OSH '05 Comments

Morgans wrote:

If money is the issue, I'll bet you could make you own (I saw one that was
home made) or borrow, or rent one off grounds.

anything designed for 'the disabled' is (a) bulky (b) ugly (c) lots
and lots of chrome (d) lousy performances and (e) outrageously
expensive;

There are actually alternatives; e.g., Zapworld sells some
interesting stuff. I have the three wheeled stand-up zap-III
and am very happy with it; I wanted something where I'd stand
rather than sit; for one thing it somehow seem to make it more
'acceptable' on the side walk for some reason, and two, it
actually makes my legs muscle work quite a bit (but without
the pain associated with walking; if money is no object, the
Segway is great (I was surprised at how stable and easy to use
the thing is when I tried one at a demo -- I am surprised
actually that they don't market it more for folks with mobility
impairments, may be because of the stigma associated with
anything that has to do with 'the disabled'?); now, if you
are a little more adventurous (and mobile), I also tried the
Go Motorboard 1500X, but it requires a bit more balance skill
than I can (reliably) master; it looks like many a toy electric
scooter but is very solidly built; not quite as fast as the
Zap-III (somewhat surprisingly if one looks at the specs on paper)
but it folds and fits in a backpack and when using it, can
pass for a non-powered scooter (handy in places where it
wouldn't be allowed :-)

Now of course, one could expect an EAA convention attendee of
being able to build his/her own (see http://tlb.org/eunicycle.html
or http://www.tlb.org/scooter.html for a couple of interesting
examples from a very creative guy!)

--Sylvain