At our TechCrunch Beijing event earlier this month, I hung out with the team from Stary, a very cool company from China’s electronics hub Shenzhen. Rex Chen, the company’s CEO, took some time out of the show to give us a demonstration of Stary’s board — which raised a hugely impressive $740,000 on Kickstarter earlier this year.
Not only is the Stary board quick — with a top speed of 18.6 MPH — but it is seriously, seriously light thanks to a battery that is stashed inside the board itself, and a motor subtly built into one of the rear wheels. Did I mention a handheld control which — thankfully for those with as little skill as me — includes a brake?
All of this combines to make one of the least assuming motorized skateboards in the world.
Good news: if you missed the Kickstarter campaign and like the look of the board, you can go ahead and order one from Stary.io, where they are selling for $899. Fair warning though, it won’t ship until March 2016 — but, if you’re into skating, it’s pretty darn cool and worth the wait.