There really is no assembly, your ride-on arrives in a huge box and needs 12 hours to charge fully, stick in the flag at the back for visibility and you are ready to go. Ours is the 'Black' model, which has a lot of red too. White is also available.
The box has the Nighthawk, flag, power supply charge adapter cable with UK and European adaptors, plus instructions.
The Nighthawk itself is gorgeous. It has a classic decoration and lovely sleek lines. We are missing the badge on ours, but that's the only flaw and it's easily rectified, as it's just a sticker that wasn't put on in finishing. The paintwork and finish to bodywork is otherwise immaculate.
Charging ports are hidden under the seat, which removes swiftly with a 1/4 turn screw. You shouldn't ever charge for longer than 20 hours and first charge will take 12 hours, but it claims it lasts a whole hour and having tested it, I agree that's about right. Subsequent charges are a bit shorter.
The Nighthawk is beautifully made. It's not an inexpensive item and it really feels like excellent quality. The whole thing is a joy, from the handles to the wheels to the chassis underneath.
Ease of use is brilliant, even for a complete beginner. You can see in our video just how easy it is. On/off button, and 2 pedal operation - brake and power. Lean to turn.
This is a powerful 12V ride-on, so should only be used by children aged 6 or older wearing the proper safety equipment. In our opinion you definitely need a helmet, elbow pads and hand sliders or gloves because you may unthinkingly put your hand down at first until you work out balance.
The maximum weight limit is 50kgs, so sad news parents, almost all of you can't ride it as that's 7st10lbs in imperial weight. This is pretty much a toy for school-age pre-teens 6-12 and it'll occupy and excite that whole age range.
You can't experience it in photos, so here is our review video showing our 8 and 10 year old boys both having their first few runs. We chose a gritty private car park because it's probably representative of where a lot of children will be able to play - and it's slower for learning than a nice smooth concrete surface...
The Nighthawk from Rollplay is awesome. It is loads of fun and has made my boys squeal and laugh no end. It's got them outside playing and running about on dull days and they really have improved their confidence and balance massively already.
The only real problem with the Nighthawk might be finding somewhere suitable to play. You cannot ride on pavements or roads and you don't want to hit anyone or anything. Once you have found somewhere safe with good visibility and no pedestrians, you're off!
You can find out more about the Nighthawk and all of their other products on the Rollplay website. The Nighthawk is available to buy now in black or white, priced £169.99rrp from Smyths, Hamleys and Amazon* and to promote the release this week, Rollplay Facebook page will have a competition where 3 people can win one of their very own. Go! Enter!
We were sent our Rollplay Nighthawk for review. *Amazon links are affiliate because I need to feed the cat, and he doesn't eat toys, not even super cool ones. You don't pay any more, but if you buy through my links, I earn a few pence as a thank you for adding it.
looks cool - although i think all my three bigger ones are too big now and my two younger too small :)
ReplyDeleteIt goes up to around age 13, so possibly not - your gorgeous little lady is too small though! :D
DeleteThat looks so much fun. All three of my kids would love this. The boys look like they are having so much fun x
ReplyDeleteThey love it. The main problem is waiting for everyone to leave the car park so that we can use it! :D
DeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteWill it do well on grass??
ReplyDeleteIt really doesn't - you might get it to work on very flat ground with clipped grass - cricket pitch style, but it doesn't like uneven ground or tufty grass at all - we can't get it to go more than a few inches on our peaty damp grass without slipping. Sorry I can't be more positive on that one!
DeleteWould this fare well on an inclined sidewalk? My grandson lives in San Diego and there are lots of hills around his house.
ReplyDeleteIt would struggle to drag uphill as it doesn't have a lot of extra power for that, and it would be scary fast downhill, so my sensible answer would be no. Obviously if you had a safe space to go downhill then it would be fairly exhilarating, and momentum would take you part way back up before you'd have to get off and pick it up. We have passed it on as my boys are too big now, and the little boy who has it has endless fun going up and down their very quiet road and pavement, which does have a slope of around 15-20 degrees. Hopefully that is a helpful answer!
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