Razor Hovertrax 2.0 Review
Pros: Light
Cons: Twitchy, unstable, poor battery life
Bottom line: This board had us in constant fear of falling whenever we rode it
Editors' Rating:
Measured Weight: 19.9 lbs
Measured Speed: 8.89 mph
Manufacturer: Razor
Our Verdict
One of the few boards made by a veteran company, the Hovertrax 2.0 is Razor's entry into the hoverboard market. This model self-balances, meaning that it will immediately right itself upon turning on, rather than waiting for a rider to step on. However, we found this model to be sensitive to the point of twitchiness, and consistently underpowered throughout our testing. The main benefit to this model is solid customer service, but this model still scored the lowest of all the boards we tested.
RELATED REVIEW: Best Hoverboards and Self-Balancing Scooters of 2018
Our Analysis and Test Results
Review by:
David Wise and Austin Palmer
David Wise and Austin Palmer
Last Updated:
Wednesday
November 23, 2016
Wednesday
November 23, 2016
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The smallest board that we tested, the Hovertrax 2.0 by Razor — a manufacturer well-versed in all sorts of wheeled vehicles — quickly fell flat in our testing. Our testing panel of riders felt this board was too twitchy and sensitive, and the auto-balance feature made it much more difficult to get on the board, rather than improving it.
In this metric, we were looking for which boards were quick and snappy, making them the most maneuverable and fun. The Hovertrax takes this to the extreme, actually causing it to lose points. This board merited a subpar 4 out of 10 in this metric. In addition to the actual ride-ability of the board, we assessed other fun features, like colors available, Bluetooth connectivity, and compatibility with third-party accessories.
Our panel of riders rode this board through our obstacle course consisting of quick direction changes, a slalom course, multiple donuts, and a long straightaway. They felt that this board was twitchy and too sensitive, and also exceptionally unsettling when riding backwards. This board also felt like it lacked the power to keep up with back and forths, occasionally causing our riders to fall off or rapidly dismount the board.
This board is available in five colors, and did easily fit into a third-party carrying case. We measured this board at a top speed of 8.89 mph in our tests, exceeding the claimed top speed of 6 mph, though it did feel somewhat scary at the maximum speed. The Hovertrax 2.0 weighed in at 19.9 pounds, and was the lightest board we tested. However, this board lacks Bluetooth capabilities.
The Hovertrax continued to disappoint when we tested its outdoor capabilities, earning a measly 3 out of 10. This board actually completely broke in our testing process, and we had to replace it. After driving this board over cracks in a road, it suddenly stopped working, and consequently received low marks for its ability to traverse a cracked and bumpy road. This model also fared poorly when covering dirt or grass, and kept a similar trend of below average performance when heading up or down a super steep hill.
Support is of critical importance for this product type, as shown by the Razor breaking in the middle of our testing process. It's important to able to contact a manufacturer that backs their product, and is able to offer technical support as well as replace or repair a damaged product. The Razor did above average in this category, earning a 6 out of 10, partially buoyed up by the fact that they replaced our broken board free of charge. In addition to replacing the broken board, we also had to contact them to receive an additional charger after the first one we received was defective.
While we didn't have the best experience communicating with their support staff about the above problems, we eventually arrived at the solution and received the replacements we needed. There is a contact phone number as well as an email line to contact their support staff, and this product has a 90-day limited warranty.
The Hovertrax 2.0 tied for the lowest score in our battery test, earning a 3 out of 10. This model only traveled 3.4 miles in our range test, about two miles less than the next closest board. This test was conducted on flat, smooth pavement — somewhat of a best case scenario for this board. It also was the first to die in our run time test, only lasting for 1 hour, 9 minutes in our obstacle course.
Last, we timed how long it took for the board to completely charge after being fully depleted. This product took 2 hours, 40 minutes to charge — on par with other models, though the manual states that it can take up to four hours.
The Hovertrax 2.0 scored poorly in our tests, and has a list price comparable to some of our award winners. This definitely is not a board to seek out if you are searching for the highest value.
Coming across as overly twitchy and sensitive, the Hovertrax 2.0 makes for an uncomfortable and unsettling ride. This model scored below average in three of our metrics, and only had a decent customer service experience in its favor. We would recommend one of our other award winners, or at the very least some hesitation when thinking about purchasing this model.
The Hovertrax 2.0 by Razor
Performance Comparison
Fun Factor
In this metric, we were looking for which boards were quick and snappy, making them the most maneuverable and fun. The Hovertrax takes this to the extreme, actually causing it to lose points. This board merited a subpar 4 out of 10 in this metric. In addition to the actual ride-ability of the board, we assessed other fun features, like colors available, Bluetooth connectivity, and compatibility with third-party accessories.
The Razor was agile to the point of twitchiness.
Our panel of riders rode this board through our obstacle course consisting of quick direction changes, a slalom course, multiple donuts, and a long straightaway. They felt that this board was twitchy and too sensitive, and also exceptionally unsettling when riding backwards. This board also felt like it lacked the power to keep up with back and forths, occasionally causing our riders to fall off or rapidly dismount the board.
This board is available in five colors, and did easily fit into a third-party carrying case. We measured this board at a top speed of 8.89 mph in our tests, exceeding the claimed top speed of 6 mph, though it did feel somewhat scary at the maximum speed. The Hovertrax 2.0 weighed in at 19.9 pounds, and was the lightest board we tested. However, this board lacks Bluetooth capabilities.
Outdoor Capabilities
Careful on the cracks! We actually broke the Razor driving over cracks and had to get a replacement from the manufacturer.
The Hovertrax continued to disappoint when we tested its outdoor capabilities, earning a measly 3 out of 10. This board actually completely broke in our testing process, and we had to replace it. After driving this board over cracks in a road, it suddenly stopped working, and consequently received low marks for its ability to traverse a cracked and bumpy road. This model also fared poorly when covering dirt or grass, and kept a similar trend of below average performance when heading up or down a super steep hill.
This board felt a little squirrelly on the steeper hills.
Support
Support is of critical importance for this product type, as shown by the Razor breaking in the middle of our testing process. It's important to able to contact a manufacturer that backs their product, and is able to offer technical support as well as replace or repair a damaged product. The Razor did above average in this category, earning a 6 out of 10, partially buoyed up by the fact that they replaced our broken board free of charge. In addition to replacing the broken board, we also had to contact them to receive an additional charger after the first one we received was defective.
While we didn't have the best experience communicating with their support staff about the above problems, we eventually arrived at the solution and received the replacements we needed. There is a contact phone number as well as an email line to contact their support staff, and this product has a 90-day limited warranty.
Battery
The Hovertrax 2.0 tied for the lowest score in our battery test, earning a 3 out of 10. This model only traveled 3.4 miles in our range test, about two miles less than the next closest board. This test was conducted on flat, smooth pavement — somewhat of a best case scenario for this board. It also was the first to die in our run time test, only lasting for 1 hour, 9 minutes in our obstacle course.
The Hovertrax 2.0 had the shortest battery life of all the models we tested.
Last, we timed how long it took for the board to completely charge after being fully depleted. This product took 2 hours, 40 minutes to charge — on par with other models, though the manual states that it can take up to four hours.
Value
The Hovertrax 2.0 scored poorly in our tests, and has a list price comparable to some of our award winners. This definitely is not a board to seek out if you are searching for the highest value.
Conclusion
Coming across as overly twitchy and sensitive, the Hovertrax 2.0 makes for an uncomfortable and unsettling ride. This model scored below average in three of our metrics, and only had a decent customer service experience in its favor. We would recommend one of our other award winners, or at the very least some hesitation when thinking about purchasing this model.
—
David Wise and Austin Palmer
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