Segway miniLITE Certified Refurbished

OMG these things are great! First of all, understand that this is NOT a hover board. A hover board is basically an articulated platform with a separate motor for each wheel that can be controlled independently depending on whether you tilt each half of the platform forward or backward. They are difficult to ride, require quite a bit of balance and agility and are quite unstable. This is a true gyroscopically balanced and controlled Segway, just a scaled down version. I have a full-size Segway X2 with over 1000 miles on it so I feel qualified to make the comparison. On a recent camping trip, we saw some kids zipping around on the somewhat more expensive Segway mini-pro and I became fascinated because our grandkids always want to get on my unit but they're really not heavy enough to safely control it. After a little investigating, I decided on the miniLITE. The only real difference between the miniPRO and the miniLITE is that the miniPRO can be remotely controlled by an app on your phone, which is a novelty but otherwise a pretty much useless feature, the knee bar is adjustable in height and it has a higher weight rating, 220 pounds as compared to 175 pounds. If you are buying it for a child who is not likely to get above 175 pounds in the near future,the miniLITE, at $200 cheaper is definitely the way to go. If the person you're buying it for is likely to outgrow it in the near future then go for the more expensive model, otherwise the miniLITE is your best choice. Riding these things is an absolute pleasure. Even though the tires are not "turf tires" like on my full-size X2, the kids take them off road all the time. They are not quite as fast as a full-size Segway (10 mph as opposed to 12.5 mph) and they are a little bit more challenging since the steering bar stops at knee level and there's nothing to hold onto (although there is an adapter kit that you can buy which extends the steering bar so that it can be used as a regular handlebar). Even the miniLITE will link to an app on your phone and although you can't control it, you can monitor it to see how fast it is traveling, how many miles it has on it (it also has a trip meter) and, most importantly, how many miles are left before the battery runs out. There is absolutely no comparison between the ride time on this device and a hover board. The grandkids would take their hover board out and after about 20 or 30 minutes would have to bring it back in to charge up. With the miniPRO they can ride for hours before they have to recharge and charging times are quite quick. In summary, this unit is available on Amazon for $298. This is similar in price to many hover boards. If you are even considering a hover board in this price range, I would strongly urge you to consider the Segway miniLITE instead. It is much safer, much better designed, much more stable, it runs longer and faster than a hover board and if you asked my grandkids, who have had both, they will tell you it is a no-brainer. This product is WAY SUPERIOR and much more fun!