I grew up skateboarding and progressed to a level where I could consistently ride into eight foot bowls pulling tricks like rock to fakie, blunt stalls and axle grinds. Eventually, I took up longboarding for transportation and because I was obsessed with surfing I learned to power slide and even ollie into manuals across sidewalks and grass. I owned several Sector 9 Cosmic 2 model boards throughout college and loved how light, fast and flexible they were. The Boosted electric skateboard reminded me of these experiences on sight but quickly transformed my behavior and expectations upon mounting and accelerating. The Loaded Vanguard platform itself is made with fiberglass reinforced bamboo (like my Sector 9). It’s light and squishy but lacks a tail for doing tricks or quick pivot turns. The wheels are large and grippy, Orangatang In Heat 75 mm, and I love the orange that ties into the tic mark at the front of the board as well as the Boosted logo. Everything looks great and rides well but I highly suggest tuning the truck stiffness if you’re a lighter individual like myself. I found it difficult to carve at first because and actually fell off a couple times trying to turn at high speed. Once things were dialed in with the board I started adjusting to the increased weight. At 15 pounds this is significantly heavier than a normal skateboard and there’s a jolt of momentum that carries the board forward when kicking that I didn’t expect, normally I’m sort of dragging the board forward with my planted foot and able to steer easily in this position. Once on the board and coasting, it slows down quickly due to the belts connected to the canister motors. I’m sure this drag would be decreased on the entry level board that only has one motor but it’s still there.
the Dual+ is the most expensive, fastest and most powerful electric skateboard from Boosted. It delivers 2,000 watts of effective power through two 1,000 watt direct drive canister motors. As mentioned earlier, these are tied into the rear wheels and that creates some drag when used without power. In my opinion, the board is a lot of work to use on its own for this reason but this design is also what enables regeneration. As you coast, the magnets inside the motors are passing a stater and repelling, this generates electricity as you coast and at a greater level when you roll the throttle back to brake. The motors are fairly quiet and well positioned on the board, they don’t elevate the deck or get in the way when riding and the belts are also well positioned. The motors add significant weight towards the back of the board but are somewhat balanced by the battery at the front and I love the symmetrical layout of these systems. Just in front of the motor mounts is a controller with integrated heat sink fins. I can’t comment on water resistance but the on/off switch towards the front is rubberized and there is a cap for the charging port so I’d assume things are pretty well sealed.
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the battery pack other than its size. At 99 watt hours the pack offers enough capacity for 4.5 to 7 mile rides depending on the mode you choose. Of course, the faster you ride and the more rough terrain or hills you encounter the quicker it drains. I’d imagine that rider weight also plays a role as well. You can easily take the charger along with you on rides for a quick top off… 30 minutes gets you ~85% but a full charge is closer to one hour because the controller slows fill rate as cells are balanced. The chemistry of this battery pack is Lithium Iron Phosphate which is known for being very long lasting (Boosted Boards estimates 2,000 cycles) and that’s awesome. You get a six month warranty with the board but I’d expect it to last several years if properly charged and stored. Avoid extreme heat and cold to keep the batteries in good shape.
Operating the Dual+ is just like the Dual or Single Boosted boards which all have an orange rubberized button near the front of the deck underneath on top of the battery pack. Press this in and note the LED light that that indicates power level. From here, flip it over and switch on the wireless controller. This thing’s shaped like a pistol but isn’t especially long so hopefully law enforcement won’t freak out when they see you shredding the gnar on your way to class or work. It fit into my palm comfortably and was very intuitive to use. Basically, you pull a thin kill switch along the lower part of the handle by squeezing the unit and then use your thumb to roll the throttle forward or back. This thing can be used by right or left handed riders and feels pretty durable but it would be easy to drop or lose and it would be neat to see a clip or something on the bottom of the deck in the future to help store both items together. The controller uses its own batteries but isn’t especially heavy, it will take up one of your hands but shouldn’t effect balance too much while riding. Overall, it’s a good system but I was surprised how responsive the throttle can be in expert mode. I was definitely pushing my limits when testing the board and threw myself off several times… thankfully due to the cogging and belt drag on the board it didn’t go flying off and hit a curb like my traditional skateboards would have. The wireless controller make this thing function like a remote control and you can actually drive it around while not onboard. If you were moving a box of junk down the street for example, you could set it on the board and walk alongside while remotely powering it all forward. Awesome.
In short, the Boosted Dual+ is one of the coolest electric transporters I’ve tested. The drawbacks are all tied to it being electric (heavy and drag inducing). There are lots of styles for accelerating and controlling electric boards and I liked the wireless controller used here (some use pressure sensors on the board for control). The platform is solid, looks cool and feels durable by my tests were somewhat limited. This isn’t a cheap system at all but it could be an enabler if you live a mile or two from the train station or bus stop and enjoy sleeping in. You can still fall for normal skateboard reasons with the Boosted Board (large cracks come to mind) and there isn’t a suspension system built in (just the large rubber wheels) so if you’re not familiar with normal skateboarding it could take some getting used to. I definitely recommend starting out in eco mode and it’s easiest to kick off a bit before accelerating but with time it becomes second nature.
Jeff
7 years agoI love your site!!! Please do a review on Marbel board it is lighter and has more range than the boosted board but is it as good???
Court Rye
7 years agoThanks Jeff! I’ll keep an eye out for that model, been very busy with travel and some website updates recently but I hope to cover more skateboards this year :)
Bill
7 years agoThe motors on the Dual+ are 1000 watts each not 2000 watts each.
Court Rye
7 years agoAhh, thanks Bill! This was my first electric skateboard and I think I made a few mistakes. Someone just showed up at the shop with one and I asked to test/review it quickly. Feel like I could have done better, sorry for the misinformation ;)