To start off, even I will admit that 1,399$ is a lot for this board. This thing gets you noticed and attracts a lot of attention, from dogs *and* humans. It is definitely an easy conversation starter, and there is a lot of happiness to be shared until people hear that it would set them back 1,399$ (plus tax) to get one.
Prior to about a year ago or so, I had never ridden a skateboard in my life. Never stepped foot in one, and was seldom in the presence of a skateboard. Then, I purchased the YUNEEC E-GO Cruiser board. It was built pretty well, had a bit of flex to it, decently long range, and was dead-simple to maneuver. The only setback, for me, was that it was slow and really weak.
Being new to electric skateboards, and skateboards in general, even going 5 miles per hour on the E-GO felt fast and uncomfortable, at first. Eventually, this feeling wore off, and I quickly started to realize just how slow the board was. Even if it had a top speed of about 13mph, the experience was unenjoyable because the board was weak. Extremely low acceleration due to the single 400W rear motor. If you were not on a flat surface, it was near impossible to get the board moving (with you standing on it). Thus, you mostly had to kick-push and have it moving before you pushed on the throttle. This is good, normally, and would even save you a bit of battery by making the board work less, but this was worrying because it limited the functionality of the board all-together.
Not only would it be poor upon starting, it would be a poor finisher. To clarify, the braking on the E-GO was super weak, and if you were going down even a slight decline, you had to be super cautious, and super *slow*.
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The Inboard M1, on the other hand, has dual rear motors at 1600W. Much more powerful than my former E-GO. To be as honest and unbiased as possible, even my M1 sometimes will not budge if it is on even a slight incline. Not sure if that is because of user (my) error, or if it would require some serious, unheard-of torque to pull off, considering the payload (I weigh about 195lbs, and am 6'4" in height).
I have researched the entire electric skateboard industry for over a year, and had even pre-ordered an Evolve Carbon GT 2-in-1 skateboard, which had *much* more range than this, *much* more power (3000W motor), had huge all-terrain wheels that you could easily swap with fast street wheels, and looked incredibly sexy.
The only problem was it was incredibly expensive, comparably, and the company has been offering 'pre-orders' of the board for over a year now. Also, it had an extremely touchy/sensitive remote that could be extremely dangerous.
Thus, I decided to cancel my 2,400$ pre-order of that board in July, and have waited ever since for something new to show up.
I saw the Inboard on Shark Tank, and had been reading up on its progress on Kickstarter, but did not back it. Then, it came to Best Buy, and I felt I had to get it. Being able to order it from this site means you can get it quickly, and can also return it quickly and [hopefully] without hassle in-store. Furthermore, they even let you add a Geek Squad plan in case something might happen to your board, which is extremely handy because you will almost always be riding in an unpredictable environment, and given that you are standing on a skateboard with a *remote* in-hand to power it, you are held by the will of the machine.
Once you get over the fact that it is a dangerous undertaking, and can result in things like injury and death, you might want to start considering this board.
For me, I got it to cruise around on the streets and my college campus. I did not really get it for any specific need, though. I did not need to get this board, and I doubt anybody actually *needs* one. However, there is something to be said about the thrill you experience when you ride one that I am unable to convey through words. You honestly just have to try it. Whether it is an Inboard, or a Boosted Board, or an Enertion Raptor, or even a YUNEEC E-GO, just try one and you will hopefully get hooked.
I am writing this review as a seemingly general overview of the electric skateboard industry because I know many people will not be buying a product of this kind given that it is new, and extremely expensive. Yes, 1,400$ is a *lot* of money for a skateboard, electric or not.
What made me give it five stars, though, is the experience. The board only offers you so much. They can advertise 1600W dual in-wheel motors, 7-10 miles with swappable batteries, an included carrying case, ease-of-use, et cetera, but they cannot accurately describe the experience you have. 'Fun' is an understatement.
Honestly, I am usually extremely shy, introverted, and scared to try new things. I am even scared to ride this board sometimes because I am scared of something happening and am not confident enough in myself at times. When I do get on and ride, though, I am always happy I did. Once you get past the beginner's curve, the board starts to shine. It would still feel fast going at 5 miles per hour for a beginner. I am only just starting to get comfortable with the second, intermediate mode, which I believe caps out at about 14 miles per hour. I cannot describe to you the experience I will have once I start riding in the 'pro' mode, which goes up to 24 miles per hour. That is -really- fast for a skateboard, yet I am already experiencing such a thrill going 14 miles per hour.
The board has a pretty good acceleration curve after the firmware update they released, and right out of the box, you will have a smile on your face. Inboard put a lot of detail into this board. From the touch-link on the back of the board to connect it to your remote, to how the deck and under-body are designed, to the carrying case in the box, to the tail of the remote sitting underneath your hand to prevent dropping it, all the way down to the packaging materials, warnings, and the manual.
The battery is incredibly easy to take out and charge. You twist open the battery cover and pop the battery out (will take you at most 7 seconds). Then, you plug the charger into the wall and put its magnetic end on the top corner of the battery (will take you another 7 seconds or so), and that is it.
You can easily swap out these batteries in under half a minute. 7-10 miles might not seem like a lot, but if you are only riding in small time/distance bursts, it might actually last you a few days before you have to charge. If you buy an extra battery, you could ride for over a week in that case.
Technically, the battery life of this is indefinite, considering you could have lots and lots of batteries. In that case, you would have more batteries than dollars in your bank account, considering even the batteries are over 200$.
Price is really the only detriment to any of this. If the batteries were like 149$, I would probably buy two of them so I could go on really long cruises. If I were to buy two now, it would be about 500$, nearing half the price of the board itself.
I am sure there will be sales, and the costs to make these will drop as the industry matures. For now, they are costly, and not many people will buy them. For those that are considering it, I highly recommend it. The Inboard is great for riders of all experience levels. I have never ridden an actual skateboard (which they assume you know how to do so you know how to foot-brake and the like ...oops) and am already comfortable on this board once I actually go out and ride it. I cannot express how enjoyable it is. You will find out once you try. Even going 5 miles per hour is incredibly satisfying once you are starting off.
It is pretty practical, too, and could replace a bike on some commutes, or could be used in place of walking to work, for example, to get there quicker. You could ride it to work, charge it at work, and ride it home all while saving money on gas.
If you want to pick up girls or something, I am sure you could. Even if you have never talked to one, and one has never noticed you, they will definitely notice your board, even if they have never ridden one. In any case, please do not buy this just to pick up girls. If she breaks up with you, she will probably steal it. That is another 1,399$ you would have to spend.
A long review, this was, but I hope it was helpful to people, especially those who have never heard of, or are new to the industry. Those people were the primary point-of-focus behind this review because I am sure they are one of the focal points of the company itself right now, considering they want more and more people to try, and buy, their product.
