Watt's the Way Forward?

We get our hands on the latest electric scooter, the Okinawa Ridge. Does it have what it takes to charge head first into a growing market?

- Jim Gorde

OKINAWA, APART from the electric-scooter maker, is also a Japanese island. That it’s a military base which holds half the United States military stationed in Japan is onething, but the inhabitants of Okinawa Island, the Ryukyuan, are among the longest-living people, with a ratio of 34 centenarians — people above the age of 100 — per 100,000 people. That’s thrice more than mainland Japan. Right, the other one, Okinawa Autotech, have entered the electric scooter segment with the Ridge. And if you’re on the lookout for combustion- and emission-free mobility with decent pace, the Ridge is something to take a closer look at.

Weighing 96 kg, the Okinawa Ridge is a rather well-designed scooter. It has some sharp curves and flowing lines that don’t make it seem like a lighter electric scooter. It looks substantial enough as an everyday workhorse and has the specs on paper to make it seem like it is indeed. Is it, though?