Windseeker Electric Skateboard

Long distance e-skateboard: alternative to e-scooters in some situations

Electric scooters and bikes are the most common forms of personal micro-mobility because they are easy to use. Electric skateboards are trickier to learn but provide benefits in terms of weight and size, being more portable and more power efficient than scooters.This electric skateboard is a cool way to have some fun or even do trips of considerable distance on paved roads in clear weather.This electric board is great fun whether sitting or standing. The board isn’t designed for sitting, and this is reflected in the lack of suspension – a task that would normally be handled by the rider’s legs. But if you can find a smooth enough surface, it works just fine for sitting – in fact, maybe even a bit better than standing if your plan is just to rely entirely on electric power, since a sitting person produces less drag.When sitting, the remote control allows starting from a complete stop, unlike e-scooters that require you to manually kick off before it will deliver any powerThe control scheme for these electric boards and scooters is weird: the remote control is a combination of throttle and cruise control. If you push the slider towards “accelerate”, it will simultaneously increase the power and preset speed in a way that when you let go, the board will slow down a little and then maintain a lower speed. A flick the opposite way will reduce your speed, and holding it down for a few seconds will result in a complete stop. The electric brake isn’t abrupt, it is not like a physical brake but it also won’t cause skidding. The brake is also helpful for getting on the skateboard without a nearby object for support.Thanks to the high power motor, the skateboard has no problem accelerating from a stop, on rough surfaces, and climbing grades – that said, the manual does say it is designed only for flat, paved surfaces.The skateboard makes getting on and standing easy for new skaters. While tutorials for unpowered skateboards suggest grabbing onto a lamp post or similar structure to stand on it, you can get on the skateboard much earlier in the learning process without relying on external support, simply by holding down the electric brake, which keeps the skateboard from sliding around (too much). On a smooth surface that doesn’t disturb the motion of the board, the skateboard is very easy to use as intended.There doesn’t appear to be a waterproof rating for this board, although there aren’t significant ingress points and the charger has a rubber door. I wouldn’t use this board over small puddles, or in any precipitation more than a light shower.In terms of value, one might compare this skateboard to cheaper e-skateboards. While there are many e-skateboards in the $200 range, those skateboards charge slower and have quite a low range, and don’t have enough power for more challenging tasks. A typical $200 skateboard has a 60wh battery, which is quite small and only provides around 6 miles of range. Such skateboards take 2 hours to charge, meaning you only get around 4 miles of range per hour of charging. Compared to those skateboards, this skateboard has 216wh of battery capacity, giving it more power and far more usable range. The included 84W charger can consume as much as 100W, delivering around 7 miles of range per hour of charging.

Eric