A few people asked me what its like so penned this review. Came out a bit longer than I intended :) so have had to split it to multiple posts, really must try and be a bit less verbose!
GoKart is a new electric golf trolley, designed and manufactured in Cantebury - a British product! It is priced at £199 all in - including the trolley, battery, charger and overnight delivery. It carries a 28 days no quibble returns policy, so if you don’t like it anytime within 28 days just call them and they'll arange for it to be collected and your money refunded. Its available mail order and internet order only. You can view and read about it at the GoKart website www.gokart.co.uk, also call them and speak with Sandy Catford, company partner, a charming and gracious lady who will talk to you intelligently and keenly, and answer your all questions.
I guess I am one of the first customer of a GoKart on the forum and have had several requests for info and opinion about the GoKart so thought I would put together this little review. These are my own opinions (and sometimes those of others who have viewed my trolley) and I have no connection with the company. These are "first reactions" and based on just using it a single round, so please accept that this isn't a long term usage review.
I have owned a Powakaddy for a couple of years, and apart from the usual small problem of the handle and front wheel bolts working loose it has performed flawlessly. Yet even the small wheelbase model I have is big, bulky, heavy and the scaffolding look never appealed, so when I saw the GoKart it immediately appealed as a lighter weight and smaller alternative.
LIKES - AWESOME Customer Service. A rarity in today's world that the company really does seem to put the customer first. Their responsiveness, openness, superb returns policy, long term support policy, and friendliness is a treat. - Lightweight and small footprint. Even with the battery installed the whole trolley is lighter in weight than any other leccy trolley I have tried or used, I can pick it up with one hand! It folds down well to a small footprint, I can now easily get the trolley and clubs in the boot of my car whereas with the Powakaddy I struggled. - Manouverability. Being much lighter in weight it’s just so much easier to navigate it around the course. I found the constant effort of steering the Powakaddy aggravated my bad back, but the GoKart didn't. - Tracking. It tracks very straight without the continual need for minor corrections, you really can just walk next to it. - Speed control. Speed is managed by a rotating finger operated wheel as are Powakaddies, but while it could be my imagination I seemed able to control the speed far more accurately with the GoKart, whether it just has a greater sensitivity I don't know. But for me was just easier and better than the Powakaddy. - Quirky looks. Its just different to everything else, and I don’t mind it's appearance, though if there was an option to have a grey/black rather than a grey/limey green I would go for the black. - Plenty of "oomph". My cart bag is a light weight Ogio carry bag that I don’t load up, so the trolley had less weight to move around than someone with a fully loaded tour bag, but there seemed so much power I have no doubts this will manage a steep climb fully laden. On a flat fairway I set it to max speed and the thing took off like a rocket, my old legs could barely catch up with it to stop it. - Price! £199 all in is a great price. - Company pedigree. Sandy of GoKart tells me they are the original developers and owners of both Powakaddy and Hill Billy, so they have been around and know their subject area.
NEUTRAL - Its plastic! I mean its ALL plastic! It's image is a bit plasticy and I doubt that is to everyone's taste, especially the limey green splashes of colour on the mainly neutral grey chassis. It doesn't worry me personally but showing it to several seniors and veterans that I golf with they went "yuck". I suspect a toned down alternative coloured model will need to be offered else a large potential customer base will be alienated by the limey green plastic appearance. - Trendiness. The appearance of the trolley itself, the website, and the supporting "documentation" all smacks of trendyism. Again this doesn’t really bother me, but for some potential owners it may well do so. - There is no brake. I have only used it on a flat course. On a hillier course that you may have problems parking it without the thing just running off on its own down a hill. The weight of my Powkaddy seems to be its own brake but I do think the GoKart needs some sort of parking brake. I have put this in the neutral comments as the lack of brake isn't a problem for me at the moment but I mention it as maybe it would be for you. - To keep the weight down GoKart recommend an 18 hole battery and purchasing a second one if required to play 36 holes. Makes sense, but the battery cover holds the entire trolley together when assembled and faces the bag. So if you want to change batteries you have to remove the bag. A minor irritation rather than a problem. - Lack of accessories. Not very important to me, but to some it may be. They say they are developing a brolly holder, and doubtless more will come in the future as accessories = sales. - Its basic. It lacks the frills that some other trolleys have. But hey, its £199 not £399!
DISLIKES - NOISE!! This, for me, is the show-stopper with the GoKart that I have used. The motor/gearbox make a whining type noise. Compared to the near silent Powakaddy and other leccy trolleys that I have heard being used, the GoKart was simply annoying. The noise isn't loud, but when you stop and turn it off you think "Thank goodness". I have discussed this with Sandy at GoKart and she says that you can hear the motor but usually its not loud and no-one has complained before, and that after several rounds when the gearing has bedded down the grating type noise will reduce. I am returning mine and she is going to have a listen and if its running as per spec in noise terms then is happy to issue me a refund, if I had a rogue one and they are generally much quieter then I shall try another. I have every faith and confidence in Sandy but from a personal perspective I don’t want to hear a motor when I am golfing, I want to hear the sounds of the countryside!
CONCERNS - Robustness? Eveything about this trolley is plastic, and some of it is a little flimsy. The wheels are plastic and push on to plastic hollow axles and slightly wobble/oscillate when in usage. The trolley is held together when unfolded by a couple of plastic lugs on the edges of the battery cover, the entire assembly relies on two small plastic lugs to hold it together. The front wheel assembly seems very flimsy, you can bend it easily. I believe even the internal gearbox mechanisms are plastic. We've all had plastic products and they do have a problem of getting brittle or soft with age and regular usage. The initial reaction of my friends, and my own was "this thing won't last!". Maybe we are wrong, I do hope so, but I have some doubts that this trolley will survive regular hard usage and being knocked around. The Kart is guaranteed for one year so you are safe for that first year, but my own gut feel is that while your Powakaddy is going strong several years after purchase the GoKart may well have passed on to the trolley park in the sky.
OVERALL I like the GoKart! It is quirky and different. Many of my first concerns evaporated with usage and became in my mind charming eccentricities. It has character! Its well priced with awesome customer service. Its weight, small footprint and ease of on course management is great. The noise of the motor is a big issue for me but maybe not for many other users. I do think it has limited appeal to the more “senior” golfer who tends to like something a bit more robust and less gaudy, but I think the marketing is aimed at a younger generation anyway.
Would I recommend it? If you are looking for a daily workhorse robust to last for half a lifetime, to kock-it-around throw-it-in-the-car-boot clamber-over-hills type of electric trolley then the GoKart might not be robust enough for you. If you are looking for a small light-weight leccy trolley, almost a motorised push cart, for lighter or occasional usage, then it may well be the one for you. With the no quibble 28 returns policy then you have nothing to lose by trying one, if you like it then keep it, if you don’t then return it and get your money back. Go on, give it a try!
And after all that I still managed to spell leccy wrong in the title!
A comprehensive report Creo and much appreciated as I was interested to know a bit more about this innovative product.
I currently have a Hill Billy HiLite and it has proved to be tough and reliable, despite having a fair proportion of glass reinforced plastic components. I think modern plastics are a lot tougher than they seem - and are used a lot in car construction, so a golf trolley shouldn't be a problem. The HiLite also has a lighter and more powerful motor than the original Compact, unfortunately this comes at the price of slightly more noise. I hardly notice it now however.
The GoKart looks a professionally designed evolution of the electric golf trolley and may well be on my list of a suitable replacement when the Hill Billy packs up.
Excellent review Creo. Your effort is appreciated. I'm interested because I currently have a pipsqueak of a car & nothing else electric would go near, however - wheels off - I reckon this trolley could work.
Your concerns about the "plasticky" would concern me also. Having never owned a leccy trolley before I wouldn't know what to compare to so if it is that you get another one back (i.e. reduced noise) it will be interesting to see how it fairs over a few rounds.
Sorry, I feel slightly embarrassed that the thing grew so long, just didnt wanna leave something out, then someone get one and say "but you didnt mention the xyz".
I'm really interested in buying one of these - birthday coming up so need to treat myself.
My course is hilly, and some holes have some very steep slopes.
I play usually at least once a week April - October (sometimes twice) and about twice a month in the winter.
From your gut instinct, do you think the Go kart is durable enough for my needs?
I'm worried that it's going to break down after a year. I've heard so many stories of lower priced trolleys doing that and I can't afford a higher priced one.
Andrew - I only used the GK for a round, and wheeling it up and down the road outside my house, so durability of the electronics and mechanics I am unable to give any real opinion on. My "gut feel" is that it will probably be ok from that perspective. My own durability issues regarding the battery cover clips that hold it all together are still a bit of concern in my own mind, but I would hate to deter potential purchasers from trying it on the basis of what is really a personal view. It is inexpensive, but my opinion is that its not really "cheap", more a case of good value.
Head C and Simon - The "noise" aspect has been investigated and my trolley was performing as to spec. Therefore I have to say that it IS noisy compared to say a Powakaddy but probably not so noisy compared to some other trolleys. It may well be that its the sort of thing that one does get used to and the brain sorta of filters it out after a while. For me, the sound of a troley is an important aspect as I am out in the countryside, away from the general mechanical noise of society, and so I don't wish to hear that noise. At the moment this means that I am not a GoKart user, but should a future development of the product reduce the noise level I will buy one immediately.
I must add on my personal experience of the company, that the service has been so good and so exemplary that I urge you to try one out! The no quibble guarantee really is that. If you get one, try it and do not wish to keep it within 28 days, merely contact Sandy at GoKart and she will organise the trolley to be collected and returned to them, and once back at base will issue an immediatte refund. Hard to believe that a company does stand by its word in this day and age, but from my own experience they do exactly what it says on the tin.
It's my birthday in 2 weeks time. If I can get enough money I think I'm going to buy one. My push trolley is becoming too much of a slog and I find if I carry I only use one shoulder because if I use both, the bag lies flat and clubs fall out.
I'm seriously considering one - my chinese trolley is not feeling very well due to poor build quality so it's looking like an upgrade is due and as my new course is very hilly, could be a good test
Got mine yesterday. Tried it out today with some initial tribulations. I have a large TaylorMade R7 staff bag. When I put it on the trolley so the side of the bag was on the frame of the trolley it pulled sideways. Putting the bag on the trolley this way gave me access to all the pockets.
However when I put the bag on so the weight was evenly distributed the trolley pulled straight.
First impressions where great, purely for research purposes I did 32 holes today and the battery still hadn't died. I agree with Creo, the drive is abit noisey. Sounds to me like gear mesh, which should get quieter.
It packs down to a very small size, wheels come off very easy. Takes abit of practice to get the battery in place but it's ok.
So far so good. For £200 delivered with a top notch warranty it seems like a steal. I will do thorough testing over the next month purely for research of course, did I mention the 30 day money back gaurantee. If you are thinking about getting one do it, try it, and send it back if you don't like it. How can you lose !
