In a Nutshell:
The Beach Powered Mobility Beach Cruiser is a well-rounded, robust beach cruiser with a moderate selection of extras (but virtually unlimited customization), offered by a great company. Not best in class, but very strong design. Recommended For: It’s a fantastic middle of the road option, great for anyone.
Customization options
Ease of Use
Comfort
Performance
Overall Rating
4.3/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone looking for a well-rounded, robust beach cruiser with a moderate selection of extras. It’s a fantastic middle-of-the-road option.
Do you love the beach?
Have you been missing because you’re just unable to get around like you used to?
If you answered yes to either (or both!) of those questions, this review will make you smile.
In the following sections, we’ll examine the Beach Powered Mobility Beach Cruiser in-depth. Unless you live in northern Florida, we’d be surprised if you’ve ever heard of them.
About Beach Powered Mobility
They hand-build their line of manual and powered beach wheelchairs and rent them to people vacationing at Florida beaches. Their products are so good and beloved by those who have used them that they’ve also begun making and selling them to individual buyers.
Note that these are not mass-produced vehicles pulled off an assembly line. Each one is hand-built for every owner, and as such, while all Beach Cruisers have a few things in common, each also reflects the tastes, preferences, and needs of the people who order them.
Not everyone likes buying handcrafted equipment. For one reason, these sometimes lack that “polished” look you get when you purchase something mass-produced. Machines built by hand tend to have a homespun look and feel.
That’s not the case here. Few people could tell unless you explicitly tell them you had your ride hand-built!
In short, these are very good machines. They are so good that the Beach Cruiser placed a respectable third-place finish in our recent roundup review of the best powered beach wheelchairs on the market today.
Even if you ultimately decide to go with another brand or model, we think you’ll agree – it’s hard not to like this chair. If you’re excited to know more, read on!
Beach Powered Mobility Wheelchair Key Features
As we mentioned briefly in the last section of our Beach Powered Mobility Beach Cruiser review, you’ll first notice that it doesn’t look handmade. It’s got a relatively high degree of polish, which, at first glance, or even at a second glance, makes it look a lot like a mass-produced product.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The guys at Beach Powered Mobility pride themselves on accommodating most buyer requests. So, if you want something “extra” added to your machine, call them and discuss it with them when you’re ready to place your order. You’ll be amazed at what they can do!
With that in mind, we cannot give you many “standard” stats about this chair because many aspects can be customized to your taste.
Here are a few, though:
Chair Specifications
Adjustability
The Beach Cruiser is much more customizable than adjustable but covers the basics. You can adjust:
As we mentioned, the guys at Beach Powered Mobility are more than willing to work with you. So, if you want to make something else adjustable, there’s a good chance they can make that happen.
Comfort
Similarly, the sky’s the limit where comfort is concerned. If you want a Captain’s style seat mounted onto the frame and you want to include extra (or hydrophobic) padding, they can do that. If you want a simple mesh seat that’s less comfortable and more breathable, you can have that. It’s entirely up to you.
Here’s something else you’ll love: Beach Powered Mobility has an eye for detail. They don’t miss the small stuff, which is why, for example, all Beach Powered Mobility wheelchairs come with anti-tip wheels standard (no need to pay extra for this small but critical feature), a low battery warning light to reduce the chance of getting stranded, and a tire repair kit in case you have a mishap while you’re enjoying the day.
Let’s face it—you’re considering getting one of these things to go out and have fun with family and friends. It’s nice to know that the company is sweating the small stuff, so you don’t have to, and you can relax and have a good time.
Extras
At the start, we mentioned that the company mostly makes these chairs for themselves to rent them to Florida’s numerous beach-goers. Over time, though, as an increasing number of people used and fell in love with them, they started taking orders from individuals who had rented one in the past or who had heard about how great they were from family and friends.
With that in mind, though, they don’t carry an extensive array of “stock” enhancements and extras, but they are quite willing to work with you and can accommodate most requests.
Among the extras currently on offer are:
On-Board Storage
The Beach Powered Mobility wheelchair also has a modestly-sized storage rack under the seat. We wish the storage space were bigger, but we love this. Here’s why:
Most companies put wheelchair storage on the back of the seat, which makes sense because it’s otherwise unused chair real estate. The problem is that these chairs are built for people with mobility issues, and the point of a motorized chair is that you don’t need an attendant to help you.
Given all that, how are you supposed to access the stuff in the storage compartment behind the seat without getting up, which you may not be able to do?
It’s just never made sense to us, so we prefer under-seat storage. The person sitting in the chair can access whatever is there without getting up or calling for help. It’s a small thing, but it’s super important. Kudos to Beach Powered Mobility!
Not Really Portable
So far, you’ll agree that this is an excellent design with few weaknesses. Even if there were weak spots in the basic design, given that these are all hand-built, custom machines, you could engineer your way around any aspect of the design you weren’t happy with.
In every aspect, save for one. These machines don’t collapse into a nice, tidy footprint and are heavy, so they’re not very portable.
You’ve got three basic options here:
If you don’t have or can’t afford the above, this isn’t the chair for you unless you live on the beach.
Very Slight Learning Curve
There’s not much of a learning curve on the base model, or at least no more so than on any powered wheelchair. Each one handles a bit differently, and if you’ve never driven around on those comically big tires, it will take you a few minutes to get used to it.
That said, considering that these are individually hand-crafted machines with virtually unlimited customization possibilities, the learning curve is what you make of it. The more “stuff” you add, the longer it’ll take you to master its use.
Not Intended for Indoor Use
This will be a short section, but we wanted to include a quick note lest readers think we forgot. It should go without saying, but a chair like this isn’t designed for indoor use. You could take it down a central corridor inside a shopping mall at best. Anything more restricted than that, and you’ll be bumping into everything and knocking stuff over. It’s an outdoor wheelchair.
Pros & Cons of Beach Powered Mobility Wheelchair
The Beach Cruiser wheelchair is a robust design offered by a great, well-respected company in northern Florida. Not only is the base model chair a wonder, with surprisingly high production values and aesthetic appeal for a hand-built product, but you can add just about any bell or whistle you can imagine.
However, a few things might prompt you to give this one a pass in preference for another option. In no particular order, they are:
Regarding that last point, you could, for example, save a tidy sum of money if you opted instead for AJ’s Cruzr, offered by Hotshot Products. The trade-off is that those chairs have a more homespun appearance and lack the professional polish of this design. If that doesn’t matter to you, it’d be an excellent choice. If it does, then you’re better off sticking with this one.
We don’t regard any of the items above as outright deal breakers, but we recognize that some people will. Even so, the Beach Cruiser Power Beach Wheelchair gets so many things right that it’s hard not to be impressed.
Beach Powered Mobility Beach Cruiser Review Conclusion
We like both the company and its beach wheelchair. The Beach Powered Mobility Beach Cruiser is well-deserving of its third-place finish in the roundup review. It is a solid product with very few weaknesses. It is absolutely recommended.
Recommended Reading
Nomad Beach Wheelchair Review
We examined the original Florida-powered beach wheelchair, the Nomad, a versatile, rugged machine ideal for adventurers.
AJ’s Beach Cruzr Electric Wheelchair Review
Explore AJ’s Beach Cruzr, a handcrafted, custom-made beach wheelchair, in our comprehensive review.
References & Resources
- Beach Powered Mobility, Official Brand Website.
- Choosing a Wheelchair, Which.
- Wheelchair Buying Guide, Clearwell Mobility.
- What Are the Benefits of a Power Wheelchair, Sharecare.
- Wheelchair Harnesses and Occupational Performance, Invacare.