“Self balancing scooters”, more commonly known as hover boards, have started becoming the new hype.

Although this sudden popularity is not unwarranted, it’s definitely not caused by the practicality of these devices. However, hover boards are incredibly fun to use and cool to drive around. With a max speed of around seven miles an hour, it’s an interesting experience to try out. It works by sensing where you put more of your weight and adjusting the speed of both wheels accordingly. It’s definitely a unique experience that can be enjoyable with some trial and error.

However, it’s not the most practical thing to use for actual transportation. The obvious problem is that it needs to be recharged, unlike a bike or a scooter. It uses a lithium-ion battery for power. These are high capacity, high output batteries that are perfect for the job, but are unlike normal batteries. They can get damaged if they are either overcharged or completely discharged, not to mention that weighing around 25 pounds, a hover board will be hard to carry once it’s out of battery. All this means is that one has to be careful to charge it as soon as the out of battery indicator starts flashing and remove it from charge when the hover board indicates it’s done charging.

Keeping track of that isn’t as complicated as it sounds and is definitely worth doing for an hour of driving around at seven mph. It also doesn’t take any physical effort, something many people try to avoid at all costs. All in all, it’s really fun to try out and almost feels like it’s actually hovering when it’s driven on a smooth surface.