Since this discussion is about hiking I will focus on only three manufacturers. Why? Well, there a a lot of all terrain handycles out there, but only a few make rear wheel drives. This is very important. Manufacturers of the front drive wheel type make great claims, but deliver less. Front wheel drive handcycles are at the best on fire roads and dirt paths, but once the trail gets steep and rutted their deficiencies become quick apparent. This is more than just our opinion it's physics. When you start climbing a steep trail your weight shifts back on to your rear wheels. If you are using a front wheel drive handcycle this shift makes you loose traction and at some point the only direction you are going is backwards. Additionally, when you are going downhill on rutted trails the front wheel drive get's a little dicey. While turning the single front wheel makes the handcycle lean enough to one side that if you are not very careful you could flip the handcycle..

The three that we believe to be your best bet are quite pricey. They are all over $5,000. They all will work well to a point, but they all suffer from the same issues. The manufacturers are: One-off Handcycle, Reactive Adaptions Handcycle and the Explorer Handcycle.
These handcycles have two front wheels, a single rear drive wheel and more gears than you will ever need (this is a good thing). As stated earlier the optimum handcycle would have 2 rear drive wheels, but these handcycles will get you pretty far.

Here is what they haven't told you. Even if you have all the gears in the world you will loose traction at some point. This is very apparent is deep sand. If you get into deep sand, I hope you brought a lunch because you are not going anywhere. I single rear drive will just dig a nice whole and the only way out will be with someone's assistance or you will have to grab the two front wheels and push your way out. This might change if your rear drive wheel is a large Fat Tire but we haven't tested this. On a very steep hill with a top layer of soft dirt you will also loose traction. If the trail is wide enough this can be remedied by doing a zig zag pattern up the hill. You will have no problem though on solid rock or concrete. These handcycles have better stability, but you will still have to shift your weight fro side to side. I have flipped a similar handcycle going only about 2 miles an hour. One of my front wheels dipped into a whole that I did not see and suddenly I'm upside down.

In order to get the very low gearing they all use a Schlumpf Mountain Drive with the regular bike gearing options. The Schlumpf drive is a planetary gear reduction drive. With a push of a button you can reduce whatever your gear you are in by 2.5 times. This is great except you will have to crank a lot to just go a few inches, but you will be able to climb.

All three offer handcycles that have prone riding positions. Only one, Reactive Adaptions, has a handcycle that has a recumbent riding position. The recumbent riding position we find to be better for hiking and exploring. It's more comfortable for long days in the saddle and is easier to get in and out of. Additionally, when you are hiking in higher elevations where the air is thinner, the recumbent seating position seems to make it easier to breath, at least it does for us. Sitting upright also gives you a better view of your surroundings. In the prone position you have to tilt your head up to see forward.

Our recommendation would be the Nuke Offroad Recumbent from Reactive Adaptions. They make handcycles for both paraplegic and quadriplegics. If you are more interested in having the ability to fly downhill then the prone handcycles might be better for you.