A tapered design, where the footrest hangers angle inward, narrows the profile of the chair at your legs, which can help in passing through tight spaces. A folding chair with tapered footrest hangers will not close completely, stopped by the footplates which are closer to each other. You might find this type of chair more difficult to load into the car, although once you have opened and closed it enough, it will loosen up and fold to a narrower dimension than when it was new. The angle of the footplate itself can be either fixed or adjustable, raising or lowering your toes relative to your heels. The more forward the angle of the hanger, the more upward an angle the plate needs to be at to accommodate the natural posture of your feet.
Most manufacturers offer an adjustable footplate as an option.
This is especially useful for people whose feet are different, who go through changes with contractures in the legs, or who have progressive conditions that affect foot angle. Be sure the dimensions of your chair include sufficient ground clearance for footrests. If the footrests hit the pavement, your forward movement could be halted abruptly, throwing you from the chair. Removing footrests There may be times when you will need to remove one or both of your footrests. Given the inconvenience of having to remove and reattach your footrests, you might be tempted to leave the footrests off altogether, particularly if you have the use of your legs.