Skip’s new electric scooter is equipped with waterproof batteries

Electric scooters are prone to a lot of wear and tear -- which gives most of them a pretty short shelf life. Skip unveiled a new model of electric scooter, the S3, that should be tougher and more sustainable than its predecessor. The S3 includes swappable batteries that are also waterproof, which both cuts back on the time it needs to be charged and saves it from an untimely death at the bottom of a pond.

Skip's new model also includes a few safety upgrades. Larger, shock-absorbing wheels and a wider deck should ensure a more stable ride. Evening riders will be more visible due to new lights located in both the front and rear of the scooter. A new braking system is equipped with a drum and motor foot brake for redundancy. The S3 also has rear-wheel drive and improved torque, which will help riders navigate hilly landscapes or wet surfaces.

According to Skip, the new design incorporates a year's worth of rider's feedback. It's also meant to increase the lifespan of the electric scooters, which were never designed to withstand hundreds of casual, occasionally inexperienced users. "Skip S3 was designed to address the largest challenges in scooter mobility," said Skip cofounder and CEO Sanjay Dastoor in a press release. "The fleet scooters currently in-market were never designed for shared use, so while consumer interest is strong, the industry is stalled by scooter lifecycle, durability, safety, and inefficiencies." Skip will be testing the new S3 models in San Francisco, with full rollout expected in the fall.

The San Francisco-based Skip is only the latest electric scooter company to make improvements to its last-mile solution. Bird recently released a more durable model to thwart vandals -- it comes with puncture-proof tires and anti-theft encryption. Earlier this summer, Uber unveiled a hardier, second-generation Jump electric scooter. With electric scooter use on the rise, the new models should be built to withstand the harshest elements.