Hasta La Ideas

In recent years, beachside municipalities have made efforts to make their sandy beaches wheelchair-accessible. One solution is to install these mats that can accommodate regular wheelchairs.

Mats, however, have obvious limitations. So here’s a look at wheelchairs and wheelchair accessories specifically designed to tackle sand.

Australian industrial designer Ryan Tilley designed Gecko Traxx, a portable and affordable series of rubber wheel wraps that can be applied over ordinary wheelchair tires.

Debug Mobility Products makes a variety of Beach Wheelchairs with gigantic puffy tires that can tackle sand.

Sand Helper makes a motorized version. Their business model is to rent these out at beachside communities.

French company Vipamat has gone for a trike configuration with their Hippocampe Beach Wheelchair. They offer it in four different sizes (S/M/L/XL). Aesthetically speaking I think it’s the best of the bunch, and as a bonus, it’s submersible.

And for the DIY-minded, a company called Wheeleez offers low-pressure balloon wheels, axles and kits, so that you can adapt an existing wheelchair or create your own.

Wheeleez’s gallery of what their customers have come up with is pretty impressive: