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The news has been overrun the past few weeks with stories of hoverboards causing frightening fires and explosions. After one of the most popular hoverboards
caught fire
and damaged someone's home, Amazon pulled the Swagway board from its website (it has since been brought back). Since then a few more stories of flaming and exploding boards have popped up, causing more
stores to stop selling them
and leading the
postal service
along with
some US airlines
to ground them. But don't worry, you can still buy hoverboards—provided they are in stock—but you should know how they work so you can avoid any fiery mishaps.
Why are hoverboards exploding?
The main reason hoverboards have self-destructed is because of their batteries. All of the major hoverboard brands use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for power, and those can be dangerous for two reasons: cheapness and mistreatment. Li-ion batteries are used in everyday devices such as smartphones and tablets, but typically the companies making those devices can afford to use higher-quality, more expensive batteries. You won't be able to tell how good the li-ion batteries are in your hoverboard, but it's safe to say that cheaper, "knockoff" hoverboards use mass-produced cells of lower quality to cut costs.
Also, according to
Wired
, hoverboard batteries are typically placed inside the footrest of the device, so they're getting stepped on, kicked, and roughed-up every time you go for a ride. Not to mention that hoverboards are going to be abused more than, say, your laptop, so there's a greater chance its battery could get damaged by rough play, and any damage makes them more susceptible to malfunction or explosion.
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Battery damage doesn't only come from a hoverboard-induced wipeout, however. The board's charger could cause damage to the cell, too, if it's defective or if you leave the board to juice up longer than necessary. "If there is not proper protection to the cells, and if the charger is defective, the cells can be severely overcharged,” Jay Whitacre, professor of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, told
Wired
. “In cases of severe overcharge, even perfectly made cells will eventually fail, though a fire is not always the outcome in this case. The cell may just pop its gas vent and dry out.”
Enlarge
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PhunkeeDuck's hoverboard costs $1,499.
PhunkeeDuck
Which hoverboards won’t explode on me?
There's no definitive way to tell which hoverboards will or will not explode. The category is so new that there isn't enough data to say certain models are better than others. What it comes down to is how well the device is made and how well you treat it.
Your best bet is to stay away from cheap hoverboards—and by cheap we mean anything under $300. You can find many types of hoverboards on Amazon, Target, and other websites, but the main brands we saw popping up in our research we
re Swagway, Razer, Jetson Electric, Hover X, Monorover, IO Hawk, and Phunkeeduck. The first four of those brands have devices available on Amazon, and the cheapest is the $296 Hover X Self Balancing Hoverboard; however, most other models (including those from Hover X) are at least $499. Monorover's boards are around the same price, but IO Hawk and Phunkeeduck sell premium hoverboards priced over $1,000.How can I avoid exploding hoverboards?
It's safe to say more expensive hoverboards are made with better materials, but we'd hesitate to suggest purchasing a $1,000 log on wheels.
The Wirecutter
has made a couple of recommendations of the more reliable hoverboards you can acquire without emptying your wallet. While searching for your hoverboard soulmate, you can look for a few key safety features, one of the biggest being UL-certification. UL is a certification organization that is approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to run safety tests on all kinds of devices. If the hoverboard's charger is
UL-certified
, it's much less likely to cause damage to the device's battery. Some hoverboards, like
Swagway's devices
, have UL-certified battery cell packs, but it's more common to see a brand highlight the UL-certification of its charger rather than the batteries themselves. Of the devices readily available on Amazon, Swagway and Jetson Electric list UL-certified chargers as included with their hoverboards.
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You'll want to check the hoverboard's warranty as well. Most of them come with a one-year manufacturer's warranty, but there are some stragglers like Hover X's devices that only come with a 90-day warranty. Swagway is the only company out of those available on Amazon to
detail its warranty
in an easily accessible page on its website, while Razer and Jetson Electric both simply state that the warranty exists. Investing in a device with a longer warranty at least gives you peace of mind that you can attempt to contact the company within a year to seek assistance. Keep in mind that hoverboards may be popular for Christmas 2015, but there's no way of knowing how popular they will be in 2016—or even if their parent companies will still be around selling them.
As stated before, there's no way of naming the "best" or "safest" hoverboard. Swagway's devices are averagely priced hoverboards at $499 and have UL-certified battery packs, and yet
one of them still burst into flames.
Ultimately, you have to do your homework before buying and be cautious once you have your new toy. Take care of the device, its battery, and its charger, and always ride safely.
Hoverboard buying and caring tips
Don't buy cheap (less than $300) hoverboards; invest in higher-quality brands.
Look for a model with a UL-certified charger or battery pack.
Check manufacturer's warranty before you buy.
Unplug the hoverboard when it's completely charged to avoid overcharging.
Do not leave the hoverboard unattended while it's charging.
To avoid all instances of hoverboard self-destruction and personal injury, do not buy a hoverboard.
