I went down to the Newport Pier this afternoon to meet with a dude who come all the way down the California coast on an electric vehicle – the new ZuumCraft, a twist on alternatives to cars that might just actually prove to be somewhat cool.
You probably haven’t seen this model yet, unless you saw them at the Huntington Pier stop on Sunday. It doesn’t come out on the market for a few months.
While the guys behind the ZuumCraft tout the same message as other alternative methods of getting around to promote green living such as Segways and scooters, the Zuum folks are definitely trying to hit a different market – the surfing community.  
It has a plank you stand on the shape of a skateboard, and the side-to-side flow has the feel of cruising on a wave. It moves with the twist of a throttle, and can stop pretty quick.
Surfer Richard Tait couldn’t help but put down his board on a recent day and ask what the story was behind it.
It wasn’t long before he put down his board to give it a whirl around the Newport Beach parking lot on the north side of the pier.
“OK, I’m ripping this thing off!” he said upon his return. “It was kind of like skateboarding, but with a lot less work.”

Surfer Richard Tait stops to take a ride

He’s never tried the Segway – his reason being that he’s just never wanted to try one – but the ZuumCraft was a really smooth ride that he was impressed with.

“You have a sensation of a controlled drifting,” he said.
I even got to take her out for a spin, pulling the throttle back to zoom around, leaning side-to-side to see just how smooth it ran. I gotta say, it was a pretty good rush, with the ability to make sharp turns.
Skater Steven Welches stopped to admire, but said he’ll be sticking to the skateboard because he likes the exercise.
“It’s amazing what they’re coming up with these days,” he said.
But that didn’t stop him from asking how far it goes, and how fast.
It can go about 20 miles on a charged battery, and hits speeds of about 20 mph. Whether people will fork over the $2,195 price tag is yet to be seen.

Tom Boyd dows what the ZuumCraft can do

One surfer up in the central coast said it would be a great way to check out the surf without having to park at each break. If he could load it in his car, he could go up and down the coast checking out conditions, pick a spot, then come back to grab his board.
Tom Boyd started the California coast journey stuck in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, and has been cruising down Pacific Coast Highway since. The most interesting leg of the trip was the windy road in Big Sur, which I did a few weeks back in a car and got slightly sick from.
But he seemed to be enjoying the adventure.
“It’s been awesome,” he said.

To read more about the California Coast cruise on a ZuumCraft, click here.

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