Standing & Seating System
Amongst the benefits of standing are:
Enhanced pressure relief, particularly for those with limited ability to shift their weight independently, or who have to sit for long periods of time.
Improved function and reach, increasing the ability to interact with your environment.
Lessened risk of contractures, as a result of an improved range of motion.
Vital organ capacity supported, including bowel and bladder function, as well as improved circulation.
Deeper respiration, through decreasing the pressure of the abdominal cavity on the lungs. This can also help reduce the risk of pneumonia.
Bone health promoted, reducing the occurrence of osteoporosis and skeletal deformities, by facilitating a natural spinal position.
Reduction in muscular atrophy and spasticity, the latter supporting a more peaceful sleep.
Your 700-Up's Sedeo Ergo seat can smoothly and silently raise you to an 85° standing position, supported by a chest harness and adjustable knee fixation pads. It also comes as standard with powered dual tilt to relieve pressure and help with transfers, and anti-shear powered recline that maintains your position and avoids friction when you lie down. This combines with a length and angle adjustable powered centre-mount legrest, which allows you to lie flat or can be lowered all the way to the ground for forward transfers. The powered C-Me seat riser lets you drive while fully elevated at walking pace of 3 mph - allowing you to enjoy the benefits of being at eye level while out and about.
The highly configurable Sedeo Ergo seat offers unrivalled comfort, and can be set up to provide an exact fit with adjustable sizes and a massive array of seating options available. This includes unique swing-away lateral cushioning that provides support whilst being easily removable for side transfers. For those with clinical needs, the full JAY range of pressure relieving cushions or posture-supporting backrests can be supplied, as well as Whitmyer's headrest range. Third party components can also be fitted, for example if you have an existing pressure cushion you want to use on your new wheelchair. Should your condition change, the modular nature of the seating allows for easy adjustment or fitting of new components, so that your Q700-Up F continues to serve you well.
Controls
Powerful 120A R-Net controls comes as standard, along with a high-definition colour LCD joyostick for clear and intuitive control of your wheelchair. A popular upgrade that we would really recommend is the Ctrl+5 Switch Box, which allows you to move into one of five pre-defined (and customisable) seat positions at the touch of a button. As standard, these positions include Stand-Up - with all the associated benefits of standing, Transfer - for easy transfer into and out of the seat, Relax - with recline, tilt and legs elevated, Lie-Down - a horizontal lying down position, and Sitting - the standard drive position. Each of these can be adjusted to your own particular needs or changed to an entirely different position, allowing the Q700-Up to accommodate your requirements or change with you, and the unique patented Sedeo Ergo Biometric Repositioning maintains your support and comfort while changing between positions.
Should you opt for the Switch Box, it comes inclusive with the Switch-It Remote Seating app, which connects seamlessly with your powerchair to measure the amount of time spent in each position. This can be shared with your clinician to allow them to develop pressure relief plans, and can then alert you to change seating position when recommended.
These controls can be expanded with personalised commands, or the use of infra-red or bluetooth to master your environment - you can change the volume of your TV or dim the house lights from your wheelchair's joystick. If you require more specialist controls such as additional switches or head or chin controls, these can be fitted in endless combinations using the Link-It Mounting System to precisely fit your needs, and the clean design complements the looks of your powered wheelchair rather than compromise them.
Power Base
Front-wheel drive can take longer to pick up than other drives due to its tendency to "fish-tail"; nonetheless, once mastered it offers a good balance of outdoor performance and precision manoeuvring indoors. Turning is much improved over rear-wheel drive, helped by the compact frame and in-rigged castor arms, while outdoor performance is good, albeit with kerb climbing limited to 7 cm.
The Q700 F boasts the 4 wheel SpiderTrac suspension system that features independent suspension on each wheel, minimising jolts and maximising traction even on rougher ground. An articulating castor arm further absorbs bumps from the rear wheels, while Spirit Level Technology sees the drive wheels connected by a pivot bar, which keeps both wheels in contact with the ground at all times, absorbing the pull when driving around corners or across slopes.
While 60 Ah batteries are standard, we would recommend upgrading to 80 Ah batteries for the longest range (up to 25 miles), although this does slightly increase the minimum seat height. The Q700-Up F's powerbase offers much better performance than that found on most standing wheelchairs, with powerful four-pole motors and top speeds of up to 8 mph. The Gyro-Tracking System upgrade is strongly recommended on the Q700-Up F (and required for 8 mph), and helps to keep you on track by correcting small deviations from your course caused by slopes or uneven terrain. We would also always advise getting this upgrade if using special controls, as it provides a much easier drive, with less corrections needing to be made to maintain your course.
Appearance
The Q700-Up F is a stand-out wheelchair, with a modern design that has a clean minimalistic approach throughout - wires and components are hidden, and everything on the chair from upholstery to tyres is picked to fit this approach. Sleek matt black bodywork is complemented by your choice of striking colour inlays (green, black, blue, orange, red, silver and white), which you can easily replace should you wish to change your style.
Our Verdict
We would normally recommend Permobil's F5 Corpus VS instead of the Q700-Up F, as the F5 VS is considered the premium standing powerchair on the market, benefiting from Permobil's decades of experience in designing and engineering standing powerchairs.
