MPL Ultra-Fold Lightweight Transport Chair, 20 lb Folding Travel Wheelchair

The MPL Ultra-Fold is an ultra compact folding transport chair, sometimes called a travel wheelchair or a companion chair, built for active seniors who still want the trips, the grandkids' games, and the afternoons at the farmers market, and who just need a little backup on the longer walks and the busier days. It folds to just 9 inches wide with no tools, weighs 20 pounds, carries up to 300 pounds on a high strength welded aluminum frame, and slips into an included travel storage bag.

How small does it fold? The Ultra-Fold folds to 27.5 inches long by 9 inches wide by 18 inches high, with no tools required. Nine inches is narrow enough to stand the chair upright in a coat closet, slide it behind a car seat, stow it in an RV bay or a cruise cabin, or tuck it into the corner of a hotel room. Most folding transport chairs stop somewhere around 12 to 14 inches wide, which is the difference between a chair that lives in your closet and one that lives out in the garage.

Will it fit through my doorway? Open, the chair measures 22.8 inches wide, so it clears a standard 32 inch interior doorway with room on both sides and, with a little care, passes through the narrower 24 inch doors found in older homes and apartment bathrooms. The turning radius is 33.5 inches and the chair needs no more than 59.1 inches to maneuver, so it turns in tight hallways, small bathrooms, and restaurant aisles instead of getting stuck in them.

Will it fit the person sitting in it? The padded seat is 18.1 inches wide and 15.7 inches deep with a 15.7 inch backrest, which suits most adults from petite to large, and the frame is rated to 300 pounds. Seat height is 17.7 inches from the floor, close to a standard dining chair, so standing up out of it feels natural rather than like climbing out of a hole.

Can one person handle it? The Ultra-Fold weighs 20 pounds, so a spouse or an adult child can fold it and lift it into a trunk with one arm, without the sore back a heavier chair leaves behind. That single number matters more than almost anything else here, because a 35 pound chair is the reason most transport chairs quietly stop coming along after the second or third trip.

What are the two folds? The quick fold collapses the chair in seconds for everyday use, in and out of the house, the car, and the doctor's office. The fully compact fold takes a few seconds longer and brings the chair down to its smallest 9 inch profile for flights, cruises, and long road trips. The chair does both, so you use whichever suits the day.

Can I take it on a plane or a cruise? It is built for exactly that. The chair folds without tools, fits in the included storage bag, and at 20 pounds it is easy to hand over at the gate rather than wrestle down a jet bridge. Airlines carry mobility devices at no charge and will typically gate check a folded transport chair, and the compact fold makes stowing it in a cruise cabin closet or an RV bay realistic rather than theoretical. Confirm the specific handling policy with your airline or cruise line before you travel.

How secure is it during transfers? The padded armrests flip back and out of the way, so a transfer to a car seat, a bed, or a toilet happens across a short gap instead of over an obstacle. The caregiver locks both attendant hand brakes from the push handles to hold the chair completely still, and it holds position parked on a slope of up to 8 degrees. A seat belt is included, and the flip up footrests carry a foot protection strap.

Transport chair or wheelchair? A transport chair is pushed by someone else, with small rear wheels, no large hand rims, and a lighter, narrower, less expensive build than a self propelled wheelchair. Choose the Ultra-Fold when a caregiver will always be doing the pushing and the priority is getting out of the house easily, and choose a self propelled wheelchair when the person sitting in it needs to move around independently. Against a standard transport chair, which typically weighs 28 to 35 pounds and folds to 12 inches or wider with fixed armrests and no carry bag, the Ultra-Fold gives up nothing on capacity and gains the ability to actually come along.

Who is it for? Active seniors who need support on longer outings but not all day, families flying, cruising, or driving with a parent, anyone recovering from surgery with nowhere to store a full size chair, caregivers loading and unloading a chair several times a day, and apartment dwellers and small home owners with no closet to spare.