This Genius Backpack Turns Into An Electric Skateboard

At first glance, this seems like a pretty cool concept: an electric skateboard that literally flips out of the bottom of your backpack. It’s easily transportable, offers a solid fourteen mile range and a respectable 20 MPH top speed. However, if you really think about it, the design may need a few tweaks before it’s actually viable as a mode of transportation.

The most obvious problem is weight distribution. Anybody who’s ridden a skateboard for even a few minutes has likely learned that you need to keep your weight toward the rear of the deck, because if you’re standing on the middle, or even worse, the front, even the tiniest of rocks or pebbles is going to pitch you off the board. Another issue lies with the weight of the batteries, which almost certainly weight a few pounds. Add a couple of books and a laptop to that and you’re looking at a pretty hefty load when you throw it on your shoulders. Plus that’s a lot of extra weight just sitting on the board, which can’t help with stability.

However, there are certainly some positives here. There’s the matter of convenience, and having a battery powered skateboard on hand at all times is pretty nice. It offers a respectable 20 MPH top speed and the fourteen mile range is definitely useful. We just aren’t sure the pros outweighs the cons, especially when you factor in the expected retail price of $1,200 which is borderline absurd for a battery powered skateboard.

The project did reach its funding goal on IndieGoGo, so it should be coming to market soon. We just aren’t so sure it’s going to do well at that price point. However, predicting consumer behavior is harder than predicting the weather, so who’s to say at this point how well it will do.