HOVERBOARD
A hoverboard is a fictional levitating board used for personal transportation. Whether hoverboards are this year’s Tickle Me Elmo or the beginning of a true movement is yet to be seen. Either way, they’re among the most discussed gadgets this holiday season and much as in the similarly trendy field of selfie sticks, figuring out which one to buy can be quite confusing. We researched these self-balancing, two-wheeled scooters for more than ten hours and rode three for more than twenty hours. After all that, we can’t pick any one model as the best because they all work similarly—and many even use the same technology inside. But we can give you some advice on what to look for when shopping and we can suggest a model that meets our criteria for a safe buy.
Our goal was to determine what sort of differences exist between models that appear to be largely identical on the surface—and sometimes sell at vastly different prices. Ultimately we discovered that we prefer riding inexpensive copycat models over a real one that costs Rs60,000 more because the hardware controls on the cheap hoverboards are easier to master. Our general advice is to choose an inexpensive hoverboard with a good warranty and responsive customer service to back it up.
After poring through dozens of product listings looking for models that fit those criteria, we tested several hoverboards and found them to be very similar in design and performance. However, the Swagway X1 is one of the only hoverboards sold by a company with a customer service department that actually replied to our requests for assistance—important because it’s likely indicative of how responsive the company will be to customer support requests. A dedicated learning mode makes the Swagway easier to start on than the others. We felt more comfortable going faster on it than on other models too. And it has a UL-certified charger, which not all competitors do, helping to assuage fears that it might burn down your house. If you must buy a hoverboard soon, it’s what we’d get.
If the Swagway goes out of stock or its price increases dramatically, the MonoRover R2 is an acceptable option. If you’re shopping around, keep in mind that—as we explain below—if a model looks identical to the Swagway and MonoRover, it probably is. If you find a similar model in the Rs 24,000 to Rs 30,000 price range, and it has good reviews, it’s probably safe, though we can’t guarantee that you’ll get a UL-listed charger, or that something inside isn’t slightly different. We do recommend confirming that the company has a US presence you might even try contacting the company, as we did for this guide, to see if you get a response.
No, they don’t actually hoverboard is the most commonly used term for these devices—partly because there’s no agreed-upon name for this class of product. You’ll see them called self-balancing scooters, motorized personal transporters, two-wheeled smart electric drifting boards, endless amalgamations of those terms, or just various brand names. All of that makes it difficult for you to find what you’re looking for without direction. We’ll stick with hoverboard here for simplicity.
Hoverboards aren’t likely to replace your car, your bike, or the bus as a daily form of transit—at least not if you need to commute over anything more than a couple of miles of smoothly paved surfaces. They have limited range (less than 10 miles on flat roads) and don’t move very quickly (the fastest model we tested maxes out at about 10 miles an hour). But they are a lot of fun. While a lot of people may criticize lazy hoverboard riders for gliding instead of walking, know that constantly keeping your balance takes some leg muscles. It’s far from a workout, but you may feel the burn, especially after a long ride.
Getting used to riding a hoverboard takes at least a few minutes—for some people, longer. (We suggest wearing a helmet and maybe having a friend walking behind, ready to catch you if you fall.) Once you get the hang of it, though, it’s much like riding a bike: You rarely think about it when you’re doing it. To go forward, you subtly tilt both feet forward; to turn, you simply apply a bit of pressure on the footpad opposite of the direction you want to go. The hardest part is getting on and off, because the board will start to move a little as soon as you put weight on it. Your best bet is to hold on to something as you mount and dismount, at least at first. The Swagway’s learning mode makes this task a little easier—the hoverboard is less sensitive with this mode enabled, so it’s more stable when you step on.As for safety, a hoverboard’s small wheels and lack of handlebars do compromise its stability when you’re riding over irregular terrain. It’s fine indoors or on smooth pavement, but you should prepare for challenges when going over the bumps, cracks, and rough surfaces you regularly encounter on a street or sidewalk.
They’re extremely hard to ride over even the smallest sidewalk cracks and gentlest curb slopes, and topography of any kind presents a real challenge.Before you try to commute on a hoverboard, we suggest checking with local laws. As of December 2015, they’re illegal or banned on New York City sidewalks, British streets, and flights, as well as in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room. If you happen to get in any trouble, be polite and respectful—there’s a good chance the police will be more entertained than upset.Even if your city allows hoverboards on streets or sidewalks, you should also consider whether you’ll be a hazard to those around you when you’re riding. It’s tough to navigate a crowded sidewalk or shopping mall without bumping into people and running over toes.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know which models are safe—even well-known brands may cut corners by using inexpensive components that lack safety certification. In December 2015, we spoke to John Drengenberg, consumer safety director (and an engineer) for UL, about hoverboard safety concerns. At that time, UL had not yet tested any hoverboards, but Drengenberg was able to provide information about the UL certification process that remains useful for anyone shopping for a hoverboard. We continue to recommend avoiding budget-price hoverboards from unknown companies, and instead buying from companies with a US presence and responsive customer support.
UL certifies some finished products, such as vacuum cleaners, as whole units, but it also tests and lists individual components within products for electrical safety and fire risk. The charger will have the UL seal printed on its exterior, so you can easily verify this certification. Batteries however are more difficult to verify unless you take the device apart to find the UL seal on the battery itself.
However, even if a particular hoverboard’s battery and charger are UL listed, that doesn’t mean every other component inside is. The wiring may be of poor quality or use a risky design.If you’re unsure whether you have a hoverboard with UL-listed components, your best bet is to contact the manufacturer and ask for verification. In our interview, Drengenberg also suggested a few safety precautions every hoverboard owner can take. Don’t overcharge the battery—unplug the hoverboard once the battery is full—and don’t leave a hoverboard charging overnight or unattended. Make sure to use only the provided charger. And just in case something does go wrong, store the board away from combustible materials, especially while charging.
The manufacturing of hoverboards is such a twisted web that it’s impossible to know exactly who is making what, which brands are copying which, or who is telling the truth. And more than curiosity is on the line. Inventist, maker of the Hovertrax, claims to hold the patent on the hoverboard. They’re all the same. The designs may vary slightly—sometimes the faux hubcaps are shaped in Mercedes-like triangles, sometimes there are five or six spokes—but like painting tiger stripes on your kitty cat, nobody’s getting fooled here. Perhaps one factory sells boards to another. Perhaps one factory sells parts to another. Perhaps both factories buy parts or just boxes from a third factory.
with a small platform in the middle for your feet and a wheel on each side. The MonoRover and Swagway models are nearly identical, with only minor aesthetic differences such as slightly different curves over the wheel wells and different trim designs on the rubber foot-pads and the wheels.
The Hovertrax, on the other hand, looks like a more-refined piece of hardware. It’s a little smaller in every dimension (for example, 20½ inches across for the Hovertrax, compared with 22½ inches for the MonoRover and Swagway), and while the cheaper options look as if they came out of the same factory, the Hovertrax is obviously of different manufacturing lineage. All three are fairly heavy.
Because it’s difficult to tell what really goes into a given hoverboard, or even who actually makes it, we relied solely on subjective testing in our evaluations. We rode around an apartment, around a co-working space, down the street, and in a brew pub. We wanted to see if any of the boards were easier or harder to ride, or if any of them felt significantly faster or safer.
To put it simply: In our real-world tests, we found no huge differences in performance or behavior among the hoverboards, but we did end up preferring one of the models over the others.The narrower body of the Inventist Hovertrax makes the whole thing feel tighter—a little cramped—and it’s slower to turn from a standing position. In addition, its wheels lack any sort of tread, unlike with the other two hoverboards, which means the Hovertrax will be a little less forgiving over rough terrain. Even though it’s the most expensive model, and it may have inspired all the rest, we liked riding this one the least.
Hoverboards are toys. They’re fancy toys, and they’re fun, but that’s all they are. If you want to buy one, know that you could end up spending several thousands of rupees on an unregulated product with little quality assurance that may be illegal to ride in public in your jurisdiction.
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