I was never a “scooter person” until I got a large, heavy and expensive scooter two years ago. I soon was using it for places I used to drive to — to the store, to get a hair cut, etc. While I love that scooter, it was so big, bulky and heavy I never took it anywhere. I wanted something small that I could easily carry up/down stairs and load in to a car without back strain.This Gotrax Apex Max, at half the cost of my bigger scooter, is something I am glad to have in addition to my “heavy lifting” big scooter.Assembly went super quick — much easier than my other scooter. The unit comes in two pieces — the base with the wheels and handlebar shaft, and the handlebar with display. There are basically three steps:1. Pull out a cable from the shaft and handlebar and connect them together, then stuff it back in the shaft.2. Put the brake cable end in a slot and run the cable through it.3. Put the handlebars in to the shaft and use the included Allen wrench and two screws to tighten it in place.The power supply is a base with the barrel connector on it, and a separate power cable that plugs in to it. There is a rubber cap you pop open to get to the charging jack, then you just plug it all in.The manual says a RED light on the charger means charging, and GREEN means charged. When I plugged mine up, it immediately went to green and stayed green. However, turning on the scooter shows a battery meter with a four segment display which only showed three of them full. I found out later that I just did not have the barrel connector plugged all the way in. The charger shows green even when not plugged in. My second charge, I figured this out and was able to fully charge the scooter.First ride only got 8 miles, due to not being fully charged. When the battery is on the last block of the four-segment display, it gives you no warning — it just starts to blink and that’s it. The intent of a short-range scooter like this is that you’d charge it regularly, versus a larger scooter that you might only charge every few dozen rides.At 32 pounds, the scooter is about the same weight as four gallons of milk. When my back is having problems, I cannot carry my other scooter, so I expect this one will be very good at saving my back.I contacted support to ask some questions (before I figured out how the charger plug works). I wrote them on Aug 28 4:38 pm, and they responded Aug 31 1:16am. That is a surprisingly fast response time, considering how late in the day I wrote them.While my big scooter can handle large hills, smaller scooters like this are designed for more level community. I used the level app in my phone to test some hills. At a 2% incline, the scooter had no issue. Once the angle got to be around 5%, the scooter would slow down. It can still handle small hills — it just takes longer to get up to speed. Anything too steeper and this small scooter can’t do it. (I have two very large hills I travel regularly; I use my big scooter for that, and this for everything else.)Folding down handlebar takes two hands. One has to left a lever and the other has to pull out a captive-pin. This is tricky to do at first, then becomes simple once you figure it out.There is one power button on the control. It does the following:1. Press it to turn power on.2. Hold it down for about 5 seconds to turn power off.3. Tap it to turn the headlight/taillight on. Tap again to turn it off.4. Hold it for about 2-3 seconds to change gears (1 or 2, adjusting the max speed).According to the Gotrax website, you can get up to 15 miles on a charge. I assume this to mean on flat surfaces with a lightweight rider. Since the scooter claims to handle riders of up to 265 pounds, I do not expect you’d see that same range with a heavier rider. I have taken my to 12, then I charge it back up since when you run out, it just stops. You get down to the last block of the four-segment power display then it shuts off the motor and starts blinking.If you think you might become a scooter person, the thing to consider is: where will you be riding? If you have alot of hills, or are a heavier person and/or need extended range, you need to look at some of the higher end Gotrax models. If you want something for running around the neighborhood and do not have steep hills, this is where I’d start — its lightweight so you may actually use it. If you get a big heavy scooter and have to carry it up/down stairs to ride it, you may find yourself just getting in the car instead.I have a much better/fancier scooter with more features, but now I only take it out when I need to go extended distances or tackle big hills. For all other trips, I am using this Gotrax. I even took it in the car on a weekend road trip so I’d have something with me in case I needed to run to a store to get something.