(photos: ZBOARD) ZBOARD Electric Skateboard | from US$499.00 (pre-order) | www.zboardshop.com
let’s be honest: we don’t fancy walking as much but driving to our local mall, which is just a stone throw away might not be exactly an eco-friendly mode of transport. agree? a bike would be too cumbersome and risk being snag by some bike thieves. lucky for lazy folks like us, there is electric skateboards like the ZBOARD to take the sores out of our legs. what’s really worth mentioning is, the ZBOARD has no awkward ‘joystick’ to control its throttle but instead, its forward motion and braking are controlled by a pair of pressure sensitive pads, strategically positioned at the front and the rear of the board. all you have to do is hope on board, lean forward to get going and lean back to brake. in effect, it works totally like the traditional kick-your-way-along skateboard but without the extra leg work. there are two models: the entry level ZBOARD Classic and the range-topping ZBOARD Pro. both models are powered by a 400W electric motor but that’s where the similarity ends. the Classic draws its juice from a sealed lead acid battery that is good for a 5 miles range and achieve a maximum speed of 15 mph (24 km/h). the Pro model, on the other hand, has a lithium-ion phosphate battery, which gives it a good 10 miles range and a top speed of 17 mph (27 km/h). obviously, you can’t do any tricks with this skateboard but the prospect of moving at 15 or more mph without having to do any leg work already sounds like fun to us. the ZBOARD Electric Skateboard will set you back at $499 and $749 for the Classic and Pro model, respectively. join us for a short product introduction video after the break.