Hill Climbers

Hill climbers, or hill stoppers, have been one of the best technological additions I have ever experienced. The particularly grippy Q-Grip push rims that I enjoy are a great help but they are still susceptible to wet conditions. If they get much moisture on them your grip was gone when it came to contact between them and The Gloves. These hill climbers, when properly adjusted, are unbelievably effective at digging their sharp teeth into the tread and preventing lost ground.

Even when the wheels and rims are caked with snow and moisture, these grippers allow you to take a rest, get a grip on either the wheel or a spoke, and inch your way up a slope. No rush to speedily give your chair a push and get your arms back in time to prevent losing ground from the slope. One of the worst circumstances is when you give a hard push and your hand slips off the rim due to lack of grip. In a case like that you not only lose your forward momentum but can often injure a finger and have difficulty regaining your grip to prevent losing ground or spinning entirely around to be going down the slope, headfirst. A situation like that happened to me out on a path down by the river, when I lost my grip and ended up being bent over with my head between my knees barreling down a hill. With no trunk muscles to sit me up, and my hands trying to slow me down, I thought for sure that I was going to end up on my face on the asphalt or in the grass. These hill climbers would have prevented that.

When they are not properly adjusted, or if your tires are low on pressure, they can let you down. We have found them to be the most effective when used very slowly and intentionally. That is, after engaging them ensure that they are doing their job, then slowly push forward up the slope followed by gently releasing your grip to ensure they are holding before taking another stroke of the push rims. If they are adjusted to be closer to the wheels, when engaged, they will wear down your tread and cause a lot of resistance for forward momentum. All the more reason they are best used only when climbing a slope, not for general wheeling.

They have certainly got me out of some sticky situations where there were no other people around to lend a hand and they got me safely into my van on a very cold and snowy day.

Source: Most ultralight wheelchair dealers and online. Installation was very easy and something easily done by someone capable of adjusting regular wheel locks.