More Than 500,000 Hoverboards Are Being Recalled, And If You Own One You Definitely Should Know Why

What’s worse than just riding on a hoverboard!? Loaded question, I know.

But the answer is: riding on a hoverboard that spontaneously bursts into flames – the very reason some 500,000 units of this past year’s fad/trend/complete waste of your parents’ money are being recalled in the United States.

Reportedly, the safety issue stems from defective batteries the hoverboards employ, and might I say this recall is probably a great thing for humanity?

Reuters has more on the recalls affecting at least ten companies:

Ten companies are recalling about 501,000 hoverboards after numerous reports of the self-balancing scooters’ batteries catching fire, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

There have been at least 99 incidents of the two-wheeled devices’ lithium-ion battery packs overheating, sparking, smoking, catching fire or exploding, the commission said in a statement. The incidents include an unspecified number of burns and property damage.

“We’ve all seen pictures of homes destroyed and families that made it out just in time,” Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye told a news conference.

Consumers were urged to stop using the recalled hoverboards and contact the companies named in the recall for a refund, repair or replacement.

The recall covers hoverboard models from eight importers: Digital Gadgets LLC, Monroe, New Jersey; Hoverboard LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona; Hype Wireless, Edison, New Jersey; Keenford Ltd, Hong Kong; PTX Performance Products USA, Irvine, California; Razor USA LLC, Cerritos, California; Yuka Clothing, of Miami; and Swagway LLC, of South Bend, Indiana.

Want to look like a douchebag? Ride a hoverboard.

Want to really look like a douchebag? Continue using said hoverboard after reading this and have it burn your house down when it spontaneously combusts while you use it.

Suffice to say, you’ve been warned, bros…

[via Reuters]

Completely Related Video:

Dude Eats Shit In Spectacular Hoverboard Fail