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7 Surprising Practical Uses for Hoverboards & Self Balancing Personal Transports

A lot of people think of hoverboards as just a trendy toy for kids and teens to zip around the neighborhood. In reality, a lot of people are using hoverboards for more than just a fun ride. In fact, these self-balancing personal transporters are actually helping people with increased mobility and creating more opportunities to enjoy nature and the outdoors. If you’re considering buying a hoverboard or wonder what all the fuss is about, you may be surprised by the cool and practical ways people are using them in their lives.

Note: before you try out any of these uses in your own life, make sure to check out local laws and restrictions for the use of hoverboards and similarly designed personal transporters. Some cities, campuses, parks, and business establishments have banned their use.

1. Increased Mobility in Daily Life

Instead of spinning hoverboard tricks in the park, many adults are using two wheel self balancing scooters to help them get around. Many disabilities or illnesses make walking for long periods of time difficult or painful and often people have to use a wheelchair or electric scooter to get around. For many people, hoverboards are the perfect device to help them get around.

Their compact size makes them easy to transport and maneuver in tight spaces. Hoverboards can be used with ease in museums, stores, or even around the house. (Make sure you check for any restrictions or laws that restrict hoverboard usage.

2. Get Around Fast at Work

While many people work in small offices and stores, there are many people who work in large warehouses or sprawling company campuses. Managers, IT, and other employees may find their workday requires lots of walking, from building to building or just across massive warehouses and manufacturing plants.

While bikes work well for getting around big tech campuses like Google, they aren’t practical for warehouses or employees with dress codes that aren’t compatible with cycling. Hoverboards work well indoors or outside and can quickly zip employees across large office lofts, through warehouse shelves, or across campus.

3. Zip Around Campus

Many traditional college campuses are sprawling, with relaxing green spaces and separate buildings for different departments. Getting from the dorms to a 9 am algebra class can be a mad dash of futility. A hoverboard is a perfect alternative for young adults, allowing them to zip around parks and on sidewalks where bikes and traditional scooters may be restricted.

A hoverboard is also a great way to ride into town and commercial areas outside the campus without needing a car. Make sure to check for any local restrictions on campus or laws restricting hoverboard use in certain areas.

4. For Short Urban Commutes

Many adults who live and work in urban city centers find owning a car impractical and biking incompatible with their lifestyle or required work wardrobe. Hoverboards offer a happy medium, creating a quick way to commute up to a couple miles without

Make sure to utilize proper hoverboard safety gear, especially if you’re riding in the road with traffic.

5. Use as a Portable Stool or Table

Ever think of propping your hoverboard on its side? Now you have a stool, giving you access to seating wherever you end up on your ride. This is great in parks and at festivals where seating is limited and helps you avoid sitting on damp grass or dirty pavement.

If you’re hungry or thirsty while you travel, use your hoverboard as a table. Balance a drink or a plate of food on it, keeping it off the ground away from bugs.

6. Ride as a Go Kart

I guess this technically falls more under “fun” than practical, but this is a cool use that can really open up a hoverboard to a ton of new uses. By purchasing a hoverbord kart accessory, you can easily turn a two-wheel transporter into a speed little cart. Perfect for racing around in the park or transporting yourself around the neighborhood, a hoverboard kart just gives you even more opportunities for fun riding.

7. Increase Pokemon Go Range

Pokemon Go has been a huge phenomenon in recent years and one of the great things about the game is how it’s getting people outside, exploring their communities to collect elusive Pokemon. While on some days walking will be enough to get your fix, many Pokemon Go players are increasing their range and efficiency by using a hoverboard to get around.

Perfect for navigating neighborhood streets and parks, a hoverboard can help you cover miles without requiring hours of walking. Just make sure your favorite Gyms don’t have restrictions on hoverboard riding.

Ready to add a hoverboard to your daily life? Check out the best hoverboards for kids and adults. If you’re on a budget, these are the best cheap hoverboards on the market.

How to Ride a Hoverboard or Self Balancing Personal Transport

For most casual riders, using a hoverboard (or a two wheel self-balancing scooter) for the first time can be rather intimidating. Many kids who have a lot of experience with skateboards and rollerblades may be able to hop on and go without much practice. If you’re wondering how to ride a hoverboard, this article will cover everything you need to know. No matter the brand of hoverboard you buy, whether it’s a Segway, Swagtron, Powerboard, Veeko, Gotrax, Razor Hovertrax, or other brands, if you follow these steps you’ll be riding your new hoverboard in no time.

How to Ride a Hoverboard

If you bought a model of hoverboard with a “training” or “beginner” mode, make sure to turn that on before you start riding your hoverboard for the first time. New riders of any age should make sure to wear adequate hoverboard safety gear to prevent injuries. There is a good chance you may fall a few times when you’re learning to ride.

1. Choose a safe place to practice – Pick an area where you can safely practice. The ground should be level and you shouldn’t have to worry about other traffic (cars, bikes, etc.) getting in your way. An empty parking lot or other outdoor area is good. You may want to try riding on the grass when you’re first learning so if you fall, it’s on a softer surface than pavement.

2. Find something (or someone) to hold onto – While you’re learning to balance on your hoverboard, it can be helpful to have something to hold onto like a rail or a fence. If you’re in a big open space, someone can stand next to you and you can use their shoulder or arm to balance.

3. Step onto the hoverboard – Set your hoverboard down on even ground. From behind, step onto the hoverboard with one foot at a time. Hold on to something to help you balance. If you find you’re wobbly and off-balance, try a wider stance with your feet positioned on the outer edge of the footpads next to the wheels.

4. Practice riding in a straight line – Once you feel comfortably balanced standing still, tilt both feet forward slightly to drive the hoverboard forward. To not bend at your hips, you will lose balance–the movement should happen in your ankles. To stop, stand up straight. Tilt your heels back to drive backward.

5. Practice turning – When you can comfortably in and a straight line and stop without falling, you can practice turning. You have to tilt the opposite foot to turn a certain direction. To turn left, tilt your right foot forward. To turn right, tilt your left foot forward.

6. Dismount – When the hoverboard is still, step off backward to avoid accidentally accelerating.

Those are the basics of how to ride a hoverboard. It will take practice to become comfortable, but many people can master riding a hoverboard in an hour or two. Check out the next section to read some tips for hoverboard riding.

If you want a visual guide, this is a quick video that shows you how to ride a hoverboard:

Tips for Riding Your Hoverboard

Mounting and dismounting can be the trickiest part of learning to ride. Feel free to practice this step over and over again until you can do it without losing your balance.

Avoid sudden movements and turns. Try to keep everything smooth. If you make a sudden movement it increases your chances of losing balance and falling off.

When you’ve mastered turning, you can learn how to do circles by tilting one foot forward and spinning 360 degrees.

To go faster, lean forward more. Once you’re comfortable you can increase your riding speed. Many hoverboards do have a maximum speed preset, so it will beep and automatically slow you down once you reach it. (If you want to go really fast, check out the fastest hoverboards.)

Before you take your hoverboard “on the road” make sure to find out what legal restrictions there are in your area. Some public places like malls and school campuses have banned hoverboards. Depending on your country or state, you may not be allowed to ride them on streets or sidewalks.

Learn how hoverboards works so you fully understand your new personal transporter.

Once you’ve mastered riding your hoverboard, check out these cool hoverboard tricks you can learn.

If you still need to buy the perfect hoverboard, check out our hoverboard comparison chart. We also have recommendations for hoverboards for kids and the cheapest hoverboards.

Ready to ride your hoverboard? Make sure you have the right kind of safety gear. Check out hoverboard safety gear for kids, kid helmets, and adult helmets. If you’re riding near cars or in low light conditions, make sure to pick up some safety lights and visibility gear.

What are Hoverboards? How do Hoverboards Work?

It used to be that hoverboards were a thing of science-fiction fantasies and retrofuture dreams. The most well known hoverboard was the Mattel hoverboard from Back to the Future II. While a flying skateboard is still beyond our reality, hoverboards became one of the hottest gadgets in 2015 and since then is a beloved personal transporter of kids, teens, and adults. Find out all about hoverboards and how they work in this article.

What is the name of a two-wheeled scooter?

You’ve probably seen people riding around on electric scooters that look like a Segway without a handlebar. These new devices go by many names, the most popular being “hoverboard.” Other come names are “glideboards,” “balance boards,” “self-balancing personal transporter,” or “self-balancing electric scooters.”

Some people not familiar with them may call them “two wheeled self balancing electric vehicles,” “two wheel stand up electric scooter,” or “two wheel scooter.”

What is a Hoverboard?

Hoverboards are no longer just a thing of the movies. In a nutshell, these personal mobility devices are essentially Segways without the steering handle. Invented in 2013, the transporter is made of two motorized wheels connected in the middle by two footpads which are used to control and steer the hoverboard. (Learn how to ride a hoverboard.)

Hoverboards are compact, often fit in a backpack or under your arm and can be carried and used anywhere where there is a flat surface (as long as they’re legal– which they aren’t in New York City or London because of traffic congestion). Some people have even been using hoverboards off-road but we wouldn’t recommend that unless you buy a rugged model. The hoverboards come in a variety of sizes, often based on the size of the wheels.

How do Hoverboards Work?

Hoverboards have two self-balancing gyroscopes that connect to separate motors for each wheel, which allows the unit to balance and move in the direction that the person riding the hoverboard wants. Hoverboards are split down the middle and connected by an axle so that the left wheel can turn out of sync with the right wheel (which allows the person on the hoverboard to spin around in a circle).

Are Hoverboards Safe?

In late 2015, there were many instances of hoverboards catching on fire due to their batteries overheating and exploding. This resulted in a variety of hoverboard models being recalled and banned from sale in the United States because of those safety concerns. As a result, new UL certification standards were put in place to end these battery issues. Any hoverboard sold in the US or Canada today must have UL 2272 certification. (Learn more about the certification.)

With the new safety standards, hoverboards are as safe as electric skateboards and other personal transporters. We recommend wearing the same safety gear you would wear on a skateboard, if you’re new to it or planning on doing extreme hoverboard tricks, wearing knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet may be advisable. When you’re first learning how to ride a hoverboard you are much more likely to fall.

(Related: Hoverboard Safety Gear)

How Much do Hoverboards Cost?

Even though hoverboards are a newer gadget, there is already a wide range of hoverboards from various manufacturers available, with prices ranging from over $1,000 down to only a few hundred dollars (Related: Top 5 Cheap hoverboards). As with anything, you get what you pay for though so choose your hoverboard carefully. We recommend these hoverboard brands if you’re looking for a reliable two wheel self balancing transport.

Where can you purchase a Hoverboard?

We provide several resources to choose the best hoverboard for you:

Top 5 Cheap Hoverboards

The Coolest & Most Unique Hoverboards

The Best Hoverboards, Electric Scooters & Glideboards for Kids

The Best Hoverboards for Adults

Top Hoverboard Accessories