Verreal Archives - Electric Skateboard HQ

October 13, 2024October 20, 2024 by Paxson Lim

Verreal RS Ultra Review – All these for just $999?

It has been a while since Verreal received many spotlights, and our team almost forgot the brand existed. For those unfamiliar with Verreal, it is an affordable brand that has been around since 2018.

Verreal has had a knack for keeping it simple, only investing in parts that had the most impact on the riding experience, skimping on everything secondary or cosmetic, and passing the end results to the customers at a very low price.

They started with Verreal F1, a fun $400 electric longboard that, despite its simplicity, was unique for using a drop deck and hence gave a fun low-to-the-ground ride feel.

We wrote about Verreal F1 many years ago here.

That being said, we haven’t heard much about the Verreal RS Ultra that we are reviewing today, but we are pretty much expecting the same formula. It retails for $1099 but with our discount code you can snag one for $999. But first, let’s run through the specs.

Verreal RS Ultra Specs:

Price	$999
Battery	12S4P 725.8Wh Molicel P42A 21700 cells (16.8Ah)
Controller	Hobbywing ESC
Top Speed	32 Mph (52 Kph)
Range	40 miles (60 km)
Deck	6-ply Canadian Maple 2- 2-ply Fiberglass, and 2-ply Bamboo
Motor	6374, 170kv, Dual 4000W Belt

Deck:

Starting with the deck, the RS Ultra has a double drop deck made from 6-ply Canadian maple 2- 2-ply fiberglass, and 2-ply bamboo. We love double drop decks, and the low-to-the-ground ride feels that double drop decks offer. The deck features a good W concave, which is very comfy and snug for foot placement.

We were expecting Verreal to skimp out on the quality of the deck, but this one looks like it was made with good material. The board-length enclosure, however, is bad news; it means the board has zero flex and is stiff as hell. While it’s good for those who like the responsive and stable feel of a stiff deck, it is bad news for us, as every team member of ESHQ would much prefer a flexible deck. But on second thought, with such low ground clearance, the board probably couldn’t afford to have flexibility anyway. So maybe this is a feature, not a bug.

Battery :

Next, hiding inside that full-length enclosure is a huge pack of 12s4p molicel P42A.
This means 16.8Ah at 725.8wh, which is a crazy big pack as we only expect 12s3p for a board at $999. And you can’t ask for better quality cells than the trusty Molicel P42A. The $999 package came with a standard 2.5A charger, and for $100 more, you can get the 6A charger, which halves the charging time to under 3 hours.

The Verreal RS Ultra has a marketed range of 40 miles or 60km. For context, this is 20% more range than the $1199 Exway Flex 2 Pro was marketed for with its 12s2p Samsung 50S 432wh battery.

ESC and Remote:

Moving onto the ESC, Verreal has always been sticking with the tried and true Hobbywing ESC which comes with four-speed settings, meaning, it has the exact same smoothness of control as premium brands that are priced a lot higher. For those who are not familiar with Hobbywing ESC, it is the most popular electronic speed controller that’s proven to deliver perfectly smooth and intuitive speed control. It also has a smart turn-on feature, meaning the board powers on automatically when the remote is turned on. It’s paired with the latest standard Hobbywing Remote, which is pretty comfortable and fairly good-looking.

Top speed locking feature:

The Verreal RS Ultra provides decent speed control options, with an easy-to-use limiter feature. You can cap the top speed at 20 km/h through a slightly tedious process with the remote, which might be useful if you’re commuting in areas with strict speed limits, like in some European countries. It’s practical, but the method for setting the limit—holding the throttle and tapping a button 10 times—feels a bit clunky. Unlocking the full speed is just as awkward. It gets the job done, but the design could have been a bit more intuitive.

Motor:

As for the motor, the RS Ultra is running on a hefty 6374, 170kv, Dual 4000W belt motor.
These are pretty solid specs for motors and more than capable of providing good torque for an all-terrain setup. We know that for a fact, as they are the exact same motors donned by the infamous Meepo Hurricane, and that board had already made a name for itself as one of the more powerful AT boards.

Read our review of the Meepo Hurricane here.

It’s marketed to reach a top speed of 32mph (52kmh), which we managed to hit in our tests.

As expected, if you want a bash guard for the motors, they are paid add-on, as Verreal tends to want to trim all the excess fat to keep the price to a minimum.

Trucks and Wheels:

As for the trucks, Verreal went with DKP cast trucks. While we would prefer a forged truck for a board that can go 32mph (52 kph), obviously, Verreal’s priority is to keep the retail price as low as possible.

Anyways, we hope that this DKP truck is at least amongst the better ones, which can balance ease of turning and stability well. We will find out in our ride test later.

The default setup of the Vereal RS Ultra came with 105mm Mad Wheels V2, but they also offer 150mm pneumatic wheels as an option. This is our first time riding on Mad Wheels, but these wheels have been making a name for themselves lately and many Chinese brands have started to use Mad Wheels as stock options for their mid to premium-priced boards. We look forward to trying them out for the first time.

Specs Summary – of the Verreal RS Ultra:

As we suspected, Verreal sticks to its usual modus operandi and gives us a board with a giant battery & powerful motors that are beyond what was expected at $999. But we were also surprised that we didn’t notice any corner cuts.

Unlike rubbish brands from Amazon or Aliexpress, Verreal is smart enough to insist on putting the gold standard Hobbywing ESC into their boards. Also, putting Mad Wheels V2 as the stock option wasn’t exactly a cost-cutting move.

That means as long as the truck is good and the skate parts come together well, the Verreal RS Ultra should be a decent, if not above average ride with amazing range and power.

Riding Experience on the Verreal RS Ultra

It took us just a minute on the board to know Verreal made great choices in putting the board together.

First, the low-riding height with the double-drop deck plus the double kingpin truck means that this board felt super agile and zappy.

The Mad Wheels were amazing too, they felt very similar to the Boosted 105s, whose OEM version had been making rounds recently. Maybe the Mad Wheels is even based on that, we were just guessing here But what we do know is that they are super soft and super grippy. They took away 80% of all the road vibrations, something that we thought would’ve been a death sentence to this board considering its full board length enclosure which gives the deck zero flex. With this setup, road vibration is barely felt. We also love the ride feel of its soft, grippy wheels. These soft wheels felt great when carving.

However, the wheels aren’t big enough to give us a safe ground clearance. We bottom out every time we ride over road bumps, and we wonder how long this enclosure is gonna survive, given that we ride in places with quite a lot of bumps. A 120mm wheels may give more leeway, but of course, you could just go with the 150mm pneumatic wheels option and never worry about bottoming out ever.

Another thing that was better than we had expected was the Hobbywing ESC.
We expected Verreal to just “throw in the latest stock Hobbywing ESC and call it a day”, but they seem to also put some good customization into it, and the fastest S+ mode is more powerful than what the default Hobbywing ESC typically feels. This is great as the lower riding height makes it easy to maintain balance; hence, the extra kicks make it extra fun without any downside.

Speaking of balance, we are happy to find that the double kingpin trucks here are amongst the good ones that found a good balance between ease of turning and stability. Carving on the Verreal RS Ultra is really fun, yet we can ride fairly fast at around 28mph (45 kph) without wobbles and without the need to further tighten the trucks.

All in all, when it comes to the riding experience, there’s nothing that we can point to that was the second class to a premium brand. Whether it is the power, manoeuvrability, responsiveness or ride comfort, Verreal RS Ultra is at the same level as any premium board. Thanks to the aggressively low riding height, it is an even more interesting ride compared to most boards.

Verdict of the Verreal RS Ultra:

Verreal has been an afterthought to us for a few years now, so we are pretty surprised by how much we like the RS Ultra. Compared to its quote-unquote full-priced competitors, we didn’t see any obvious flaws with the RS Ultra, except perhaps it went with cast-truck instead of forged trucks. While the board doesn’t have the tip-top polish and packaging and has less bells and whistles than other 2024 boards, like the recent trend of adding RGB lights, our riding experience on it has been nothing but top-tier. Factoring the big battery that it has, we could safely say that, at $1099 ($999 with our discount code, btw), nothing currently beats the value that the Verreal RS Ultra offers.

If you are interested in buying the Verreal, be sure to check out our affiliate discount link here and use code: “ESKATEHQ” to receive $100 off during checkout.
It will help you get a small monetary discount and help us out too. On top of that, you’ll be tagged as an Electric Skateboard HQ customer and probably be treated better. Cheers!

June 2, 2023June 12, 2023 by Paxson Lim

Verreal ACE Review: Is This $599 Electric Skateboard Worth It?

Verreal has recently released a new electric shortboard, the Verreal ACE, priced at $599. This board is considered a mid-tier shortboard, with a price tag that is $200 more than your typical entry-level electric shortboard. So, what makes the Verreal ACE stand out and deserve that higher price? Let’s dive into the specs and features to find out.

Verreal ACE – Key Specifications

Deck: 29″ (75 cm) deck – maple + fiberglass
Truck: Generic RKP trucks
Wheels: 90mm with 105mm Grey Cloudwheels option (+$100)
ESC: 12s Hobbywing ESC, 3-speed mode, with OLED remote
Motor: 1500W x2 Hobbywing 5255 motors,
Top speed – 30 mph (50 km/h)
Battery: 12S2P 8Ah 345.6Wh with Samsung 40T 21700,
Range: 15.5 miles -18.5 miles (25km – 30km)
Weight: 17.6 lbs (8 kg)

Verreal ACE has No IP rating, but it has water-resistant. The board’s enclosure was sealed off with a silicone gasket, and there was a silicone O-ring pad for the charge port and power button.

However, I wouldn’t ride it on wet roads anyways, as battery durability suffers when wet, and skateboard wheels don’t grip well on wet roads. (Don’t ask me how I found out about that).

Motor and Battery

After examining the specs, it’s clear that a significant portion of the budget has gone into the large, powerful motors and the high-quality Samsung 40T battery. Verreal always prioritizes specs over styles and did the same with the Verreal ACE. This board has a look of an entry-level electric shortboard but has a lot of battery and an outrageously powerful motor for the $599 price tag.

Speed Control and Performance

The Verreal ACE uses the familiar 12s Hobbywing ESC, which provides smooth and intuitive speed controls. However, the powerful acceleration can be tricky to handle on a shortboard. The board tends to do a wheelie when the throttle is pulled. We have to really brace ourselves and make sure we didn’t put weights on the kicktail, or else the strong acceleration will put weight on the back foot, engaging the kicktail, raising the nose of the deck, and throw us off the board.

This may scare inexperienced riders, but experienced riders who love power and are comfortable with shortboards will likely appreciate this feature.

The kicktail is easy to use (when intended to), and the board turns easily, as most shortboards do. The trucks are relatively stable, which we are comfortable pushing to around 20mph(30km/h). Once passed that speed, it became quite scary. That said, we did not and are not planning to verify the marketed top speed of 30 mph (50 km/h). The board is faster than it needs to be, really.

We do know, however, that Verreal did not overstate the range. Our 220 lbs (100 kg) test rider achieved the promised 15 miles (24 km) in a single charge.

Deck and Ride Comfort

The deck is 11.8 inches (30 cm) wide, providing enough room for even new riders to feel comfortable. As with most shortboards, the stiff deck can make for a less comfortable ride on rough roads due to road vibrations.

Verreal ACE on rough road — We were blessed with super rough road.

However, the belt-driven Verreal ACE performs better in this regard than hub-driven shortboards. Switching to cloud wheels can improve ride comfort on rough roads without sacrificing torque, as the Verreal ACE has plenty of power to spare.

Comparison with Competitors

When compared to competitors like the Tynee Mini 2 and the Exway Wave, the Verreal ACE excels in stability, has a more useful kicktail, and offers superior power. The Tynee Mini 2 is more stable at high speeds but is heavier to kick the tail. The Exway Wave is more maneuverable, fun to carve, and easy to kick-turn but less stable.

Click here to read our review on the Tynee Mini 2 and Exway Wave!

Verdict – Verreal ACE

The Verreal ACE is a mini powerhouse with incredible torque and power. For beginners looking for a fun electric shortboard to ride around, the power may be overkill and make the board less relaxing to ride.

However, seasoned skateboarders who want a shortboard with ridiculous power, or heavier riders who need every bit of power for uphill rides, will find that the Verreal ACE is tailor-made for them.

If you are interested in buying the Backfire, be sure to check out our affiliate discount link here and use code: “ESKATEHQ” to receive $5 off during checkout.
It will help you get a small monetary discount and help us out too. On top of that, you’ll be tagged as an Electric Skateboard HQ customer and probably be treated better. Cheers!

August 29, 2019August 30, 2019 by Paxson Lim

Verreal releases Verreal RS

On 21st August 2019, Verreal releases a new line of electric skateboard, Verreal RS.

With a preorder price starting on $749 (and a regular price of $800+), Verreal RS does not try to hide where they get its design inspiration from – the Evolve Bamboo series. Looks like every brand came to the idea that they should do an Evolve clone with the recent availability of double kingpin trucks on the electric skateboard market.

Taking a few pages from Evolve

I always like the riding experience of Verreal boards and thought their ‘looks’ or the lack there-of was what holding them back. This time around, by following the template of Evolve Bamboo, Verreal RS sure has gotten the looks right.

To truly match up to Evolve, Verreal is also looking to develop off-road tires for RS. And for that, they emphasized that all their DKP trucks will come from a new mold, leaving no doubt that they are going to be strong for AT uses.

Double kingpin for maneuverability,
future AT conversion kit,
drop-through deck

Better than Evolve?

There are a few things that I really like about Verreal RS:

Verreal RS uses 10s4p cells and you can get Samsung 30Q battery for $799 (preorder price).
- Wheres the earlier version of Evolve Bamboo GT is using prismatic packs that are notorious for the sag, and the newer GTR is using Samsung 35E which on paper aren’t as good as 30Q.
Verreal RS uses Hobbywing ESC, which is perfectly smooth, albeit some may think that the brakes could be stronger.
It uses big 6368 motors (Dual 6368 Belt Motor 1500 Watt*2 170KV)

It is not without concerns, though.

However, there are a few things that I have doubts on:

The enclosure is a full-length aluminum enclosure, this is going to make the deck stiff with zero flex. And nothing pass-on vibrations as bad as metals.
- Verreal justifies this by saying stiffer deck helps with stability in top speed, but why the emphasis on stability when you already went for DKP? Might as well as maximize on the riding fun by allowing the deck to flex.
I wonder if this set up translates well to All Terrain uses.
- 20R battery pack gives you 88A continuous discharge and 30Q 60A continuous if the settings aren’t right, there might be a noticeable voltage sag here.

I’m expecting this enclosure to have zero gives.

TL;DR

Verreal RS looks to be the board to get for those who like the idea of an Evolve Bamboo but doesn’t like the idea of shelling out almost $2,000 for it.
However, only a test ride can tell if the deck is not too stiff to enjoy.

Stay tuned for our future review!

It is now available for pre-order with a pre-order price of $749 ($100 off). Verreal RS is set to ship on 20th September.
Use our affiliate discount link here and use ESKATEHQ during check out to receive $99 off.

Please be aware that pre-orders in the Eskate world are more often than not ends in delay. Shit happens, even for an established brand like Verreal.

Only pre-order a product if you can afford the wait.

April 5, 2019October 30, 2020 by Paxson Lim

A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Budget Eskates

It was over a year ago when I wrote about my findings after diving deep into the realm of Chinese Electric Skateboards. A lot has changed since then, and yet a lot also remains the same.

In 2019, anyone who is looking for a sub $500 entry level electric skateboard will find that segment of the market being dominated by new Chinese brands which provide the best value to money preposition.

Just to prove my point, try naming to me an electric skateboard under $500 that’s not made from a Chinese company.

… Acton Blink S?

Okay fine, maybe one. But Acton Blink S is just another Chinese manufactured product behind an American logo that has customer service that isn’t significantly better than that of established Chinese brands.

But where should you look? There are so many of them on the market. Anyone who is not already in the loop might find trouble separating the rubbish from the legit and the gem.

Lots of options for example, on Aliexpress.

Inclusion Criteria and Method

It’s a long process trying to get a grip on this market. I’ve reached out to all of the more reputable players in this market to request review units.

The criteria to be included is quite simple:

Is an electric longboard
Priced under $500
Can be trusted in Post-sales services

The brands that look to fulfil that criteria are:

Meepo Classic
Backfire G2 2019
Wowgo 2s
Ownboard W1s
Verreal F1
Teamgee H5, H6 and H9 (often under $500 after discount)
Yeeplay M2S, H2B
AEBoard AE1
Teemo boards
Jackzoom
Panther x3s
Harvoo

Notable exclusions of this criteria:

Backfire G2 ~~(Because it has been discontinued, and the G2s and G2T are above the cut off price)~~ (Andddd it’s back!)
Koowheels (Although I don’t have a high opinion of the Koowheels, but the reason of exclusion is the cut off price)
I-Wonder – More of a manufacturer, I am unsure of it’s 1 to 1 post-sales service quality.
Winboard’s- Big OEM manufacturer attempted to get into retail. Their retail line-ups are all priced above the cut-off $500 price tag.
Maxfinds – not a brand that’s known for quality. Performance is pretty lacking.

How did it go? Well, most of the included brands agreed to have their boards reviewed.

Teemo stopped replying to emails after a few to and fro, which is fair.

Jackzoom, Panther x3s and Harvoo never replied to my initial and the follow-up ‘hellos’.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that if they don’t even bother to reply to a blogger, they won’t reply to regular customers – and hence failed criteria number 3.

So here is the summary of the selection:

Before we began

It is helpful to recognize that most of the Chinese vendors at this segment are aggregators who assembles parts available in the market to build their own product.

This results in many of these boards riding or even looking very similar.

This is not any more obvious and impactful than the choice of ESC. As this directly effects how the board controls.

At this point in time, all the boards in this list use one of these two: ESC -‘LingYi’ ESC or Hobbywing ESC.

LingYi ESC vs Hobbywing ESC

LiYing ESC
Hobbywing ESC

LingYi ESC has the biggest market share at this point in time.

A lot of big manufacturers will have LingYi in its ESC, tuned and tinkered to their liking of course.

Generally speaking, the profile of the LingYi ESC is a harsher acceleration and stronger braking. But it is very difficult to assume a boards behavior just by knowing it’s using the LingYi ESC, as brands do tinker it to suit their idea of good speed control. In doing so, this will change them quite a bit.

Eg, Winboards introduces an aggressive speed ramp in the control, making it less difficult for absolute beginners, but may frustrate those who like a precise control.
Meepo use of LingYi is mainly to maximise on the acceleration and braking, in order to make a more aggressive and thrilling ride.

For the last year, many brands have moved away from LingYi ESC to the HobbyWing ESC.

The notable brands that use a variation of LingYi ESC currently are: Meepo NLS, Yeeplay M2s, Original Backfire G2, Winboard, Teamgee.

Some will tell you the rise of HobbyWing ESC is the best thing that has happened to budget electric skateboards.

HobbyWing ESC saw its first international debut when Wowgo 2s started using it. (Or did Ownboard do it first? Man… these things are hard to keep track of.)

If a board uses this remote… then you know you have Hobbywing ESC.

Hobbywing ESC gains a quick popularity for its amazing performance. It’s smooth in both acceleration and braking, the control is precise, there are no latency issues and the control behavior is consistent throughout different speeds.

Some say it is even better than the Boosted board… that’s how good it is.

Some companies tune the Hobbywing ESC to get the most out of their board, but we generally can expect similar behavior on the Hobbywing ESC.

The notable brands that use a variation of Hobbywing ESC currently are – Meepo Classic, Backfire G2s, Wowgo, Ownboard, Verreal, AEBoards and higher end stuff like Exway X1 are using a custom version of it too.

But I digress, now the boards.

I’ve reviewed most of the boards. Now this will be the summarized thoughts about them and how well they fare against each other.

If you would like to learn more about them, there are always the in-depth full reviews that I’ve published.

The list is in random order (maybe).

PS: ElectricSkateboardHQ do have discount codes for most of the boards below in the discount code page.
However, it’s advisable to check if there is any ongoing promotion available before using our codes as special festive promotions will often offer steeper discounts than that of our discount codes.

Meepo Classic

Obviously the newer stuff is going to fare better than a dated product.

For those who don’t know, Meepo is the current leading budget brand that pioneered the Chinese budget board movement. Since its debut in 2017, MeepoBoard is now a mature brand that has refined its product. Their customer service, though not award winning, is reasonably good and serviceable.

Meepo Classic just came out in early 2019, it aims to replace the last gen Meepo V2, and it’s my favorite budget electric skateboard right now.

I think Meepo picked all the right parts when putting together the Meepo Classic.

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I especially love the gorgeous double-drop deck which allows a very comfortable, stable low ride. Meepo’s shredder truck provides a good balance between maneuvrebility and stability and is another strong point for the board too.

With all of that said, the best move the Classic made undoubtedly is the switch to HobbyWing ESC. Though some people will miss the aggressive ride of the old LingYi ESC, most people will find a relaxing, smooth ride of HobbyWing ESC. This is a welcoming change – especially for beginners who are looking for their first board.

Click here to read full review of the Meepo Classic.

Use our promo code “ESHQ” to get 15 USD off your Meepo purchase.

Backfire G2 2019

While I was working on this post, Backfire updated the Backfire G2.

While I never tried the newer version of the G2, I do have the G2T and the original G2. And I would say the updated Backfire G2 2019 is probably one of the best budget board money can buy.

Compare to most budget boards, the new Backfire G2 has the advantage of having bigger 5AH battery, and much better polish. The deck Backfire uses, in my opinion, are inferior to Meepo V2/ Meepo Classics but much better than the flat deck that Wowgo 2S and Ownboard W1S uses.

It also uses the Hobbywing which promises smooth acceleration and braking. Sadly, unlike its pricier siblings, G2 won’t come with the caliber trucks.

Smaller 83mm wheels might be a deal-breaker for those who have to dealt with poor and bumpy road. Although you can technically put on the bigger 96mm hub sleeve on G2’s hubs, the width of its truck wasn’t long enough and you will risk wheel bites. You can solve that by swapping in the longer Caliber II trucks, but at that point, you would be better off by paying extra 200$ and go for the G2T.

Affiliated discount link for Backfire Boards (no discount for G2 though)

Verreal F1

Verreal is one of the newer brands that tried to mimic the success of MeepoBoard, and it is doing quite well at that.

Verreal has a good track record in customer service and continue to offer good price to value.

Its latest product and current flagship, Verreal F1, is one of the better takes on a budget board.

Its use of a micro-drop deck and Hobbywing ESC results in a very responsive, agile, and zippy ride. It’s a lot of people’s favorite budget board and after putting it through the paces myself, it’s easy to understand why.

The low-light of the Verreal F1 is that the board’s polish and finishing is still leaving a lot to be desired. F1 also does cheap out a little bit on small parts, such as the bearings.

Though in exchange, the board usually is asking a bit less… especially after discounts as compared to other boards on the list!

Click here to read the full review of the Verreal F1.

Use code ‘EskateHQ’ to get $45 off

Ownboard W1S

As an OEM manufacturer that joined the retail game, Ownboard has a huge advantage right from the get go.

Almost from the get go, Ownboard built with higher quality parts and used good polish. Its customer service is generally considered good.

Ownboard W1S is one of the better iterations of the ‘typical’ budget board. It uses Hobbywing ESC which allows great control and it uses Paris-cloned trucks that offer great maneuverability. Ceramic bearings and its special foam-padded ‘EVA grip tape’ are the other highlights of the board.

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The only weak point of this board would probably be the flat deck. The 6 ply maple +2 ply bamboo deck offer a fair amount of flex, but a little bit of concave would make it a lot better.

What makes Ownboard W1S a good deal is the option to go with 6AH Samsung 30Q battery – for just US$457.00.
If by any chance a flat deck is what you are looking for (wut?), or you are going to deck swap any time down the line, Ownboard W1s is a very good choice.

Click here to read full review of the Ownboard W1S

Use code ‘OWNBOARDHQ’ to get 5% off

Wowgo 2S

Wowgo is the first competitor of Meepo and made Chinese budget brands a thing.

It has successfully shook the earlier image of a scrappy brand with weird taste in marketing and established itself as a major player in the budget board segment.

Product quality, polish and customer service of Wowgo are all good now.

The Wowgo 2S is especially significant, being the product that elevated the budget segment to another level. Being the first to make the Hobbywing ESC famous, Wowgo 2s was dubbed the Boosted killer for its comfortable control that rivals the top brands.

Today, it is still among the best budget boards on the market. But unfortunately, one-upped by its doppleganger Ownboard W1s that uses slightly better parts in the deck, bearings and trucks.

The differences are not all that significant and Wowgo 2S is still a good choice if you can get it at a better price.

Click here to read full review of the Wowgo 2s

Use code ‘WOWGOHQ’ to get 10% off

Yeeplay M2S, H2B

Yeeplay M2S

Yeeplay M2S is another new brand coming out from the same mold of Meepo, Wowgo and Ownboard. Heck, even its products look like it came out of the same mold as the original Meepo, Wowgo and Ownboards.

The company is still very young, and there is still much speculation as to how it will handle post-sale service. The good thing is – there aren’t any complaints heard about this brand so far – and as usual, the earlier customers would usually be treated royally.

Yeeplay M2S itself is a valid option of a budget board. It uses one of the broader decks with good concave, making it a very comfortable ride. The use of Paris-cloned trucks allow the board to be maneuvreble and turny.

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However it opted for ‘LiYing’ ESC, which has a more aggressive control. This caters better to specific crowds, but beginners are unlikely to favor it much. And hence making other boards on this list better alternatives.

Yeeplay recently released a belt drive ‘H2B’, which could be the only option for someone looking for a budget belt drive board.

I did not review the board, but performance could be postulated through the part used.
LiYing ESC promised a more aggressive acceleration and braking. Using the same deck as Ownboard W1S means enough flex, but too bad no concave.

Yeeplay H2B

The belt drive H2B should provide better torque than hub boards, but likely will handicap on the range.
Refer to our short guide on drive train to learn more about belt vs hub.

If you are planning to buy a Yeeplay, perhaps you are digging that exotic grip tape. Just be informed that the priced listed on the website at this point in time is not inclusive of a delivery fee.

Click here to read full review of the Yeeplay M2S.

Use code YeeplayHQ for 25USD off

AEBoard AE1/ AE2/ AF

AEBoard made a splash entry in to the market with boards that offer a lot of batteries for the price that it’s asking.

As it is the case for Yeeplay, AEBoard too is very new to the scene. No precedent can be known on how they handle customer complaints. Recently, however, I was able to help an unhappy customer get his purchase refunded, so I at least know my readers will be taken care of.

AEBoard AE1

The AE1 basically tries to offer as much value as possible while asking for as little as possible. The biggest ‘Wow’ factor here is the use of 10s3p battery while only asking for the entry level $430.

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The use of broad micro-drop deck with good concave – plus the use of Hobbywing ESC – makes AE1 a very comfortable ride.

The base level 10s3p 20R Samsung battery is less impressive as initially assumed though. Basically, it’s performance is only equal to the $457 Ownboard W1S with a 10S2p Samsung 30Q battery – same performance with the extra weight of 10 batteries.

However, the biggest downside of all would definitely be the stiffness of the deck reinforced by the board length aluminium enclosure below the deck. It has zero gives. You know you are stepping on steel immediately as you step onto the board. This result in god-awful vibration when riding on a less than perfect road.

And, being a new company, the packaging and finishing of AEBoard is pretty raw.

All in all, AE1 has the most amount of battery to for the price it’s asking and is definitely a good base for future DIY tinkering. For someone who doesn’t mind extra-steel-like-stiff deck (it’s REALLY STIFF), and is looking for range, AE1 should be the board to check out. You can even upgrade the battery to a Panasonic 9.6AH battery for 25mile (40km) range (or Sanyo for even more range.)

Click here to read full review of the AEboard AE1.

Click to receive 9.99USD off AEBOARD (Affiliated)

While I was working on this piece, AEBoard launched a few new boards which is creatively named AE2 and AF. (Chinese market move so fast, I can barely catch up).

While AE2 seems to be a Wowgo 2S/ Ownboard W1S clone, AF is worth paying attention to as it has some very practical features

Ae Board AE2 Electric Skateboard — AE2, tell me if it doesn’t look like Wowgo 2s or Ownboard W1S

AEBoard AF

While I have not personally reviewed AF, I certain would suggest anyone looking for a budget board to consider it.

Reason? While most of the parts used in AF are old news, it is the only budget board in this list that allows hot swappable battery. On top of that, the battery that it’s carrying has the standard 4AH, 144wh capacity.

The advantage of hot swappable battery over bigger battery pack is, obviously, is the weight – You don’t need to carry the batteries that you don’t plan to use.

Plus, this definitely solves the ultra-super-stiff deck complaints that I have on the AE1. Basically, I think of it as Wowgo 2s with concave deck plus hot-swappable battery. AF is definitely worth considering over AE2, Wowgo 2s, and the W1s.

Click to receive 9.99USD off AEBOARD (Affiliated)

Teamgee H5, H6, H9

Similar to Ownboard, Teamgee is another manufacturer turned retailer.

Just like the Ownboard, Teamgee maintains a certain standard in their products and customers care since day 1. That said, Teamgee is still young in the international scene and though there has been no bad news about the customer service so far, we are yet to see how well its’ post-sale service stands when some serious complaint comes in.

Unlike Ownboard however, Teamgee is not a follower of the generic Chinese budget board trend. It has a slim body design that hides all of the electronics inside the decks.

As a result, the board looks very much like a regular long board to non-prying eyes.

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To cater to beginners, Teamgee also introduced heavy filtering to control input. This is done to soften the speed changes, however it also causes a noticeable delay between control input and the boards reactions.

This is done to cater to beginner crowd, who might find precise or zappy control intimidating. Many people will, however, be frustrated with the lag and the weaker acceleration.

Both the H5 and H6 are beautifully designed and give a reasonably good skating experience. H6 with the pintail deck has a very surfy feel and H5 with the broad dropdown deck has a stable ride.

Just be informed that stiff deck, relatively weak performance and voltage sags are what you have to be able to put up with when dropping $500 on these boards.

One more thing, their price on Amazon is somehow cheaper.

Click here to read full review of the Teamgee H6.

Click here to read full review of the Teamgee H5 by Samuel James.

In the end:

Even after trying the boards back to back to back, it is sometimes hard to tell the differences between two boards.

As a reviewer, my recommendations are based on the average taste of an average eskater but as any other personal purchase, personal preference often trumps everything else.

Hopefully with all of the information provided here, and the vetting done to screen out questionable brands, this can help you with your purchasing decision.

PS: If you are looking for boards beyond the $500 price range, we also have a list of recommended electric skateboards at all price range.

For those who are from a European country, you can choose to shop from a local dealer – Speedio. Speedio is an Electric Skateboard re-seller based in the Czech Republic. While you do pay a little premium, they offer a 2-year warranty, local support, and fast 2-5 days shipping.