Everyone has different needs and preferences for electric skateboards so I’ll list what I feel you should look into at this moment based on different use cases and budgets.
These are based on what I’ve tried or what I know from people I trust. I didn’t list the many brands and boards that I’m not familiar with. Also note the publish date of this post—I can’t time travel and review boards from the future.
Please be aware that I place very little value on raw power and care a lot more about things like design aesthetics, user experience, quality-of-life features, innovation, and affordability.
Use Cases
Tight Budgets
If you’re dipping your toes into electric skateboarding or just don’t want to spend too much, here are the brands with boards under $500 that I think you should look into (in alphabetical order).
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Portable
If you frequently need to pick up your board such as to get on public transit, go in and out of classrooms, or walk up or down stairs, you’ll want something easy to carry. Here are what I’d use (in order of my personal preference for portability).
Exway Wave
Among portable boards, the Exway Wave is by far the most feature-rich. It comes with your choice of a 180Wh standard battery or a 99Wh travel battery, both of which are swappable in a few seconds without any tools. Headlights and a brakelight are built-in. For air travel, I don’t think any other electric skateboard comes close in practicality and convenience.
WowGo Mini 2
There’s nothing particularly special about the WowGo Mini 2 except that it’s quite good-looking for its price. (There are a lot of ugly short boards.) The Mini 2 is only available with hub motors but you can choose to have Cloudwheel Donuts for a less jarring ride.
Tynee Mini 2
The Tynee Mini 2 has an unusually high battery capacity (and therefore long range) in a small package, which is a big plus for many people. At 8 kg it’s one of the heavier shortboards, but not by much.
Exway X1 Max
At 8 kg, the Exway X1 Max wouldn’t make it to this “Portable” list if it didn’t have its sleek unibody and balanced design. Most boards this size and weight have dual enclosures and tend to be front- and back-heavy, but the X1 Max has its weight more evenly distributed, making it easier to pick up and carry. It is also long enough to be pulled.
Backfire Era 2
At just 7.4 kg, the Backfire Era 2 is quite light for an electric longboard by today’s standard. If you don’t feel like carrying it, it is long enough to be pulled with minimal effort.
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Longboard Size
Not too big and not too small, the longboard size electric skateboards are more carryable than heavier boards and take less effort to ride than shortboards. Here are my personal favorites from this category (in alphabetical order).
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All-Terrain
All-terrain electric skateboards, sometimes known as 2-in-1, are the do-it-all boards. Put on urethane wheels for longboard-like carving, or pneumatic tires for improved comfort and some off-road capability. Here are my recommendations (in order of my personal preference).
Exway Atlas Pro (and Atlas)
The Exway Atlas Pro is by far the most modular and advanced electric skateboard today without going DIY. No other production board supports an add-on battery pack that more than doubles the stock range, and no other board comes close to its ridiculously fast recharge capability. Even the base models in 2WD and 4WD offer great value for performance and features. In the few months that this board has been out, the board has already received a number of performance and feature upgrades via OTA firmware updates—another Exway specialty.
Onsra Black Carve 3
At first glance, the Onsra Black Carve 3 may look like a small update to the excellent Black Carve 2, but some of the changes are quite significant. The most notable difference is the new remote with its large 1.3″ display and excellent menu system that allows you to easily fine-tune the board’s performance. The unique take on TKP trucks is confidence-inspiring for both speed and carving. (Review video in production!)
Tynee Explorer
The Tynee Explorer stands out for its exceptional ride comfort. Something about its deck dampens road vibrations and bumps unlike other flexible decks. The performance is customizable via its remote’s menu.
Meepo Hurricane Ultra (and Hurricane)
The Meepo Hurricane, now available with a carbon fiber or bamboo deck, offers high performance and a good range of aftermarket parts.
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Off-Road
I am not very familiar with off-road boards, which differ from the “all-terrain” category in that these are much more capable of riding on uneven trails and grass. Here are three that I would look into if I were looking into off-road electric skateboards. I would actually prefer other types of PEVs for off-roading though.
Off-Road Cruiser
Mountainboards
- Apex Predator*
- Acedeck Nyx Z1*
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* The boards marked with an asterisk are ones I have not personally tried, but they are boards I would look into for their respective use cases.