Recreation

Believe it or not, until yesterday I had never heard of a Hippocampe. But all that changed when a reader e-mailed me to tell me about this unique take on a beach wheelchair. OK, I have to admit, I chuckled when I first heard the name, as it brought to mind a herd of hippos huddled around a campfire; however after learning more about it, I think the inventors may have a winner on their hands.

OK, technically it’s billed as an all terrain buggy. It features wide wheels and a low seat and it’s a far cry from those bulky beach wheelchairs with the big plastic tires. It can be used on sand or snow or even in the water. Best of all, you can wheel around by yourself in the Hippocampe, however an optional push bar is available if you’d like a little help.

And if you’d like to try it out for yourself, here’s a list of beaches that have them.
http://www.vipamat.fr/usa/villes.htm

They all happen to be in France, but then again, that’s where the Hippocampe was invented.

Hopefully it will catch on in the US and we’ll start seeing them pop up on a few beaches around here.

I got an unusual question about scooters on trails this week. See my reply in the “Ask the Expert” section of Emerging Horizons.

emerginghorizons.com/expert/