The popularity of personal electric transportation vehicles is continually rising, thanks in part to their convenience, efficiency, and undeniable cool factor.
We’ve checked out several already ranging from versatile electric scooters, to electric skateboards, and on the occasion, unconventional ones like Segways. This latest one we’re checking out comes to us courtesy of Swagtron, one of the many companies that rose to popularity thanks to its line of hoverboards. Although, the SwagRoller goes for a totally different approach.
In fact, it’s categorized as an electric unicycle. Design-wise, the SwagRoller appears more travel friendly than say, a bicycle of some sort, but don’t let its diminutive size fool you because it’s packing some serious weight behind it – a whopping 30 lbs! That’s significantly more than other personal transportation vehicles, but the nice thing about it is that it’s all condensed into a compact frame, something that can easily stored away in a car’s trunk for traveling.
Better yet, there’s a handle that extends from the frame that allows users to easily roll from place-to-place – something we’d suggest doing, since attempting to carrying it over long distance will tire you out. The SwagRoller’s internal components are protected by its sturdy plastic shell, which does nicely in protecting it from impacts and drops, but it’s definitely prone to scuffs and scratches. LED lights outline the front and back of the electric unicycle, while a handy front-facing headlight helps to illuminate your path when it’s dark out.
Similar to hoverboards, the SwagRoller has a higher learning curve than most other electric personal transportation vehicles. If you’ve never tried a hoverboard, it’ll take some serious practice balancing on the unicycle initially. However, about an hour after getting acquainted with it, we were finally able to master most of the mechanics. Of course, balancing is key to using the SwagRoller, as navigation is done by leaning forwards/backwards and side-to-side.
Honestly, it’s a tough thing to master, but we suppose that with additional practice, it’ll become natural for most people using it frequently. The SwagRoller reaches a top speed of 9.3 mph, which can seem really fast when riding it – so we suggest only doing that on flat surfaces. Speaking of surfaces, the SwagRoller’s 450 W motor easily scales hills with inclines of 15-degrees with no issues whatsoever. And since the wheels on it are substantially bigger than those found in other hoverboards, scooters, and skateboards, you won’t feel as much of the shock when going over uneven surfaces.
Still, we’d recommend to tread carefully with the SwagRoller, seeing that we had several wipeouts during our time checking it out. But seriously, it’s a lot of fun and its battery is rated to achieve 12.4 miles on a single charge. There’s even an Android app integration that allows you to monitor its speed, power output, temperature, and even see on a map your route. In addition, the app allows you to customize and choose what kind of light patterns you want in place. We do wish, however, that the app could remotely control the SwagRoller – or even add a proximity lock that would prevent others from using it.
We found it a lot of fun to use, although, if you intend on carrying a heavy backpack, we’d suggest opting for a different mode of transportation because it might affect your balancing.
One of the most impressive aspects about the SwagRoller is its price, coming in at an affordable $400! That’s an aggressive mark, considering that comparable electric unicycles easily start at $600. While it’s not for everyone, the SwagRoller will definitely turn heads as you ride in style.