These holiday gift ideas geared toward people with SCI/D take the guesswork out of shopping for family, friends or even yourself.
Holiday shopping can get the best of anyone. Trying to figure out what to get for each person on your list while tackling crowded malls and sticking to a budget can be tough.
Whether you’re shopping for a loved one who uses a wheelchair or treating yourself to the perfect holiday gift, we’ve taken the guesswork out of the process. The gifts on our list accommodate people with spinal-cord injury or disease (SCI/D) and cater to a variety of budgets. And the best part? Order them online or over the phone to avoid the crowds of frantic shoppers.
Talk & Roll
Avoid the phone-fumble when you receive a call, text or email or leave the phone at home entirely and stick with your wrist. The Samsung Gear 2 Neo is a smart watch that connects directly to your Samsung smartphone.
The watch uses voice command so you can make calls and check and respond to text messages and emails all from your wrist. It can also play music and eliminate the need to constantly find the remote by giving you access to control your TV. The Samsung Gear 2 Neo can be used as a fitness and health tracker with a built-in heart rate monitor, perfect for someone with SCI/D who is looking to lose or maintain weight or just keep his or her overall health in check.
$199.99, samsung.com or 855-726-8721.
Carry On
Transporting a wheelchair isn’t always easy. Loading it in the car can be hard on the back and trusting it to the airlines can result in damage. The WC Caddy holds and protects your manual chair in a strong, padded case. The caddy also has ergonomic handles with placement that helps people lift the chair with their legs, not their back.
It’s available in two sizes, a compact carrier for a collapsible chair and a rigid case for non-folding wheelchairs — perfect for packing in the car or airline travel. Both options come in a variety of colors, including camouflage, and can be customized with a screen print on the side. You can print a name or branch of the military or nothing at all.
$249–295, wccaddy.com.
Happy Hydrating
Getting the required eight glasses of water per day is important for anyone, but it’s especially important for people with SCI/D to stay hydrated. Meeting the suggestions for water intake per day helps your immune system, weight management and overall well-being.
Keep track of how much water you’re drinking with the HydraCoach. It’s an easy to use bite-and-suck bottle (so you can keep the bottle upright while drinking rather than having to tilt your head all the way back) that not only keeps a tally on how many glasses you have, but also coaches you on how much to drink. Enter your weight and any activity you’ll be doing and the meter will tell you how much you should drink that day and give you feedback to ensure you’re drinking enough water.
$29.99, sportline.com or 888-901-3646.
Cushion Comfort
For those who are fitness minded but not athletes, a daily yoga or stretching routine may be the ticket to get back on the track of being active again. Getting out of the chair and working on flexibility and movement not only improves physical health, but mental health, too.
The Supracor Stimulate Yoga Mat uses the same honeycomb technology used in many wheelchair seat cushions to evenly cushion the body, preventing any pressure problems. The mat also has a no-slip grip to ensure a safe experience perfect for yoga, stretching or even transferring.
$96.80, howirollsports.com or 888-304-7655.
Portable Massager
If you need a quick massage after a grueling workout or are prone to sore, stiff muscles, now you don’t have to wait until you go home or for your physical therapist with this on-the-go massager.
The Mobile Sport Massager is made for athletes and busy people in mind, offering a dual-grip design and cordless power at just 2.15 pounds.
Cordless, compact and portable, it can fit in a gym bag, a carry-on case or a backpack and delivers deep, penetrating percussion massage to thighs, calves, shoulders and hips.
It features variable speeds and a 12V lithium-ion power cell battery, which allows for three hours of use per charge. It also has a recharging port and LED charging lights.
$69.99, brookstone.com or 866-676-7337.
Right at Your Wrist
We detailed how to perform some simple wheelchair repairs in the August issue of PN (The Squeaky Wheel, p. 22) and now we have a tool that can help make those fixes (and many other things) a little easier.
MagnoGrip is a magnetic wristband that offers a third helping hand when you need it most. The durable polyester band features embedded magnets that hold nails, drill bits, pins and plenty more while keeping your hands free to work on repairs or hobbies.
One size fits all and it can also be attached to metal shelves. It’s available in pink, red, platinum and Navy blue.
$15.99, www.magnogrip.com or 888-751-5975.
Just Give a Nod
There are a lot of remote control gadgets out there, but none of them put the world literally at your finger tip like the Nod ring.
The Nod ring is basically a remote control you wear on a single finger. Making simple gestures with your finger, you can control countless devices without ever moving around the room, including Widows or Apple computers, your TV and even some lightbulbs.
Just point at your TV to turn it on, swipe your finger to play Fruit Ninja or twist your hand to raise the temperature on the Nest thermostat. It also has a small touch panel and a set of clickable buttons to provide additional control options if you don’t want to wave your finger.
$150, hellonod.com.
Light The Way
Working on a project late at night and need some extra light? Or having trouble navigating dark hallways or wanting to keep an emergency light around in case the power goes out? Well, here’s a gift that can help solve those problems.
It’s the Uno flashlight by Cateye, which works for handcycle and pushrim wheelchair users or can be used as an emergency wheelchair light.
It has more than 400 candlepower thanks to its OptiCube lens technology and it only needs one AA battery and one LED to help it run up to 15 hours in constant mode or up to 60 hours in flashing mode.
Water resistant, it also has a tool-free mounting bracket that allows it to attach to virtually any handcycle or racing wheelchair.
It comes in black or white.
$30, howirollsports.com or 888-304-7655.
Send A Snack Pack Attack
How about giving a healthy boost to someone’s life?
Graze.com offers the chance to purchase gift boxes of healthy snacks for individuals, but the best part is they pick what goes in them.
The company has more than 90 snacks, including nuts, seeds, dried fruits, crackers, dips and dippers and natural treats. You tell the company whether you like, love or would like to try them and graze.com puts together a box based on the ratings.
The company has gift vouchers for three boxes ($19.47), 10 boxes ($64.90), 30 boxes ($194.70) or 50 boxes ($324.50). Individual boxes cost $6. 99. Boxes, which are 9-inches by 6-inches by 1-inch, are delivered every week or two weeks depending on where you live in the U.S. Graze.com only ships to U.S. addresses, including P.O. Boxes, within the 48 continental states.
Remember to watch out for food allergies.
Starting at $6.99, graze.com.
Bundle Up
Forget about putting on layers upon layers in the winter. Here’s the perfect coat for someone with spinal-cord injury or disease.
The Kool Winter Jacket and Blanket allows users to zip their whole body inside and eliminates extra hassles.
It’s not only a jacket, but there’s a blanket attachment at the bottom of the jacket zipper to put your legs inside. Additionally, side zippers go from the cuff to the bottom of the side seams and there are even underarm zippers. There’s also reflective tape on the front pocket and hood to make the jacket stand out even more. You choose the color of your inner fleece collar, which comes in black, hunter green, Navy blue, red, charcoal, gold, royal blue, tan, fuschia or purple. The rest of the inside of the coat is all gray. Outer fabric is Commander, a water-resistant breathable fabric.
There’s also a quick dry version, which draws moisture away and is made of 100% polyester microfiber and has a 3M Scotch Guard. It’s washer and dryer safe.
PN readers get a 10% discount by mentioning the code word “PNmag” when ordering.
$265-$500, www.koolwaysports.com or 905-493-3188.
Reel ’em In
Whether you’re trying to land the big one in a Paralyzed Veterans of America Bass Tour event or just casting for fun, fishing is a sport that can provide the right pace for everyone.
No matter which way you want to fish, the Strong-Arm Fishing Forearm device can help make things more enjoyable for those with limited hand or finger dexterity.
The device attaches directly to your forearm with adjustable straps. It holds all standard-sized fishing poles in an outer channel under your forearm. This allows both hands free for other tasks. The Strong-Arm Fishing Forearm is available in both right- and left-handed configurations.
$32.95, strong-armfishingproducts.com or 647-262-8679.
