Riding the ZBoard 2 at CES 2017! The ZBoard 2 is a weight-sensing electric skateboard that's easy to ride. Plus, it looks super rad.
If you’re like me, you’re always on the go. Whether you’re a fellow college student like me, or a resident of a large metropolitan city, or someone who is just always going from place to place; sometimes it gets tiring carrying stuff and walking miles and miles. Well, I have good news for you because this is the ZBoard. It’s actually the ZBoard 2. It’s a weight-sensing electric skateboard that lets you cruise around and rip up some pavement in serious style.
The ZBoard 2 comes in two flavors-- the blue edition and the pearl edition. Essentially, you get an electric skateboard that uses weight-sensing as an input device regardless of which model you pick up. They differ by range, color of the deck and the weight. The blue edition is their least expensive entry at $1299 and it features a maximum speed of 20mph, a range of 16 miles and a weight of 17 lbs. It’s able to recharge in around 3.5 hours. The pearl edition comes in at $1499 and a darker shade of a maple wood deck. It has the same 20mph top speed but an even more monster 24 miles of range and a weight of 19 lbs to house the larger battery that recharges in around 4.5 hours. Both boards include integrated headlights and taillights for safety when riding in a congested area or if you’re on the road.
I’m definitely not a seasoned skateboarder. My experience on this skateboard is pretty much nil but I am an avid cyclist and I would consider myself a very balanced student being. I was handed the ZBoard 2 as I was coming out the CES hall and learned all the way to a hotel nearby. Basically, it was a petting zoo of tens of thousands of people at CES. By the time I got there, I felt pretty comfortable riding around and controlling the board. It’s a fairly seamless experience. All you need to do is bend your knees like you’re riding a board and place the ball of your foot on the front pad. The more pressure you apply to the front pad, the faster you go. Power delivery was very linear and in no way did I feel like the board was going to slide from underneath me. If you want to slow down or go backwards, place the back foot on the rear pad and apply some pressure. Again, very simple. Turning is just as easy too. Just lean in the direction you want to go and the tracks will move and allow you to make turns. Again, all very simple and easy to pick up for a novice like me.
In the hour of riding we did, I felt fairly confident in myself riding one of these. Consider riding one of these for a few days. I think I would be as comfortable as the co-founder Ben Forman himself. I think the ZBoard 2 is literally one of the most seamless experiences around for an electric skateboard. Riding one is smooth, calming and very controllable. I definitely trust the hardware beneath my feet and I really enjoyed riding the ZBoard 2.
So you’re probably wondering where you can get one of these. They’re currently available at ZBoardShop.com. I know I can’t wait to get one of these and use it around school and elsewhere.