REVIEW – Backfire recently held a crowdfunded campaign for the NALU E-Skateboard, a new option that I thought looked like a great addition to the family fleet. The NALU E-Skateboard has some great features such as a gallium nitride battery, easy handheld controller, and a beautiful design. Since I am not a skateboarder I was hesitant to review this myself, but thankfully several of my kids do ride, so you get to hear what they think and how it performed for them. Read on to see how it stacks up!

What is it?

The NALU E-Skateboard is an electric skateboard with a gallium nitride (GaN) battery, fun lighting and design, and a handheld control unit.

What’s included?

• E-Skateboard
• Charger
• Handheld controller
• Adjust Tools
• User manual
• Stickers!

Tech specs

• Deck: Fiberglass and Maple Composite
• Deck Dimensions: 30×9.88 inches / 762×251 mm
• Weight: 12.8 lbs
• Grip: 2mm Shock-absorbing grip OS46
• Top Speed: 16 mph
• Wheels: 80mm x 53mm 78A
• Max Load: 242 lbs
• Range: 12.5 miles
• Charging Time: 2 hrs / 55 min with fast charging
• Hill Climbing: 15%
• Water Resistance: IP65
• Trucks: 6.1 inch Forged CNC
• Battery: Lithium Polymer – 99 Wh 30.4V 3.25 Ah
• Motors: 340W – 2 Hub Motors

Design and features

The NALU E-Skateboard is a sturdy electric skateboard about the same length as a regular skateboard, but wider like a longboard. It has a wide deck with good grip. It comes in at just over 12 pounds in weight, which is about twice what a skateboard normally runs, but that’s to be expected when you have electric motors and a battery pack onboard. Skateboard below for comparison.

The power button on the board is on the rear truck. It’s also where you can find the power connection for the charger.

Setup

Aside from unboxing, setup of the NALU E-Skateboard consists of charging up the skateboard and controller. They both come with an initial charge, so it took less than an hour to top them both off. The controller comes with a USB-C charging cable and the skateboard comes with a separate charger.

On the controller you can see the battery status.

Connecting the controller and the skateboard is pretty easy. You just have to hold the power button on the skateboard down until it starts blinking. Turn the controller on and it picks up the signal and the display changes. This is the screen you’ll get when disconnected.

Performance

There are three different power levels with this skateboard. Eco, Sport, and Turbo. You can alternate between Sport and Eco modes by toggling the S/E button. To engage the Turbo mode, you have to press the triangle button with the exclamation point.

You can change the direction of the motors by selecting that toggle switch at the butt of the controller. The first time my son tried to ride that wasn’t so evident, so it was quite a surprise when it went backwards right out of the gate.

Riding around the neighborhood, my son said that it was surprising how fast this skateboard was and how fast it accelerated. It’s a bit tighter than he likes on turns, but that’s pretty easy to adjust. My daughter also rode it around and thought that it was too loose for her liking, so all that means is that like most skateboards, you adjust to your preference. Between both of them, though, they were consistent in saying that the acceleration can be a bit jarring, especially on Turbo mode. It would be useful to have a more gradual pickup on the accelerator so that you don’t get bucked off. That’s probably something you can get used to with some practice, but be careful.

There are three different light patterns you can cycle through on the skateboard. A solid green, a slow modulation back and forth, and a pulsing pattern.

The wheels on this skateboard are very tough and the trucks are solid. One nice feature as well about this skateboard is that even if the battery dies the wheels are free, so you can continue to operate just like a normal skateboard.

What I like about the Backfire NALU E-Skateboard

• Able to change speeds easily
• Quite fast and smooth at high speeds
• Smooth turns
• Controller fits in hand well
• Cool design

What needs to be improved?

• The display is a bit confusing
• Abrupt speed increase when the throttle is pressed. A more gradual acceleration would be nice

Final thoughts

This is a fun skateboard to ride. The controller fits nicely in either hand and the thumb throttle is in just the right spot to control the speed. It’s very well built and designed. Even though I don’t ride skateboards myself, my kids are really enjoying riding it. If you’re looking for an electric skateboard, I recommend it.

Price: $599
Where to buy: Backfire
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Backfire. Backfire did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.