Drive Medical 14886 Skin Protection Gel "E" Wheelchair Seat Cushion

Great cushion for wheel chairs. My son says it is very comfortable.

I bought my first one of these 2-yr ago after reading lots of reviews. I decided to get it because reviewers said it didn't stay collapsed once you sit on it, but molds itself to your bottom for good support without pressure points . That is very true. Also, after constant use by an overweight 70+ person for a year, it's like new. This cushion has been the answer to setting on a hard or poorly cushioned chair for a long time and not having a sore butt, pain and aggravation due to spinal stenosis, or backache. It's often taken to meetings and to the theater. Unbearable seats are now comfortable. It has a silky blue side that does not make you hot but it is slippery, and a gray non-breathable side that won't slide but will make your butt sweat. It's usually used with the gray side down so it stays cool, yet one can easily slide on the blue side to change positions. In cold weather, putting the gray side up acts like a seat warmer. The slippery side could result in someone sliding out of their chair, but only if they weren't sitting all the way back or they slouched terribly. It is a simple thick gel pad encased in foam all around, inside a removeable cover, as shown in the photos. Two problems I have had in over two years. One is that the handle broke away after a year due to a stitching problem, but Drive replaced the whole cushion. I just weighed with and without it, and the 18x16x3 weighs 6.2#. Definitely not lightweight. I frequently carry it under my arm for fear the handle will again pull away. Second problem was that security at Reagan Airport confiscated it because the gel was opaque and they couldn't tell what was inside. I ordered another one and took the time to open the zippered cover and carefully cut the outer foam enough to reveal a few inches of the gel pad. Reagan AP again tried to confiscate it, but finally let it thru. Pack it in my checked bag was Reagan AP's solution. Due to frequent trips to DC, I finally decided to order a 2nd one and leave it there so I wouldn't have to take it thru Reagan security. But on international flights, I need it in the chair.

The cushion is very comfy. It's not super soft. Some people complained about it being hard but I find it comfortable and I usually have problems with most seats being too hard for me, especially in public places. They start to feel uncomfortable about an hour into sitting down. I bought this cushion for my home computer chair which barely has any cushion at all. I find that I can't sit in it for very long because the seat is so hard. I've had the cushion for 2 days now and I'm loving it. I can sit in my chair for a longer time now. The weight capacity for this cushion was listed on a few other websites as being 275 lbs. I'm a plus size girl but definitely under the capacity. Either way I was concerned that some people of average weight complained that the gel interior burst. Perhaps they got defective cushions. Hopefully mine will not burst. If it does I will definitely update here and attempt to get an exchange. **Update** The cushion finally burst after almost 2 years of use. It started to lose it's shape over time and only in the last few months before it started leaking gel did it become uncomfortable. I still think it's worth getting. It's around 25 dollars at the moment which isn't bad for about 2 years of use. I'm planning on buying another one.

So far, so good. This cushion is exactly what my dad needs. We bought a Nova 352 transport wheelchair which he sometimes sits in for 1-2 hours at a time when we go out somewhere. He says it's very comfortable. The 3" rise puts his arms in an ideal position for the arm rests. The gel insert makes the cushion comfortable for him and hopefully safe for extended sitting. Since he doesn't live in the transport chair, this cushion doesn't need to be a 12-hour-per-day cushion, so I'm sure it will suffice. The top side fabric seems perfect. It grips the right amount yet allows my dad to reposition himself when he first gets into the wheelchair. But we've had no issue with him (or the cushion) sliding around on the chair. I like the handle. It doesn't get in the way when the cushion is on the chair, yet it is extremely useful in moving the cushion around. I had never used a wheelchair cushion before, but now that I have, I would never want a cushion that lacked a handle. The cushion is attractive and looks like it cost way more than it does. Not sure what else there is to say about it. It allows gravity waves to pass through the cushion, conveniently and safely keeping my father in the chair. ;) One concern is the fragility of the gel insert. When the cushion arrived, it was wet. The box was dry and undamaged, yet there was clearly moisture between the cushion and the plastic wrap. Also, you could really feel the weight shift as you tilted the cushion from side to side, indicating that the gel had escaped from its bag/enclosure. I simply made a few mouse clicks and Amazon immediately sent a replacement that arrived in two days, and they had UPS come to my door the very next day to pick up the defective cushion. All I had to do was stick it back in the box and tape it shut. UPS guy had a return label already with him that he slapped over top of the previous shipping label. It was a total no-hassle return. No cost to us. And the replacement cushion is fine. I'm hoping that was an anomaly and the current cushion will last a long time. If not, we're out less than $30 and will find something else. Only reason I'm giving this 4 rather than 5 stars is the experience with the first leaky cushion that gives me concern about the longevity of this product. Time will tell. But for now, it's perfect for the cost.

It's been 5 weeks now and I've gone from getting up every 30 mins and standing at my desk during my last hour of my shift, to working OT every night for the past 3 straight weeks and I'm not in pain anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel amazing and here I used to dread coming to work and sitting down. Now when I sit I feel like I'm sitting on a fricken cloud of air! Note the first 2 weeks were still hard because I had built up about 2 years of soreness to the point where I was ready to opt for a stand up work station. This was the best $38 after shipping that I could invest. I opted for the 3" thick one here obviously because of my boney butt. So figure about 3 weeks before you feel like a new person. It's comfortable from the first day. Nice and heavy, has a handle and this 18" wide was perfect for my chair and butt. Measure your chair first to make sure and order the right size. There's a few to choose from if I remember right for this model. I was feeling helpless and was in A LOT of pain and discomfort before I started using this. I've been working in a sitting desk style job for over 10 years now and it didn't bother me until about 3 years ago. Anyway great value compared to actual office chair cushions. Best! Michael UPDATE: The gel inside broke after about 1 year but it was still worth it considering how much it helped me. I've also just switched to a sit/stand station at work that's really helping me.

I purchased this item as a cheap alternative to replacing a chair (or rather its' padding). It works fairly well and in general I am happy with the purchase. I however may be the exception to this rule as I do not use this in a wheelchair. The only real issue I had with this cushion was getting used to the gel filling. It sits sort of like a hump in the middle of the cushion. Because of this I cannot sit directly in the middle of the cushion, but I have gotten used to sitting on the right or left side and back of center. This pushes the hump if you will to one side of the cushion or the other making it comfortable. Plus at 1/4 the cost of a new cheap chair, or 1/8 the cost this chair cost me many years ago it is an easy fix until I have the money to replace the chair altogether. I suppose it may be possible that I received a defective product that had too much gel included, or potentially that it is designed for a wheelchair seat that is concaved in the center where my chair is not. Either option may explain the hump I experienced, but that is not the only issue I've noticed. I've owned it almost two months now, and with mild use (20-30 hours a week) I am already seeing signs of the cushion (foam) itself deteriorating. I still have the box it was shipped in. When I received it the cushion took a little work to get out of the box as it was a tight fit. Now the cushion easily slides in and out of the box as the foam has compressed down almost a fingers width already (a fingers width is about 1/2 an inch). I expect it will last maybe a eight-ten months with my mild usage, but much longer and it will probably be more like sitting Ziploc bag filled with water warped in a beach towel. Additionally it is advertised as a wheelchair seat cushion. I only sit for a few hours a day, maybe 4 hours tops on this chair. I find I have to get up and move every 30-45 minutes as the seat get rather warm. I do not consider this a problem, as it is not healthy to sit for long periods of time, and this is just another reminder that I need to get up and move around. However it is worth noting for the wheelchair bound that this cushion does not allow for heat exchange very well. I have not noticed an issue here, but there are also two sides to the cushion (cover). The top is a lighter material that is fairly slick to the touch. I personally keep a towel over the the cushion as I have cats that love to sleep in my unoccupied chairs, and it is easier to wash a blanket or a tower than a cushion. I do however remove this towel before I sit, and I've not noticed the slippy aspects other reviewers have noted. The bottom side is thicker and more plastic-like material that has a raised pattern like the non-slip textures on steps. I've never had a problem with either me slipping out of the chair or the cushion slipping out of the chair. Nor have I had any issues of the cushion moving on my even though it is not as wide as the chair (there is almost a full inch between the cushion edge and the arm rests on both sides, and about half an inch between the front edge of the cushion and the front of my chair). The cushion itself is fairly heavy as well, which might explain how it stays put so easily. Therefore my recommendation for this product would be situational. In my case it was a great choice. I however do not use it as advertised, and I will not need it for more than six months. I would be hard passed to recommend this item for a wheelchair bound person. It is a good enough cushion, but only for light use. It is not something I would recommend for heavy usage, and if I didn't have the ability to get up every half hour or so it would get uncomfortably warm. Finally I would also question the longevity of the item for someone in a wheelchair as I assume they would use the cushion a lot more than I personally do, and yet my mild usage is starting to show after only two months.

Very helpful, sturdy and easy to clean.

Bought two of these cushions in 2011 to survive hard seating. Here we are in 2021 with the price cut in half - I looked up our purchase because a kayak buddy borrowed a cushion and really liked it. Both cushions still look like new and are in perfect shape after all this time. I used one of them all spring and summer for kayak paddles varying 4 to 8 miles. There is no way I could or would ever kayak without this cushion - physically I just couldn't manage it! The cushion prevents a painful tailbone and keeps my bottom comfortable. Not only does it make a difference in my ability to extend the length of a trip, but it also improves the enjoyment of kayaking. Oh, yeah - my cushion has been soaking wet more than a few times. I use the gray side down (which blocks water better) with the blue side up. If the blue side does get soaking wet, it dries out pretty quickly with no apparent harm to the efficiency or integrity of the cushion. If I was concerned about it getting wet, I might look into getting a waterproof cover made; but there doesn't seem to be a problem with the gray side of the cushion standing/sitting in water at the bottom of my kayak after each trip. I just let it air dry in the garage.