If you’re a parent wondering if you should get a hoverboard and one of those seat kits but might be worried about the safety aspect, or have some other questions, this guide’s for you.
We’ve had our hoverboard kart set up for around two months and across multiple ‘field tests’ I’ve gathered some notes that should help you decide if it’s a good thing to buy for your child.
Just about all kids are going to want one of these when they see them
One of the things my daughter wanted was as she put it her own little car she could actually drive around in. As she’s only 11, she is not quite ready to hit the real roads just yet. After a trip to the park one day we saw another little girl bombing around
What exactly is a hoverboard kart?
You might have seen children bombing around your local park on one of these. Originally I thought it was just a motorized go-kart that came as one unit. But it’s actually a regular two-wheeled hoverboard (the stand-up kind that are like Segways) with a ‘kart kit’ attached to it.
That might sound like something advanced but the seat bit is actually a very simple (if brilliant) attachment. It’s just a moulded plastic seat attached to a metal frame, with a single spinning trolley style wheel at the front. You strap it onto the hoverboard and it’s then the same thing as an electric go-kart.
The kit can be adjusted to fit any child from say a 6-year-old up to an adult (I know because I’ve had a go and it was crazy fun!)
Where can you buy one?
The kits can be purchased reasonably cheaply from Amazon for around £60 to £100. Click here to see a good one with loads of good reviews.
There are some brilliant and varied designs too so have a look at some of these. You can of course also buy your kart kit with the hoverboard.
How hard are they to set up?
Whether you’re buying a kart kit package (with the board and the kit included) or you’re buying the seat bit at a later date, the setup process will be the same. You’ll have to go through the same self-assembly.
This involves some fairly painless screwing stuff together such as bolting the handlebars onto the frame, attaching the seat and attaching the straps.
The good news is that the kit is really sturdy, well put together and gives you a lot of confidence when your child gets up to speed on it. These kits aren’t some wobbly load of rubbish that’s going to fall apart and it looks like it will last a long time.
However, I’ve got to be honest – they are a bit awkward to initially get set up.
The instructions were hard to follow for me (surprise, surprise) and I had to figure it out mostly by looking at the pictures more than anything else. That being said, there’s not too much to assemble here and not many different parts. Expect around 20 minutes and you’re done.
How does the kart kit attach to the hoverboard?
The good news is that the actual design of these kart kits is actually pretty good and getting it on and off the hoverboard is extremely easy to do.
Thick Velcro straps wrap around the footplates and fasten securely in place. Once they’re on, you don’t have to mess around with them and they won’t require you to constantly re-tighten them.
The straps seem robust and thick enough to last a while.
How do you control a hoverboard kart?
Once you’ve got your kart attachment onto the board, there are two handles to grab hold of. These handles pivot up and down, each doing what your foot does on the hoverboard; pressing or depressing the foot switching.
- Press them both forwards and you’ll go forwards in a straight line.
- Pull them both back (up) and the kart will stop straight away.
- Pushing one down while lifting the other steers (more like rotates) the go-kart.
You do get a fine degree of control over the speed and direction using these makeshift controls so as long as you tell your child to go very light at first, they should be able to pick it up really easily and safely.
They’re much easier to use than what they were originally intended for and quicker to master than the standing up position. We haven’t had any spinning out of control and it’s been very easy to use.
My daughter hasn’t ‘topped out’ the speed yet and keeps it down to a velocity she’s happy with. And these things are really nippy too. We had to tell her to stop zooming up to within inches of our ankles and then stopping dead, or swerving out of the way! The degree of control you have with a hoverboard is definitely impressive.
Are hoverboard karts safe?
OK so let’s dive into the main thing many parents will be wondering with hoverboard kits; are they safe for children to use? I’ll admit my heart missed a beat when our little girl first hit the accelerator (well, pushed both handles down) for the first time and sped off across the park. These things seem to go very quickly! A lot faster than I feel I could run.
You can control the speed easily so I’d recommend having a talk about that before letting them loose.
We picked out a good scooter helmet and it felt quite safe, especially once she got the hang of steering.
Here are some positives:
- The child feels very low down and the kart is stable. We don’t ever see it tipping to the side, rocking onto two wheels or the front end rising up during acceleration. They have a low centre of gravity and seem very stable.
- It’s easy to stop them and we haven’t had any runaway incidents – Stopping the kart is almost instant (just yank the handles up) and the kart stops just about dead. Practising a few emergency stops is probably a good idea).
- It’s quick and easy to learn – Anyone who has ever taught their child to ride a bike, ride roller-skates, or a skateboard will appreciate this. There’s really nothing to ‘fall off’ and after a few minutes, your child will likely be proficient at this.
Summing up on the safety side, while the idea of a child with a motorized go-kart might fill you with fear and dread, we’ve been surprised how safe, sturdy and reliable the hoverboard with the kit has been.
What are the best things we’ve found about hoverboard kits?
They are REALLY – REALLY good fun!!!
I can say that because I managed to get a turn on it (it was hard to pry it away from the kids) and it was such a good experience (and took my 90kg weight no problem, without slowing down at all).
The kart kit feels like it’s part of the hoverboard and you completely forget it’s a seat stuck on top of a mini Segway.
The controls are really responsive once you get the hang of steering and they accelerate away at a satisfying clip.
My daughter absolutely loves her hoverboard and can’t wait to get back out on it each time. You can tell when kids are really enjoying something – they get that look on their face they can’t hide and she gets that every time. I can’t state enough how cool these things are. You just forget the time, effort, expense it took to get them there.
The battery never seems to run out
I just assumed after the battery ran out I’d have to lug this thing back to the car. As mentioned below, they’re farly havy so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to that. The battery life has been a real surprise however, lasting over 30 minutes continuous use up and down many steep hills in the park.
We just charge it before heading out in advance (they are slow to charge!) but haven’t actually had it run out of power yet.
They’re really powerful, especially at climbing hills
This was a pleasant surprise too. I thought the hoverboard would work fine on flat surfaces but would groan and slow down on hills. Apart from a 20-degree slope, this thing eats hills for breakfast, bombing up them easily as fast as it goes down them, without so much as hum from the motors.
This will vary depending on whether you buy one of the larger hoverboards with the 8″ wheels, or the smaller ones with the 6″ wheels.
What are the worst parts of these hover-karts?
Still dodgy using them in public parks
Technically, we’re still not meant to use these things in parks.
We have been breaking the law and taking them to the local park when it’s quiet (it’s a HUGE park and you can easily get out of the way). No one seems to mind and other than the odd curious look, there’s not been any interest in my little one riding her kart around.
Still, there’s always that feeling of looking around and worrying you’re going to get into trouble! We did use it a bit around the house but they’re quite big and clunky and once you’ve had them outside, the tyres are mucky so they’re confined to outdoor use.
They’re heavy and hard to carry
I do a fair bit of work at the gym and like to think I’m a big strong dude. That being said, this thing is HEAVY.
We got the larger style of hoverboard, with the wide wheels as it looked like the more sturdy option for our growing daughter. We wanted something that would last at least a few years. The downside being it bumps the weight up considerably.
Once you’ve added the seat kit on, the weight goes up even more and there are no handles or any way to carry it easily. You can pull it around if it’s switched off and there’s no power going to the wheels, but getting it out of the house and into the back of the car is a bit of a pain.
[infoBox text=”I was pleased to see it did fit easily into an average car boot, however, without having to put the rear seats down. They’re fairly compact and arm with the front wheel on it can slide back to save even more space.”]
Things I would have liked
Some kind of way to remotely brake the kart
Although my daughter is a big girl (11 at the time of writing this) I’d still have really liked to have some kind of remote control in my pocket when we hit the tarmac for the first time. Touch wood, we’ve had zero accidents, bumps or near misses but it would have given me a lot more confidence knowing I could have had a safety STOP button I could press in a pinch.
Summing up: Hoverkart kits – are they any good?
I’m still not sure if I’m using the right word for these things- hover karts? Hoverboard kits? But who cares. The bottom line is that these kids rides are incredibly fun and although they take a bit of planning in terms of charging, packing in the car and putting together in the first place, they provide an extremely hard to replicate experience for any child lucky enough to get one.
UK legal ambiguity aside, riding one of these karts is great fun and as long as you get a proper helmet, there’s no reason to be worried about them. They’re well made, securely attached and once a child gets a bit of practice, they’re also easy to control.
So yes, hoverboards go karts are fantastic and should last a long time.