LAS VEGAS—"We have completely redesigned everything."

One of the more reputable brands to emerge out of the Great Hoverboard Swamp of 2015, Swagway made the X1, our favorite two-wheeled scooter of the year: inexpensive, but easy to control and unlikely to explode. But company president John Zhu knows that he needs to do more if Swagway's going to survive into 2016, a tough environment which has already seen a patent lawsuit from rival Razor and all scooters banned on major U.S. airlines.

Thus, the Swagtron, Swagway's new $499 scooter. It looks like a hoverboard, but it's been subtly redesigned to be safer, more durable, and easier to use.

How It Rides
The redesign starts with the outer cover, which is a more durable plastic than on the original X1. My X1 tended to scratch up a lot when I was first learning it, and the new model looks less easily marked.

The Swagtron will come in two models: one with quad Bluetooth speakers under the body, and one without. Both models have a handy carrying strap, which the original Swagway X1 and competitors did not. The Bluetooth model will work with an Android or iOS app that includes an odometer and speedometer, as well as controls to switch between the Swagway's easy-handling "learning" and jumpier "sport" modes. That really demystifies use.

I took a ride on two of the units. They're still prototypes, and the steering on one was quite stiff. In learning mode, they're easy to step on to—they don't jump away from you. They rode like Swagway X1s, so, pretty comfortably. They max out at about 8mph and have the same battery capacity as last year's units, Zhu said—that's about 7.5 miles with slight hills, or 12 miles on a flat surface. It no loger beeps repeatedly when you go fast.

Legal Flames
I asked Zhu directly about the two biggest problems his company faces: lawsuits, and the whole industry's tendency for products to go up in flames.

Razor and Ninebot now claim to have patents that apply to almost all hoverboards. Segway is suing Swagway and Razor, and Razor is suing the other two as well. Lauren Song, a spokeswoman for Swagway, said "legal counsel strongly feels [Razor's] patent is going to be invalid once they come down to it."

Swagway, meanwhile, is fighting its own battle against counterfeit models that use its name. Song has said that supposedly Swagway-branded hoverboards that have gone up in flames, such as one in New York City, were probably counterfeits. While Swagway and the counterfeits look alike, changing the design will help Swagway differentiate itself, Zhu said.

The company has also "introduced a lot of safety features to make sure that safety is the primary concern," Zhu said. While Swagway has always used Samsung batteries and insulated wiring, the new Swagtron is made of a more rugged, fire-resistant plastic, and it will have a "sentry shield," a physical component that protects the battery.

"It's a specially designed chamber to contain the beast of lithium [batteries]," Zhu joked.

Swagway is also working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create a set of best practices and testing standards for the industry, he said.

The Swagtron will launch in February at $499. We'll have a review.