Wallaby Catch-All

The delightfully-named Wallaby Catch-All is a sort of sling/pouch arrangement to be attached underneath a wheelchair to carry things in. The US suppliers, Advantage Bag:

http://www.advantagebag.com/wheelchair_underseat_catchalls.htm

describe it as follows:

“CATCH ALLS

“For use with Rigid and Folding Wheelchairs
Securely attaches with convenient Velcro hook and loop to bottom horizontal and rear vertical frame tubing.
Forms a net shelf under the Wheelchair seat.

“A great way to utilize wasted space.
When filled assists in keeping chair from tipping back.
Available in Black and four sizes.”

I bought one of these for my first wheelchair, and it was absolutely ideal. There is nothing equivalent available in the UK.

When I got my new wheelchair recently, I decided to transfer it over, but it was designed for a wheelchair with a lower frame as well as an upper one, and the new Quickie Helium has an extremely lightweight, minimalist frame which dispenses with the need for the lower frame; when I attached the Catch-All to this, it was too high, and was difficult to put things in, and also did not hold enough. I revisited the Advantage Bag site and was pleased to see that they had introduced further Catch-Alls into their range, but they were all still designed for wheelchairs with the double frame, which I found surprising in view of the number of chairs coming online these days with only the upper frame like mine.

I did not want to buy any other sort of bag because they don’t hold enough, so I decided to adapt the Catch-All that I had. I obtained some black hemp twine from Ebay and proceeded to crochet some sides for it. After I had done this, it was a simple matter to tie the Catch-All onto the frame of the wheelchair with black tape.

This has proved even more successful than I’d hoped. It looks good, and anything I put in it stays there. On my previous wheelchair, the sides were open, and on one occasion I lost something out of the side, but this can no longer happen.

I am intending to contact Advantage Bag and let them know what I have done, and recommend that they introduce a design along the same lines, which can be used with the new design of wheelchair frame, and which is secure at the sides.