[Technology] Kids hoverboard thingys

[Poojah]

Calling the good people of NSC, the place I go to when Google fails to come up with sufficient answers.

Cutting to the chase, it’s my lad’s 9th birthday in a couple of weeks. My good lady wife wants to get him a hoverboard, one of those self-balancing, two-wheeled things that I’ve seen kids flying about on, replete with little flashing lights and whatnot.

No great objection to that, only everything seems to be a bit…shit. The supposedly specialist companies that come up on Google appear to be largely the same companies masquerading as different brands, with customer reviews of questionable validity.

The story is similar on Amazon. Lots of products by different sellers claiming to be different, but closer inspection of the product photos and model information reveals they are all in fact the same. Most appear to be low quality, cheaply made tat, despite asking for anywhere between £200 and £300.

It just seems a bit of a murky industry where it’s quite easy to get yourself done with something liable to stop working or catch fire a couple of months down the line. There doesn’t appear to be a definitive or trustworthy premium brand.

Anyone got any experience? And recommendations appreciated. Ta!

 

[Popeye]

My nephew has had a Swagtron for awhile now and loves it, no issues. I think his mom paid over 200 bucks for it, but seems to be worth it. They got good reviews also.

 

[drew]

Your choice of course but they are illegal to use on anything other than private land.

 

[maffew]

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hover1-superstar-hoverboard-and-gokart-combo-10223150.html

These look a right laugh with the go cart attachment, seen kids whizzing about on them.
Cant vouch for them but I'd rather buy something like this from currys or argos than take a chance on something on Amazon. Prob less likely to set on fire and hopefully CE certified and what not. Might be better brands etc out there I dunno but this seems ok value, and I tend to reasonably trust reviews on these sites

 

[Eric the meek]

Not a hoverboard, but we got our son a waveboard when he was about 9. We took him to the cycle track at Preston Park, where he couldn't do a lot of damage, and within ten minutes he had sussed it out. The gentle slope outside the pavilion is perfect for practicing carving.

Quite simply the best thing we ever bought him. It's good exercise in that it stregthened his core muscles, made him feel great, and it improved his skills in other related sports - skiing, snowboarding, kiteboarding, surfing. There are no electronics to go wrong, and no batteries to charge up. And it's cheaper.

 

[Berty23]

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hover1-superstar-hoverboard-and-gokart-combo-10223150.html

These look a right laugh with the go cart attachment, seen kids whizzing about on them.
Cant vouch for them but I'd rather buy something like this from currys or argos than take a chance on something on Amazon. Prob less likely to set on fire and hopefully CE certified and what not. Might be better brands etc out there I dunno but this seems ok value, and I tend to reasonably trust reviews on these sites

My twin daughters got the go kart attachment and hoverboards for their 10th birthday. They are 12 now and still play on them now and then. I can confirm that they are a right laugh - far better than using them standing up. Although the kids can bomb about on them standing up I struggle and I am pretty fit for a early 40s (but 6 foot 2 which can’t help).

I would recommend the go kart attachment all day long. Only about 30 quid and you can go quite quickly. Find a quiet park though (we are lucky lots of quiet paths near our house).