The Sides Swing Out, So You Can Move Across Instead of Standing Up
The Esperance is a dual-motor lift chair with one feature that separates it from every other chair in the range: the sides swing out of the way. For anyone moving between a chair and a wheelchair or a walker, that takes the hardest part out of the trip — you move across at seat level instead of standing, turning and lowering yourself again. Two motors drive the backrest and the leg rest independently, and the seat still tilts forward under power for the times when standing is exactly what you want. In blue or grey.
Key Features
-
Swing-out sides — the arm moves clear of the path, so you can shift sideways between the chair and a wheelchair or walker rather than standing and pivoting.
-
Two motors — backrest and leg rest move independently, so your feet can come up while you stay sitting upright.
-
Powered lift — the seat tips forward to bring you towards standing, and lowers you back into the chair under control.
-
55 cm seat width, 52 cm seat depth — regular-tier sizing, built around adults of average height and build.
-
One handset — the back, the legs and the lift all run from the same remote.
Lift, Transfer, or Both — and Why the Difference Decides the Chair
These are two different problems and they are usually solved by two different chairs. A lift chair answers getting from sitting to standing: the seat tips forward and gives you the first part of the movement, which is the right answer for someone who can stand and walk but wants a hand getting up. A transfer chair answers something else — moving between two seats without standing at all. For anyone using a wheelchair or a walker, an ordinary fixed recliner arm sits precisely where the gap needs to be, and it turns a short sideways shift into a stand, turn and sit sequence. Sides that swing clear take that obstacle out. The Esperance covers both jobs, which makes it a chair for someone whose mobility varies from one day to the next rather than one that assumes a single fixed level.
On the motors: a single-motor chair drives the backrest and the leg rest from one actuator along a linked path, so reclining the back raises the legs whether you wanted that or not. Two motors split those movements, which is what gives you feet up while sitting upright to eat or read, or the back dropped without your knees rising to meet it. On most two-motor chairs one motor handles the backrest while the second runs the leg rest and the rise together. The honest trade-off is a busier handset, and that is a real consideration rather than a footnote — if the person using this chair finds small controls fiddly, ten minutes with the remote in a showroom is worth more than any specification.
Product Details
| Type |
Lift chair with swing-out sides for transfers |
| Motors |
Two — backrest and leg rest, independently controlled |
| Seat width |
55 cm |
| Seat depth |
52 cm |
| Upholstery |
Suede |
| Colours |
Blue, Grey |
| Controls |
Remote handset |
Before You Buy
-
Ask us the seat height from the floor. On a transfer chair this counts twice: your feet need to sit flat when you are in it, and the seat should sit close to the height of the wheelchair or walker you are moving to and from. Shifting sideways between two seats at different heights is far harder than between two at the same height, so bring that measurement with you.
-
Ask us the maximum user weight. We will not print a figure we have not confirmed. Ask in store and we will get it for you in writing.
-
Ask how the sides actually move — whether they swing, lift off or fold down, and whether the person using the chair can work them alone or needs someone to help.
-
Ask whether it has battery backup. If the power goes out while the chair is reclined, a backup battery is what brings it upright again.
-
Ask whether the suede is leather or a suede-look fabric. It changes how you clean it and how it wears.
-
Ask for the overall footprint and the clearance it needs behind it when fully reclined, and check that against where you plan to put it.
-
Ask about warranty and who services it in WA — the term, what it covers, and whether a technician comes to your home.
-
Ask whether it can be supplied under a funding arrangement such as a Home Care Package, NDIS plan or DVA entitlement. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do.
Try It at Beds4U
Whether a transfer works is not something a screen can tell you. It depends on your seat height, your reach, your strength on the day, and what you are moving to and from. So come and do it — swing the side out, move across, run the back and the legs separately, and take it all the way up to standing. Bring the walker or wheelchair you use if you can manage it, because that is the pairing that actually matters. Call your nearest store first and we will tell you which of our WA showrooms has one on the floor, so the trip is worth making.
