Ultra-thin winter jacket for teen in wheelchair

[Laffydaffy]

Posting for traffic. My teen son has been in a wheelchair since around 6 months. I bought a parka that covers the tops of his legs, thinking that he would be cozy, but it turns out the arms are big and not flexible enough for him to use his wheelchair comfortably. I have very little experience with winter clothes and wheelchairs and was wondering what other parents would suggest. Is there such a thing as a thin winter jacket? Should I buy one or just get him used to being pushed around when we are out? Pushing him is often necessary, anyway, given the nature of his illness.

We live in a cold country (-12 right now).

Uniqlo have thin but warm coats.

Rab have some excellent thin coats that are down-filled but not thick. Really good and warm but not bulky.

Another vote for Uniqlo. They also sell down gilets which are ultra thin but very warm.

-12???!!!!

You can get wheelchair covers which may work better? A bit like a cosy toes for a pram, if very cold it might be better at trapping heat close to his body? Alternatively maybe a thinner jacket to allow for arm movement but a thicker gilet over the top for core heat?

A heated gilet? Plus - thin rab jacket as suggested?

Norrona is very good. DH buys their jackets second hand for our 12yo.

Something like this www.ebay.co.uk/itm/187749104582?_skw=norrona+jacket+age+13&itmmeta=01KAQSWSVDP8J787NW79RYG1Q1&hash=item2bb6b7fbc6:g:H8IAAeSwOx9pGtJb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fiwCcGh3saiVqanC7dOtGUnES3X5go1j3e07yKfI%2B0JITfUblqls%2FHtww5yvFYeV7E5%2BNrJLBJVmKBGvKwONkPXCHPX4i9uiLv2RHevovNpEeJjEU1MkHC%2FaSgNwDaDjUYT01wRX%2FkFhtC07oNU%2Fx3aSZmpmmyxm5QjnyJ1x%2FG%2F2fanNzl5p8wreZ6am6Dob1ao48HlODRk%2BXne%2Bt81DlngHux4iUoS1I5piwnrOhSoLFBIRf%2Bh%2BIXMEKtwNYu5Av8iftkvjcLR5FDNWgzLMULA6WLSUbhx5dLnVZNsjVQgQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_Sd8_nVZg

Definitely look at the Uniqlo ultra light down jackets, and buy in a bigger size than he needs. Or look at the stretch down jackets some companies make, but they tend to be ££.

Wheelchair users need clothes to fit a bit differently - most clothes are designed for standing and walking, not for sitting down. So going for soft fabrics with some stretch will help.

For someone with restricted mobility I'd look for natural fibres to help stay warm - wool (merino isn't itchy), silk, down etc.

How about a heated gilet under his jacket? That wouldn't restrict his arms at all.

Just buy a coat specifically designed for wheelchair users, rather than buying a coat designed for standing.

If it is -12, I’d have a proper warm fleece blanket to sit on and wrap around legs to keep the lower half of his body warm. Then a short warm jacket for the top half because a long coat restricts movement more when you are sitting. Also, if he can’t move his legs well then the legs will get much colder than the legs of the walking adult who is moving.

Thanks, everyone. That is very helpful. For the jacket cuffs, is elastic better than velcro?

Ds is still mobile. Extremely limited, though. Is there a warm bag for his legs that he could get off easily, do you think?

And is there anything else anyone can recommend for winter? Gloves or lightweight but warm shoes? Things have changed a lot this year and we are still learning about what will make DS comfy and what can restrict his movement.

Try looking at climbing & mountaineering clothes. They're flexible and often unzip in odd places too accomdate gear. Decathlon Symond range are cheap and good quality, or TNF actually have good technical stuff if you're feeling spendy and he wants the brand

I have just bought a down jacket from Mountain Warehouse. It's very light but really warm.

My ds is a wheelchair user and uses a self propelled active user chair.

You can get cosy toes type things for wheelchairs (we also have a rain one).

It’s not quite -12° here but he wears a puffa jacket and that’s fine for him.

The other option that works better is base layers with a thermal fleece (you can get heated jumpers nowadays!) and a decent gillet.

Ski gloves are thermal and have grip on the hands and a proper thermal hat too.

Also he wears proper thermal socks.

Ponchos are also good when it rains as these leave the arms free for self propelling.

I’m a wheelchair user.

ski gloves are best. Personally if it’s really cold I use silk inners and mittens. Feet - I wear snow boots. The proper ski-ing kind not the fashion kind. They’re pretty light, have good grip and are insulated. I get the kind that are plastic up to the ankle as that makes them waterproof that far up.

personally I’m not a poncho fan as they tend to have a lot of fabric and get easily messed up but this is personal taste.

Hi, I use a scooter but not self-propelling. Definitely have a look at the adaptive ranges, so many mainstream shops (primark Uniqlo, Asda etc) have them but they’re not brilliantly advertised. The covers etc I find annoying and more hassle than help.
Also look at buying thermal vests/tops etc extra long, being able to “tuck in” a base layer really helps.
You also get dungaree style waterproof/fleece trousers but not sure how practical they will be. Hope this is helpful.

I use a Bundlebean over my little boy's legs in his wheelchair

It is really helpful to hear your experiences and recommendations. One problem we have is winter clothing getting caught on the thigh side in the wheel. DS's trousers are generally tight but maybe a wheel-chair cover could help prevent this.

Not sure where you are but Rab do lots of down and Pertex insulated coats and jackets for cold to very cold weather. If you are in the UK they have two great factory shops - one in Somercotes in Derbyshire and one in Northwich that offer up to 50% off. They also do repairs and a wash service. They are on Facebook under Mountain Outfitters. I got £150 off a waterproof parka (for me) yesterday.

One issue you might have is that so much wheelchair stuff is dreadfully uncool, and also, you want to maintain as much independence for the wheelchair user as possible, the ability to move themselves, for the partially ambulant to go to the loo independently without mum having to unpack him like a Xmas present. So ponchos and all-in-ones are problematic, as are coats that are too long and bulky. There are some good suggestions here for thinner coats and buying a size up is a good suggestion.
we found a solution for the thighs and knees was a plain fleece blanket folded in half lengthways and placed across the seat, under the cushion. That way it could be folded in from either side to cover, but he could easily uncover himself to get in/out of his chair. Feet and shins were kept warm by careful choice of shoes, and long length thermal socks. DS also has a waterproof version for rainy days (he’s well past teens now btw)

Primark have some really good gillets and winter jackets in so have a look at those

They look really cool as well. A young man at work had a really cool looking puffer gillet with a hood so I looked at the label and was surprised to see it was Primark. I looked on line and they have a cool selection of winter jackets etc including thinner waterproof ones

I was going to sugguest mountaineering clothes.

Down has been mentioned a lot. It's warm and light, but is useless when wet. It’s probably worth looking at some synthetic “down” which don’t collapse when wet eg Mountain Equipment Superflux

Is he self propelling? My friend who does gets very warm, whereas if you’re pushing / electric he’ll need more clothes including insulated trousers. Look at ski underwear as a base then fleece /down top and waterproof jacket and trousers from outdoor stores as they tend to actually work, more likely to acceptable to a young person than “disability equipment”. Heated gloves might be a good idea and consider motorcycle ones as they are designed to grip the have knuckle guards perhaps. My waterproof over trousers are from a motorcycle manufacturer and don’t leak despite hours in the wet.