Quickie Q50 R Carbon

Carbon frame

The premium carbon fibre frame on the Q50 R Carbon makes it incredibly light – 14.5 kg; the lightest Quickie powerchair on the market. While many folding powerchairs are well in excess of 20 kg, and a struggle to lift, the Q50 R Carbon is genuinely liftable for most people.

The easy folding mechanism lets you fold your powerchair up in just seconds, and it is extremely compact, standing upright tucked out of the way at home, or fitting into even smaller car boots.

There’s no denying the sleek carbon frame looks good too – it’s a modern, alluring style, and has a choice from five accent colours to personalise your chair.

Performance

Quickie’s 250W high efficiency motors provide the performance you’d expect from a premium Quickie powerchair, and are highly optimised to maximise the range from your lithium ion batteries. The Q50 R Carbon can either come with one battery for a 7.5 mile range, or as the Q50 R Carbon Plus with two batteries for an extended 15 mile range – this second battery fits neatly into the inbuilt slot.

What’s more, the carbon frame naturally flexes when driving over uneven surfaces, providing unique shock absorbing characteristics for a smooth ride that you don’t get from conventional metal-framed powerchairs.

Our Verdict

IATA approved for air travel, we think the Q50 R Carbon is the ideal travel companion – stylish, comfortable and convenient. It won’t offer the same performance levels as more traditional folding chairs such as the iGo Plus or regular Q50 R, which tend to be slightly more comfortable for longer trips and handle outdoor driving better, but are much heavier. However, for those after the real lightest powerchair around, the only model that compares is the eFoldi Powerchair – fractionally lighter, but without the advantages of a carbon frame.