Boosted Rev is a powerful e-scooter you won't want to share
Boosted is known for its electric skateboards and longboards, but now the California-based company is getting into scooters.
The company's first electric scooter, the Boosted Rev, is built to get you where you're going even if you don't have a car. With a 22-mile range on a single charge, enough power to take on 25 percent-grade hills, and a top speed of 24 mph, it feels more like a vehicle than a toy or gadget. It can fold up if you take the train and then scoot home from the station, making it perfect for just about any situation.
It's a hefty scooter at 46 pounds with wide tires, especially compared with the two-wheelers from scooter-sharing companies Bird and Lime.
The scooter is made for personal ownership (with a $1,599 price tag that can be paid in $70 monthly installments) and isn't intended to be part of a shared, heavily used fleet. Shared fleets spend a lot of time outside and out in the elements between rides, so Boosted's scooter won't have to endure as tough of conditions – unless you want to stress test it yourself.
For places like New York City that don't allow scooters, you need to wait for the government to give the devices the OK. You can supply your own in San Francisco if you want to ride a scooter from anyone other than the two allowed scooter companies. Bird is also selling scooters for riders to own for $1,299 – cheaper than Boosted's, but still pricey.
Boosted says its new scooter is weatherproof and ready to take on street conditions (but have they seen the potholes in the Bay Area?), and even offers a 12-month warranty. Shared scooters have been under fire for barely lasting a few months.
The scooter is available to order Wednesday and will start shipping this summer. Don't forget a helmet!
Additional reporting by Ray Wong.
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
