First Impression Of My Tilite ZRA Series 2

Peter Tan - wheelchair user - Tilite ZRA Series 2 rigid titanium wheelchair
Peter Tan – wheelchair user – Tilite ZRA Series 2.

After a few days of looking forlornly at the partially assembled Tilite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair, I got Wuan to spend some time to perform minor adjustments and finally got to use it for a full day yesterday. Most apparent with this new wheelchair is that I am seated higher and my bare feet are very comfortable on the footrest with one piece ABS cover.

I am seated higher due to the very taut seat upholstery and the new two-inch Supracor Stimulite Sport cushion that I got to go with the wheelchair. Although the Stimulite Sport is firm, it is also surprisingly very comfortable. My buttocks have never felt so pampered in a long while.

This wheelchair will take some getting used to. The dynamics are different from the folding ultra lightweight aluminium that I have been using for the past three years. It is very responsive due to it being rigid. Over the next few weeks or even months, there will be minor tweakings to dial it in to give an even better fit.

The Tilite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair with accessories costs US$3100 (RM9920 at time of purchase) plus US$420 (RM1344) for shipping. The Supracor Stimulite Sport is another US$290 (RM928) excluding shipping. For the amount I paid, I earnestly hope this wheelchair will last a long time or at least until I have saved enough to be able to replace it.

In the meantime, I will have the broken cross brace from the aluminium wheelchair disassembled and sent for welding locally. I was quoted JPY24,000 (RM900) for replacing it. That cost excludes shipping from Matsunaga’s factory in Japan and workmanship. I figured the replacement is not worth it as this wheelchair is now relegated to being the spare wheelchair that I will hardly use.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

8 thoughts on “First Impression Of My Tilite ZRA Series 2”

  1. No sheep skin between you and the seat? I know someone here in Tennessee who got one a while back. She’s only 20 years old so she looks kind of sporty when wheeling around.

    1. I have never used sheep skin before although I read they are good. Anyway, this cushion I am sitting on is quite gentle to my buttocks, much better than the previous I was using.

  2. The chair looks high tech. Hope you will have a nice reunion dinner tonite. Kong Hee Fatt Choy!

    1. Hi Meng, Apologies for the delay in replying. However high tech the chair looks, I still need to push it. Haha. We had reunion dinner with my in-laws on the 1st. Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too!

  3. looks like a great wheelchair. i really like how your leg and feet are positioned…do you ever have any issues with your feet falling off your footrest? also, when you bend all the way forward, do you feel like you won’t fall forward?

    1. I quite like this footrest position as my feet can neither slip off the back nor fall off the front. I don’t lean forward much but those few times that I did, I was mindful to support myself to prevent that.

Comments are closed.