields diminishing returns. If I’m given a good reason to spend more, then I might, but I haven’t found one yet. Besides, if the price is in the low end of that range, I can justify optional extras.
2. Frame. I’d prefer a rigid frame. I understand that some folding chairs are now very good, with ingenious mechanisms to prevent movement and stress under punishment, but since I can’t try out various wheelchairs due to pandemics and the lack of suitable suppliers in the region, I’d rather not take the chance.
3. Adjustability. Most chairs in this price range are highly adjustable so it’s a condition that didn’t prove to be important in practice, but it was definitely a consideration. I don’t know whether a slightly different configuration might be better for speed or endurance or comfort… so I’d prefer to be able to adjust the thing depending on how I end up using it or if my needs change.
4. Looks. This is not entirely shallow because I spend a lot of time in the chair. A lot of people focus on it, rather than me, especially when they see me in it for the first time. I can’t help but feel self-conscious at times, so I’d prefer to like the way it looks.
5. Weight. In models within this price range, weight varies between ~6KG and ~10KG. Most are between 7 and 9. I’m not keen on the chair straying outside that range, but neither am I fanatical about a matter of grams. As long as I can lift the chair into the car with me unaided, I will be pleased.

Without digging into the specs, the Kuschall K-Series fits the bill. It has a rigid frame, costs a little over £1600 depending greatly on where you shop and on the main fram’e material. The K-Series comes in either aluminium, titanium or carbon… but I can see no compelling reason other than price (and looks) to choose between the three. The weight is about the same in all three cases and while some cagey claims are made about strength, I’m not buying them. Literally not buying them, I’m opting for the aluminium frame, saving some money which I’ll probably spend on extras. More on those extras later.

So today I’ll be trying for the last time to contact my so-far preferred supplier and/or looking for a new one that can match their price.