Rick's Reviews, Invacare Pronto M91

Edmond Wheelchair Repair and Supply

Fair and honest review of the Invacare Pronto M-91 electric wheelchair.

INVACARE PRONTO M91, MWD POWER WHEELCHAIR. Rating
Recommended use, Indoor / Outdoor 

UPDATED 10 / 20 / 2003

The Invacare M91 is a fairly high performance Mid-wheel drive chair designed to fit into the Medicare K0011 class. It is a mid-sized chair for those needing good indoor and outdoor capabilities.

I spent a week testing one and I feel that it may be one of the best all around chairs that Medicare will easily cover. It has the power to be very useful outdoors and the maneuverability to work great indoors. I know for our customers needing this type chair, this is the model I will recommend.

The M91 features 4 pole motors that offer good power along with a 6.5 mph top speed.

The SureStep suspension climbed over small curbs and obstacles up to 3 inches tall with no problems and should handle rough curb cuts or door thresholds without a hitch. 

The M91 is the most stabile MWD powerchair I have ever driven. The M91s closest competitor and most other MWD chairs, rock forward when you release the joystick at high speeds, the M91 does not, or if it does, none of us could feel it. Like most other mid-wheel drive chairs when going down a slope or leaning to far forward, the chair can rock forward. The M91 does this because of the SureStep suspension system which allows the front casters to climb up over obstacles. While this is not dangerous, it can scare the heck out of you the first few times it happens. If you are going to be cruising up and down hills a seat belt is in order.

While not the softest ride available, it was not bad. I do wish Invacare offered a pneumatic tire option for the rear casters, it would help a lot. I still feel the Arrow 3G and a few others have a much better ride, but like the XTD series, it is not to far behind. A Roho or other good cushion would be a help here.

The one I have been testing has the full reclining van style or captains seat. The seat is by far the best Invacare has offered, 5 of us tried it and no-one was uncomfortable. The van style seat is available in several sizes. Invacare also offers the M91 with a sling style seat that comes in sizes from 16" to 24" wide and 16" to 22" deep. The sling style seat has available back heights from 16" to 20" tall.

One thing I really like about the Pronto M91 and all the new Pronto models is the ease with which the front rigging can be changed as the users needs change. You can start out with a standard flip-up footboard and if you need to go to swing-away footrest or elevating legrest, it is a simple matter of bolting a couple of adaptors into the seat frame.

The weight limit is 300 lbs, with an option to 400 lbs.

The Pronto M91 has an overall base width of 26 inches so it will fit through most doorways. The overall length with the flip-up footboard is 40 to 42 inches. 

The things I do not like about the M91 are that the battery charger is in the very back of the chair under a little cover and many people may have a hard time reaching it. I have to kneel or bend over to plug the chair in. Many people can not do this. ( a lot of people will leave the end of the power cord stuffed into the rear seat pocket, but this looks tacky ) I would also like to see pneumatic rear casters offered for those needing the smoothest ride possible. With some medical conditions the ride would be to jarring.

The M-91 has been out a while now and I had to downgrade it's rating a little as reports of problems come in, but it still rates as one of the best. Out of all the M-91s we have sold, we have had two reported with a bad battery charger and I have heard a report of leaks in the motor gearbox. If I get more of these reports, I will have to downgrade the M-91 more. Invacare is working to correct these problems.

The Invacare Pronto M91 is a good solid all around chair for anyone wanting a mid-wheel drive. It  is a good buy for anyone buying out of pocket.


PROS

Good performance with good maneuverability.
Good reliability.
Easy to use, except to recharge.
Parts are readily available.
Fits it designed purpose very well.


CONS

Battery charger location.
Could use a pneumatic rear caster option.
Some reports of bad battery chargers.
Some reports of gearbox leaks.

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12/30/2005