SitnStand Review | Portable rising mobility seat

**Collaborative post**

We take so many things for granted in life however once we get older those simple things begin to get harder and harder. Things which were once so easy and we did without thinking, the simple things are now difficult and there comes a time that a little extra help is needed.

Getting up from a chair is something which should be easy, however, factor in older age and it can cause more issues than you would imagine.

My lovely Dad is medically retired and amongst his many medical problems including having 7 stents in the arteries to his heart, he is also awaiting a knee replacement operation. Due to this he struggles to walk without a walking stick, can’t manage the stairs and getting up off of the sofa or a chair is difficult and he needs to use the arms of the seats and his stick to help him get upright again.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting the inventor of SitnStand which is the world’s first portable rising seat. The SitnStand is a unique battery-powered seat unit which fits onto any chair making it into an electric seat.

This seat is lightweight and comes in a case not much bigger than a briefcase, making it easy to move around from house to house, take to restaurants with you or even on holiday unlike normal mobility recline chairs this is portable and can be taken from room to room.

It folds up when not in use and has 2 carry handles, one on the top and one at the bottom of the seat unit. To move around from one room to another you just grab the 2 handles and lift. It is very light and easy to move around meaning the user isn’t restricted to staying in one room – they can take this seat unit with them and join in with family life as they have been used to doing previously.

What this seat does is inflate and delate at the touch of 2 buttons (one button for inflating and another for deflating), helping the user up off of the chair effortlessly giving back some of their independence once again. By having only the 2 buttons to press it makes this device far less complicated than many electric chairs, here there is an up and a down button only.

My Dad has been trialling this seat unit in his home and he has found it to be very helpful, especially on those days when his back and knee are particularly sore, it is also good for reassuring Mum and I when we aren’t with him as we know he is able to get up from the seat without injuring himself or falling over.

The seat unit itself almost resembles a sun lounger cushion which can be removed, the battery unit is stored in the back part which you place over the back of the chair. The weight of the battery helps to keep it in place and stops it from shifting around when you are sitting down or standing up.

Now because all chairs are different heights this seat won’t rise fully at the first press of the button, it is a gradual movement, press once to inflate a little and it has four different levels of elevation. This makes getting up from the seat an easy process as instead of having to push your weight up using the sofa or the arms of the chair, the cushion inflates under your bottom lifting your knees into a position ready to stand straight up. The lifting platform is flat so the user is not tipped forward like a traditional rise and recliner chair.

You then leave the seat inflates so it is ready for you to sit down again when you are ready. This raised position means no more lowing yourself down into a low chair which can be hard work on your back and your knees. Once seated you then press the down button to deflate the seat unit, again this is done in stages and you can leave inflated a little to give a little more support on softer sofa’s or chairs. My Dad finds it is more comfy to leave slightly inflated as their sofa is older and dips in the middle through use.

The SitnStand is an ideal solution for individuals who experience problems with chair transfers, but who wish to maintain independence not be restricted to having to use only one chair. Many traditional rise and recliners tend to tip users forward which can be an issue especially for those with balance problems or joint/knee pain already. However, the level seat pad and graduated, the flat rise of the SitnStand facilitates a safer, more controlled sit-to-stand for the user.

The battery unit is removable so you can plug it in to recharge, it is easy to remove just sliding it out of place then you can just pop in on the side to recharge overnight ready to use again the next morning. The battery itself holds enough charge to operate the chair over 100 times so it isn’t something you’ll have to put on charge daily (unless the kids/grandkids have been playing with it – of course, mine have had a go on it a few times).

The covers are fully removable on this seat unit and can be washed in the washing machine, they are easy to take off and to put back on again with markings to show you’ve put them on the correct way.

The material is fabric but can be wiped over should you spill something onto it or just popped into the wash, and with the battery pack being hidden away behind the seat unit you’ll be reassured that any spillages aren’t going to go onto the battery itself.

The SitnStand is a very simple concept which has taken a good few years to perfect. Gal, the inventer needed to ensure that the unit itself was a streamlined and lightweight as it possibly could be as the whole intention is this can be a portable unit, and if you have knee, back or movement problems you aren’t likely to be able to move around something very heavy. He also needed to ensure that the seat inflated gradually and slowly – it’s made to help not feel like you are on a fairground ride. This very clever device ticks all of those boxes and will help to bring back a little independence to many users and I can see this being used in many homes very soon.

This unit could help to stop the elderly/those with limited movement feeling so trapped within their own homes, remove the need for them to have someone with them to help them stand up and could even be used in care homes and hospitals too. It could also save from having to specially adapt your home should that time arise.

This has really helped Dad while he is awaiting his knee replacement operation.

You can see a video from the website of this in action so you can see the benefits for yourselves:

For further information please do check out the website and you can follow over on Facebook and Twitter.

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