The other day I was looking at my kid’s Razor Scooter that sits idle in the garage–where it has been for many months now–and wondered if it could be re-purposed to further my overall preparedness. It was, after all, one of those toys that my child just HAD TO HAVE, DAD! So, we bought it for him about two Christmas’ ago… he used it for maybe a week or two straight and it now barely sees the light of day anymore.
So, I got to thinking to myself, why not reclaim and repurpose his Razor Scooter into a potential alternative mode of transportation, especially for a bug out situation? I had seen this recommended by others in the past and thought I should reconsider the idea.
Obviously, I would prefer to take a vehicle and pack all of my stuff in a bug out situation and, failing that, I would then prefer to ride a bicycle if I could, but that’s not where this idea flourishes. Instead, what would you do if your vehicle runs out of gas, breaks down, or maybe you just get stuck in a mess of cars that are going nowhere fast?
Sure, you would hoof it on foot but why not give yourself one last wheeled option? In my opinion, the Razor Scooter might be the “perfect” solution here.
For one, it’s fairly lightweight. Second, it can fold up a fit into a relatively small space. In fact, you could probably strap it to your bug out bag if you really wanted, but that would defeat it’s entire purpose. If you simply toss it in the trunk of your car you probably wouldn’t notice much inconvenience. After all, if you’re like me and with all of the other vehicle gear you probably have in there a Razor Scooter will take up little more room.
You might wonder how difficult they are to ride and, in my limited experience, they’re not that hard whatsoever. Granted, I’ve never tried riding one with a 30+ pound bag strapped to my back but I’m sure I would get the hang of it pretty quick…. hopefully.
Understand that this idea is really only useful on city streets and sidewalks as the wheels are pretty small and would not be viable for any sort of off-roading adventure. So, including a Razor Scooter in your vehicle preps could give you one more option but it WILL certainly limit you to traversing the same well-beaten paths that everyone else is expected to be using, so keep this in mind.
Oh, and the cheap ones don’t come with any brakes so it could actually be dangerous going downhill if you’re not ready for it. And, of course, you’re almost better off walking up hill. That said, most roads are fairly level in and around cities so a Razor Scooter could prove quite useful. With this in mind, a Razor Scooter has both upside potential and some downside risks to realize.
As for cost, some scooters can certainly get expensive (at over $100 each) but there are still plenty for under $40 and I’m willing to bet you can get them dirt cheap at a local garage sale… precisely where ours was heading. If you can find them at a garage sale then consider purchasing more than one, toss them in your car, and hope nobody notices you zipping by them during the next zombie apocalypse. 😉
Now if I could just figure out how to strap a small lawnmower engine to one…
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