Kaabo - Mantis 8

I’ve had a mantis 8 for two years. So far battery has held up reasonably and I’ve only needed to change the tires. Wondering how long people typically use this level scooter for. Granted I’m only tooling around the neighborhood and not commuting! Anyway, we’re a Kaaboo family and love them. Cheers!

Gonna chip in as someone who was in your shoes - I used a fluid horizon to commute to work for a year before I got my license and have nothing bad to say about it. However, for your budget I'd also consider the Kaabo mantis 8. Your parents will be able to save a little money, you still get the range you need plus a very solidly built scooter, and ~26 mph is honestly plenty for a first scooter to commute on. The fluid mosquito is another with a bit more kick (I regularly hit 29-30 mph) that's super portable with decent suspension, but I wouldn't take it off paved roads just due to the size of the tires. Importantly, please get a good helmet - a full face one at that - and wear proper pants and a jacket if you're looking at scooters above 20 mph. Even if you do everything right, bad luck or distracted drivers/pedestrians can still make you crash - and, at the speeds you're looking at, a busted scooter and some bruises and scratches are considered a pretty good outcome. Happy early birthday and best of luck picking a ride :)

From the 3 on your list I'd suggest the 10x. Im 200 plus pounds and have been using a mantis 8 for short runs. It has been doing good since I got it 2 years ago so the 10x would be an improvement. Look for a 40ah battery or close to that and you get that range so long as you're not full throttle all the trip.

Ninebot & Kaabo aren't on the list which are the two brands I own.

Plenty of scooters fit your needs unless you plan on carrying it upstairs etc. Ninebots, 8" Kaabo's, Splach. Adding a extra layer (1-2") to the deck may work. Good luck.

Can confirm. I crashed my mantis many times and it never broke. Learned all my lessons on that before getting the King GTR which has also held up perfectly. (No crashes)

i’ve had two: kaabo mantis and splach turbo. i would recommend NOT buying off amazon. do your research there if you want, but then go directly to the manufacture site and buy from them. first of all amazon is evil, but second of all, sometimes their second party seller shit is sketchy. you’ll always get more straight forward sales help from the manufacture site. -consider if you’ll be in easy bike lanes most of the time or if your streets are a little rougher (this will help you choose the type of tire and suspension and brakes you need) -consider how long you wanna be able to go without a charge (size of battery you’ll need) -consider if you are gonna have to fold it and pick it up to walk up stairs or carry on public transit (if so, i don’t recommend one that’s over 40 or 50lb… you may think that’s just a dumbbell amount of weight but it’s awkward and annoying and wears you down quick) -consider if you want tube tires, pneumatic tires, or solid tires (google the differences - there have been other posts about this as well) -i also recommend one where the handlebars fold down if you’re gonna be taking it on public transpo -lastly…. consider how much fun you wanna have. cuz tbh my mantis could go up to 40mph and i averaged usually about 30-32 bc that’s where i felt safe in the city but goddamn that shit was fun… my splach averages at 22 and that’s safe and fine and still fast, don’t get me wrong…. but i do miss the thrill) OH AND GET THE WARRANTY - it literally saved my ass with my mantis when something in the steer shaft was buggin and basically got all my money back and got to keep the scooter. hope this helps

Xiaomi and Kaabo should have been on the list. My bad. My Xiaomi is 5 years old and still going strong.

Funny that I have owned several kaabos in the past and I still forgot to put it on the list.

The suspension sucks and Kaabo basically makes up excuses to not warranty any failure should you have one. They are ok, but far from the best.

DO NOT GET KAABO IVE HAD NOTHING BUT ISSUES WITH CONTROLLER FAILURES AND THEIR ASS CUSTOMER SERVICE.

NAMI, Kaabo, Dualtron and Roadrunner (not that piece of shit D4) just to name a few. If you're looking more at budget scooters, NIU and Segway are about it.