SmartDrive MX2+ Wheelchair Power Assist with Free Handy Bag Dynamic Wheelchair Backpack

Ive owned one of these for about three years and it changed my life. I have one shoulder that is so painful and has very restricted range of motion (doctors say it needs to be replaced and for a para with no means of supportive care or family nearby that’s a death sentence) that was making it impossible to properly push my chair. Doctors wanted me to switch to a power chair but that would have made my life extremely difficult since I can’t afford a van and there is no bus or para transit in my city.You CAN replace the PushTracker watch band with any watch band of the same size. The one that came with mine was awful. It did cause a rash on my wrist and it broke the fourth time I wore it. Max Mobility quickly replaced it for me and sent me 2 of them. They knew there was an issue with it and hopefully they’ve improved it by now. That’s when I decided to buy a better one from Amazon.Some negative things I’ve found about the PushTracker is that if you don’t always use it with the ap it won’t show the correct time and won’t load software updates. The ap drains the phone battery, and frankly I don’t see any value in using it. Sure it’s neat to track your activity and map trips but it ads no value to my daily life.There is also supposed to be a “tap” twice function (tap twice on the face of the PushTracker with your finger) to turn it on and off but it never worked for me.My original PushTracker kept losing the BlueTooth connection right in the middle of going up a ramp or cruising a parking lot. Max Mobility replaced it for me, saying that since it had the latest software and still lost connection it was defective and they promptly sent me a new one. Ive had very few issues since.It is VERY heavy so if you have limited or weak hand/arm function you may not be able to put it on/off yourself. When I drive my car I put it in the trunk and it’s hard for me to pick it up with my good arm.Every once in a while I forget to turn mine off when I don’t need it, and I inadvertently make a jerky motion or hit my arm on something (like shutting my trunk) and it accidentally takes off! Be diligent about turning it off so this doesn’t happen to you. It always scares the crap out of me when it happens and it can be dangerous.I am sad to see that since Permobil bought Max Mobility the price has increased by another thousand dollars. But if you work with your doctor or PT and a good DME you should have no problem getting one. I paid cash for mine because I was in a desperate situation and I couldn’t wait weeks/months for insurance to approve one, and now my insurance company says if something goes wrong with it they won’t pay to replace parts or repair it, so I’m on my own if it breaks. It has only a one year warranty and I’ve had mine for three years and no issues yet, aside what I mentioned above.Avoid using it in heavy rain and snow because if it gets wet it can damage the electronics in the drive unit.All in all this thing has saved me. I can go anywhere with ease and it adds zero weight to my chair. I’ve owned all three versions of the SmartDrive and this one is a far cry from their original one that had a heavy 5lb battery and a push button on/off switch that was hard to get to.It will be a great addition to your life and add lots of independent fun to your days.

In theory, the smart drive makes sense and in practice, when it works, it's great. Here in lies the problem, my Smart drive has been in the shop more than its been with me. Maybe I was unlucky, but I doubt I have over 50 kms on my unit. It stopped holding a charge and then simply wouldn't charge. The battery was replaced and then there was connectivity issues with the watch and the drive. That was resolved, but now we are back to not charging/won't turn on. Now I'm told it may be the circuit board and it will have to be sent away as it's beyond what my local supplier can handle. Last used it 13 months ago. If you do the math, the cost/km is ridiculous.

Where to start, what a nightmare. The watch is pure garbage, mine reached melting temperate on second charge, warping the watch encasement and its now dead, got 2 days of use on that and have spent 3 hours in total on hold waiting for a human to get warranty support to no avail, always first in que but phone never gets answered.The hardware buttons you attach to your chair lasted exactly 6 days until they stopped functioning or only intermittently detect touches, less than 3 miles of use and multiple hardware failures, the bracket that attaches to your chair is plastic garbage, that lasted but a day before it started rotating, coming loose and ultimatly stripped out because it can't be securly attached to the axel as manufactured, it's simply too big, they expect multiple shifting layers of rubber shims to hold it in place; they do not.Don't do it, there's absolutely no justification for this price in relation the the build quality you are getting, there's much better quality options for a power assist and permobil should be ashamed of the build quality on this thing.

I've had mine for 3 years now. All-in-all I like having it. I get 6-8 miles if there are hills and varied terrain. I get closer to 10-12 if I'm indoors at a mall or something. Without this I would not go outside much at all so it's a necessity for me. Before I got it I could manage a block or two outside.The biggest weakness is the wrist fob. It's the cheapest thing I've ever seen. I made a leather cover for it so it doesn't fall apart. The bluetooth hardware is the cheapest, crappiest, you can imagine and disconnects just as often as not. Cheap bluetooth earbuds have better BT tech in them.I always have to fight with the phone app in order to update the settings or install a new firmware. The original maker of the device was a mechanical engineer who wrote his own code for the firmware and software. So the SmartDrive hardware is great ... but the software and interface is junk.Yet, I would not be happy without it. I'd just be happier if it was done well.