In a Nutshell:
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 250 pounds.
Is your current mobility aid about ready for retirement? Are you looking for its eventual replacement, and are you in the market for something that’s at least somewhat portable so you can take it with you on the road? If you answered yes to those questions, then you may like what you read in this—our Scootie review.
A couple of things we should mention right off the bat, however. First, if you haven’t heard of the Shoprider brand before, you’re not alone.
Although the company is a well-respected member of the industry and has been doing business since the 80s, they don’t have an especially large market footprint.
Despite that, they have a reputation for excellence, both where their products are concerned and when it comes to post-sales support. So if you decide you want one of these, you can buy it with confidence.
An Overview of the Shoprider Scootie Mobility Scooter
We regard this as a fairly strong component of our Scootie review because, at the root, the machine has good bones.
Most travel-friendly scooters are built with a somewhat Spartan aesthetic, and this one is no exception. Even so, the Scottie scooter is not nearly as Spartan as some other models we’ve seen, and it boasts a distinctive design that gives it an appealing look.
The design is more than just for the sake of presenting an interesting-looking profile, however.
The Scootie’s design team put their years of experience to good use here, creating a scooter that combines the best three and four-wheeled designs.
That’s a win for you if you decide you want one of these because you get the superior maneuverability of a three-wheeled machine but all the stability of four-wheeled models.
At the heart of this are the Scootie’s articulating front wheels. They’re placed rather closer together than you find on most other four-wheeled models.
Even better, the Scootie has a magic trick it can perform that few of its peers can replicate.
A control underneath the machine allows you to lengthen the entire apparatus by up to 3″, giving you a means of customizing your ride that’s unique in the industry.
If anyone else is currently doing this, we haven’t seen it. Kudos to the fine folks at Shoprider for pushing into new frontiers!
Of course, a cool trick and innovative wheel design will only get you so far, so let’s dive into the other numbers that define this model. Here’s a quick overview:
- Overall Product Dimensions: 37″ – 40″ L x 17″ W X 34″ H
- Total Weight: 82 pounds with the two batteries, which weigh 24 pounds each
- User Weight Limit: 250
- Top Speed: 4 MPH
- Seat Dimensions: 15″ W x 14″ D
- Max. Slope: 6 degrees
- Front Wheels: 7″ (Solid)
- Rear Wheels: 8″ (Solid)
- Range: 10 miles
- Ground Clearance: 1.5″
- Turning Radius: 32″
There’s a lot to talk about here, and these numbers tell an interesting story. While many of the numbers are about average or even slightly underwhelming—including the slope handling, seat size as compared to the weight limit, and range—there’s still a lot going on here.
First, the bad news. While there is no formalized standard where scooter-supported weight is concerned, if you do a broad survey of the market, you’ll find the informal average to be about 300 pounds.
The Scootie mobility scooter falls short of that, but that’s a trait it shares in common with a fair number of travel-friendly scooters. If you want to keep the weight down, you can’t reinforce the frame, which means you’re limited in how much weight the machine can realistically support, and that’s pretty much what happened here.
The underwhelming weight limit will either not be an issue for you at all or it will be an outright deal-breaker. There’s no middle ground here, and given the 250-pound weight limit, the dimensions of the stadium-style seat are fine.
Note, however, that it is a bit small. It’s also upholstered in vinyl, which gets hot the longer you sit in it, so this isn’t a scooter made for lounging. The unspoken expectation is that you’ll use the scooter to get where you’re going, then transfer out of it and into a more comfortable chair.
The range and ground clearance are a little underwhelming, and taken together, they paint this as a scooter designed for urban use. Use it in town for shorter trips and you’ll seldom run into the ten-mile range limitation.
Try to take it over rough terrain and you’ll quickly get snagged on anything more than a minor obstruction. And if you venture too far from a handy power outlet, you may find yourself stranded, but those things are easy to avoid if you stick to “in town” or driving around your freshly cut lawn.
The top speed is about average and should be fine for most folks, but if you have a need for speed, just know that it’s not difficult to find a mobility aid that will go significantly faster than this.
The real rock star number of the set, though, is the turning radius. A 32″ turn radius on a four-wheeled model is off-the-charts good, and that goes back to Shoprider’s design expertise.
This little scooter can navigate in smaller, confined spaces with relative ease without sacrificing the stability of a four-wheeled design, which is one of its major selling points, in our view.
The Shoprider Scootie Electric Scooter Boasts Average Comfort and Surprising Adjustability
We regard this as a surprisingly strong component of our Scootie review. Having already given the seat comfort a brief mention in the last section, we won’t dwell on that here.
Suffice it to say that the Scootie electric scooter is comfortable enough to get you wherever you’re going. If you want more than that, the aftermarket is brimming with seat pad options, so you can amp up the comfort to whatever level you desire.
Most travel-friendly scooters make sacrifices in terms of adjustability, and it’s true that you’ll find a few corners cut here. Overall though, we have to say that we’re impressed by the level of adjustability on this machine.
Although the seat on this model does not swivel, the armrests are width & angle adjustable, and they flip up, which helps make transferring into and out of the scooter an easier proposition.
Further, as we mentioned earlier, this model is unique as far as we’ve seen in that it’s the only model we’ve found so far that allows you to adjust the overall length of the machine.
This might be a small thing to most, but if you want or need it, then you really, really need it. And we think it’s fantastic that the folks at Shoprider went the extra mile here and created a machine the likes of which we simply haven’t found elsewhere on the market.
One thing to take note of, though, is that although the tiller folds down for easy transport, it is not angle adjustable—a small thing for most potential buyers but something to be aware of.
The Shoprider Scootie Mobility Scooter Isn’t as Travel Friendly as We’d Like
In our view, this is probably the most important segment of our Scootie review.
When most people think about what they want in terms of a travel-friendly scooter, they either decide they want something that folds up quickly and easily or something that comes apart in 3-5 pieces, so it’s easy to stash in available trunk space, with the caveat being, of course, that you have to take a few minutes to put the thing back together again when you get where you’re going.
The Scootie kind of does both. As mentioned, the tiller does fold down and the machine comes apart, which means that it can be turned into a package that’s compact enough to fit in the available trunk space of most mid-sized sedans.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit on the heavy side as portable scooters go. Granted, once it’s in pieces, you won’t have to contend with any individual piece that’s excessively heavy, but it’s probably too heavy to consider taking onboard an airplane.
Even so, you should be fine if your main goal is to find a scooter you can take on the road with you.
Scootie Mobility Scooter Accessories
The Shoprider Scootie comes with a front-mounted wire mesh basket, which we love as it vastly increases the usability of the machine. Unfortunately, it does not boast a headlamp, so if you want one, you’ll have to explore the aftermarket to find something that works.
That’s a pity because it limits the number of hours in a day that you’ll be able to use your scooter.
Once it gets dark, you’re pretty much confined to the great indoors.
If you decide you want one of these, you will find a couple of high-value accessories you can add to your choice. In addition to being able to pick your color (red or blue), you can add a mesh oxygen tank holder and a safety belt.
We wish the safety belt is a standard piece of equipment on all scooters, but the industry leaders clearly don’t share our view. Even so, we’re glad to see it offered, even if it is as an accessory, and of course, you can customize your ride to your heart’s content in the aftermarket.
Pros & Cons of Shoprider Scootie Scooter
In our view, the strongest points of the Shoprider Scootie scooter are these:
On the other hand, it’s not as travel-friendly as you might expect (the total weight again), and it supports a rather underwhelming amount of user weight.
Scootie Review Conclusion
This is an unusual design—a little on the heavy side for a portable scooter but not excessively so, and as long as you’ve got reasonably good upper body strength, it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker. Between that and the somewhat underwhelming supported weight limit though, we can only give this one a provisional recommendation.
Comparable Products to Consider
If you’ve reached the end of this review and you aren’t sufficiently dazzled by the technological innovations to give this one a try, here are a couple of other options you may want to consider:
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 200 pounds (folding version) or 250 pounds—if you’re using the non-folding version—and who plans to use the machine in urban and/or indoor environments.
Made by the same company as the Scootie, the Echo is for people who are looking for a more conventionally travel-friendly scooter. It’s got the same basic feature set but lacks the innovations that the Scootie features.
On the other hand, it is a much more portable machine, and that might be just what you’re looking for.
Recommended For: Anyone weighing up to 250 pounds who travels frequently.
If you’re more interested in buying something from one of the bigger, more well-known brands, then you can’t really go wrong with the Passport. Highly portable and brimming with extras, this one is sure to please.
References and Resources:
- Shoprider, Official Brand Website.
- Shoprider Scootie Mobility Scooter User Manual.
- Physical Activity in Individuals With Disabilities, Physiopedia.
- Pedestrian and Motorized Mobility Scooter Safety of Older People, Taylor & Francis Online.
- What’s the Ideal Scooter? Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Enhancing the Usability and Safety of Motorized Mobility Scooters, The University of British Columbia.