Where to Find the Best Hoverboard for Kids: Safety, Budget, and What to Look For
The fluorescent lights of the Target toy aisle were burning my eyes last April, when my 10-year-old Jax bounced beside a stack of neon hoverboard boxes, begging me to just grab the cheapest one and go. I’d spent three late nights scrolling Amazon reviews, half of which said the $120 no-name model caught fire, the other half said it was fine for a kid who only rides it around the driveway. I was stuck. Jax had saved half the money from his birthday and allowance for this, and all his friends rode theirs after school at the neighborhood park. He’d been coming home upset that he couldn’t join their laps around the walking path, and I get it—fitting in with your peers when you’re 10 matters a lot, especially when you already struggle a little with coordination (Jax has mild dyspraxia, so balance doesn’t come as easy to him as it does to his friends).
I left Target that day without a hoverboard, Jax slouched in the backseat eating a sour candy he’d snuck into the cart. I texted my neighbor Sarah, whose son has been riding a hoverboard for two years, and asked where she got hers. She told me she’d tried Amazon first, returned two duds, and ended up buying from a small local shop that sells skate gear and kids’ electric rideables over on the west side. I added it to my Saturday list, and that weekend we went, stopping for glazed donuts on the way.
The shop was crammed with skate decks, helmets, and kids’ bikes, and the owner, a guy named Mike who has three teens of his own, didn’t rush us. When I mentioned Jax’s balance issues, he didn’t push the most expensive board on the rack. He pulled out three different models, all with the clear UL 2272 certification sticker I’d read was non-negotiable for fire safety, and told Jax to test each one on the wide empty aisle by the door. The first one was the slim, lightweight model all Jax’s friends had. He wobbled so bad he grabbed the shelf to keep from falling, then stepped off with a red face and mumbled that he was just no good at this. I almost said we could try again another day, but Mike just nodded and pulled out a slightly wider, heavier board with 8.5-inch wheels instead of the standard 6.5-inch. Jax got on, pushed off once, and rode all the way to the back of the store without grabbing anything. He turned around grinning so wide his dimples showed, and that was that.
Over the past few months, I’ve talked to a half dozen other parents asking where to find a good kids’ hoverboard, so I’ve thought a lot about what actually matters when you’re looking. A lot of the articles online just list the top 10 boards, but they don’t tell you where to actually buy them, or what works for different kids’ needs.
For example, big box stores like Target and Walmart are great if you need a board last minute, and you can easily return it if something breaks. Almost all the models they carry now have the required safety certification, so you don’t have to worry about unregulated batteries. The downside is the selection is small, and they don’t usually have floor models you can test. If your kid has balance issues or is between sizes, that can be a problem.
Amazon is the go-to for most people, and you can find good deals there if you know what to look for. Stick to well-known brands like Razor or Segway Ninebot, avoid the no-name brands with weird spellings that have thousands of seemingly fake 5-star reviews. Filter for Prime, so if the board is wrong or defective, you can send it back for free without paying return shipping. I’ve seen solid certified kids’ hoverboards there for right around $180, which is manageable for most families.
If you have a local specialty shop (skate shops, bike shops that carry kids’ rideables) that lets you test ride, that’s my top recommendation, even if it’s a little more expensive. Mike at the shop told me he checks every board before it goes out, and if anything breaks in the first year, he’ll fix it for free. He also gave Jax a few quick tips for balancing that I never would’ve found in an Amazon review. For us, that extra help was worth the $30 more we paid compared to Amazon.
If you’re on a really tight budget, secondhand can work, but there are hard rules I’d stick to. Only buy local from someone you can meet in person, check for the UL 2272 certification sticker before you hand over any money, don’t buy anything older than three years (lithium ion batteries degrade over time, and an old battery is a fire risk no matter what brand it is). Test ride it before you buy, and make sure the wheels and brakes work well. I’ve seen barely used hoverboards on Nextdoor for $70-$100 that are perfectly fine, so it’s a good option if you’re not sure your kid will stick with it.
Now Jax rides his hoverboard almost every weekend at the park. He still falls sometimes, and he scraped his knee pretty bad last month when he hit a crack in the sidewalk. His occupational therapist even commented a few weeks ago that his overall balance has improved since he started riding regularly. We got lucky, mostly because we didn’t rush and ended up at the right place for our kid. There’s no one “best” hoverboard that works for everyone, and no one perfect place to buy. The best place is the one that lets you get what your kid needs, whether that’s a cheap certified one from Amazon or a tested one from a local shop. For now, this works for us, and that’s good enough.
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