Electric Skateboard Buying Guide

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Like hoverboards and electric scooters before them, electric skateboards are growing quickly in popularity. Electric skateboards can take you places at speeds approaching 25 mph, without having to exert the manual labor of pushing the board to your destination.

In addition to the main components of your grandad’s skateboard (deck, wheels, trucks), electric skateboards also come packed with mechanical and electric components, including a motor, wireless speed controller, pulleys, and a rechargeable battery. Not all electric skateboards, however, are created equal, and there are some design factors you should consider before making a purchase. 

RELATED: Best Skate Shoes For Men

For starters, you should consider what you plan to use the board for – just cruising around town, seeking an adrenaline rush, getting to and from work, traveling on rough terrain. You’ll also want to factor in your skill range and how frequently you are going to use the board before opening up your wallet for some pricey features. The price range for electric skateboards starts in the low hundreds but can reach up to thousands of dollars.  

Below are the main design features to consider:

Location: You don’t take a street bike to the mountains. The same rule should apply for your electronic skateboard based on the terrain. Wheel types will be a factor in this decision-making process, as will how steep a hill the board can climb. 

Stability: How your board handles your movements will be based on the weight, length, and construction material of the board (flexible or firm).

Speed: This one is pretty simple. If you are a beginner, you’re not going to need to pin the odometer, so speed shouldn’t be the biggest factor. Adrenaline junkies are going to want to push it to the limit. Most boards that can crank up the speed come equipped with at least four different speed modes – from beginner at about 10 mph maximum, and then up to 25 mph for more experienced riders.

Battery: If you are taking the skateboard on a 10-mile round trip for work every day, or know you are going to be spending long days on the weekend cruising with your crew, getting a board with a high-quality, long-range battery is going to be important. Charging times can range from an hour up to five hours to get your board fully juiced up for the road. The type of board, your weight, and how fast you are going will determine how far a full charge will take you. Ranges start at about 10 miles and go up to nearly 20 for some of the higher-priced boards.  

We dug into some online reviews – both from experts and customers – to produce recommendations on a range of different types and models that touch upon all these features. 

Before we get started, a little disclaimer: If you’re inexperienced or you’ve never picked up a skateboard before, make sure you ease into it and wear the proper protection. You’re not going to look cool and you’re probably going to wind up breaking something if you’re wobbling all over the place.  

Best Electronic Skateboard

Boosted Stealth Electric Skateboard

Price: $1,599 from Amazon

Top Speed: 24 mph

Range: 14 miles

Charge Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Weight: 17 pounds

The only con is the price tag, because this board checks all the boxes. 

The 24-mph peak speed is on the high end of the odometer, as is the 14-mile extended range. At just under two hours, the charge time for that extended range is among the best on the market. 

There are five different ride modes from Eco to Hyper speed, which you control with a remote that is Bluetooth-enabled. Having a few beginner — i.e., slower — modes available makes the longboard accessible to newcomers. 

The reviews are in, and everyone agrees that the ergonomic grip on the remote — which also displays your battery status — is very comfortable. The Boosted app can also let you track your rides and determine your range based on your ride mode, among other features. 

Boosted advertises that the Super Flex composite deck, and other enhancements, are “specifically designed to travel 1,500 miles a year at speeds over 20 mph.”

Boosted also offers more basic models that don’t have quite the speed and all of the features of the Stealth, and can be had at a lower cost (Check out the Boosted Plus on Amazon for $1,399 or the Boosted Mini X for $999).

Best Electric Skateboards for Off-Roading Adventures

MotoTec 1600W Off Road Electric Skateboard

Price: $629 from Walmart

Top speed: 22 mph

Range: 10 miles

Charge time: 3 to 5 hours

Weight: 71 pounds

Dual 800-watt motors — one on each back wheel — and 10-inch, air-filled, treaded tires that can trek through the beach and the woods are the highlights of the MotoTec 1600W Off Road Electric Skateboard. 

The board can go from 0 to 15 mph in 3.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 22 mph, with speeds controlled by a three-speed wireless controller that you pair with the board. An LED battery meter display lets you know how much time you have left on your ride. The deck on the MotoTec is 12-ply maple.

At 71 pounds, it’s not a board you’re going to want to lug around when you’re not riding it. The weight will also factor into your turning radius.

The 36-volt battery takes between three and five hours to fully charge, with an advertised riding range of 10 miles. 

The MotoTec 600 Watt Electric Skateboard Street model comes at a cheaper price ($339), but it is stripped of some of the rugged features that make the all-terrain model our recommended option. 

Best Electric Skateboards for Beginners

Razor X Electric Skateboard Cruiser

Price: $149 from Walmart

Top Speed: 10 mph

Range: Up to 40 minutes

Charge Time: 6 hours

Weight: 10.5 pounds

The Razor X Cruiser is like the cheap, extra car you might keep around if you know you are going to be teaching someone to drive soon. You are sacrificing some bells and whistles because you don’t want to do damage to something expensive when you are on a learning curve. 

The 125-watt motor on the Razor X Cruiser will only get you up to a top speed of 10 mph, lowering the risk of serious injury while learning on the fly. You will probably want to keep it plugged in as often as possible, as the charge time could take up to six hours to get you up to 40 minutes of use. 

At 10.5 pounds and built with a 5-ply maple deck, the board is relatively light, and the wheels will provide a good grip on the ground. 

The price tag is well below most models, but that is based on it being designed for beginners who are not quite ready to jump on with both feet, or a young member of your family who is just getting into skateboarding (recommended age is 9 and up). You can trade up for a more expensive model once you become more comfortable riding and want to kick up the speed. 

Best of Both Worlds

Evolve Bamboo GT Series 2in1

Price: $1,649 from Amazon

Top Speed: 26 mph

Range: 21 miles street, 12 miles all-terrain

Charge Time: 3.5 hours

Weight: 21 pounds

No matter the terrain, the Evolve Bamboo GT Series 2in1 is going to get you to some of the top speeds offered on an electric skateboard.

The 2in1 option is a little pricier than the street or all-terrain models sold individually, but it gives you the option of swapping out your tires based on the terrain you will be traveling on. The range is about 9 miles shorter on the all-terrain version, but the 3,000-watt motor will allow you to reach nearly the same speeds with either option (22-26 mph on the street; 22-25 mph on the all-terrain). The 7-ply Canadian Maple, 2-ply Bamboo laminated deck has a sharp design. 

The handheld remote has a magnetic trigger for changing speeds and allows you to cycle through four different speed modes. The GT mode will give you a 25 percent gradient for climbing hills. You can also view real-time data on your speed and distance, as well as board diagnostics on the remote display. 

The charge time is a little long, at 3.5 hours, and it’s not the lightest board at 21 pounds, but the benefits of being able to take the board anywhere and get a similar experience outweigh these cons.  

Electric Skateboards With the Best Design Features

Spadger Electric Skateboard D5X Plus

Price: $499.89 from Amazon

Top Speed: 23 mph

Range: 12 miles

Charge Time: 2-3 hours

Weight: 19.5 pounds

Max Load: 264 pounds

The Spadger D5X Plus is built solid for handling most terrains without sacrificing other impressive design features. 

Spadger advertises that the board is fireproof and shockproof and built with 85-percent explosion-proof (military) materials. The board also features two 450-watt motors, a 25-percent grade climbing radius, and a tight turning radius from the flexible build. 

Four speed modes — from the beginner at up to 9 mph to the Pro at up to 23 mph — are controlled via remote. The top speed can be reached in 3.5 seconds for a rider weighing 165 pounds. Spadger says the tires will last you about 310 miles. 

Using the Spadger app, you can create 30 different light modes that not only look cool, but double as a safety measure for riding at night. You can also set up lights that change with the rhythm of the music coming out of the board’s built-in Bluetooth speaker.