Blink by Acton Electric Skateboard Unboxing/Real World Review 

+Nerf Hype Thanks! I'm still trying to work out exactly what this channel will include, but I'm trying to be more frequent with my uploads. When you see me on the board for the first time, that's literally the first time I ever stood on it, so my reactions are genuine to the moment.

+Isaac Renkoski Thanks! I'm just trying to get started. It's hard when you start out because you have to buy everything yourself. The guys you see who've been at it for a long time get stuff sent to them for free to review & return. I've got a follow-up to this video about some issues I've had coming up. Hoping to have time to edit & upload this weekend.

Not a problem! I didn't see many reviews before I ordered, so I thought I'd give a real world example from a non-skater. Hope you've got better weather! Supposed to be in the 40s here next weekend, so I'll be cruising all over if it doesn't rain.

+Jon J. I live in California. Idk what cold weather is ;) haha

+PurpleAndMoist Gaming That just means mine will last longer without needing to replace anything. Only a few months out of the year warm enough to really enjoy it. Haha! We're a sleepy little beach town, but the beach is on Lake Michigan, which only recently thawed out.

I've found that the best distance I get out of the board is around 4 miles. I've run the battery down while using Runtastic to measure distance traveled.

+Jon J. Yea that sounds about right. Did you ever fix the wires from jiggling out & how did you prevent this?

I taped the plugs together with electrical tape. Seems to have done the trick so far. I'm in a small town. Most of the places I go are less than 2 miles from my house, so I can make it there & back on a full charge. I've mostly just ridden it for fun, but I did use it to go back to work after lunch on Friday & then home at the end of the day.

Jon J. awesome man, awesome!

Jon J. Can you make A update video on the board & the problems you had with it & how you resolved the issues please please please...

Do they make you give them your old broken board?

Yeah. They told me on Twitter that it was for safety reasons. I haven't really found myself in many cases where I think I'd use it anyway. Maybe once or twice when I was paying enough attention far ahead of me on the sidewalk & I came to a place where someone's sprinkler was making puddles in my path.

+nitsuJ I can loan you the money to buy this skateboard. You simply have to give me your soul in return.

nitsuJ I'll give you a fiddle of gold.

Thanks! No, I never got it to reverse, but I gave up trying once I got to the park. Too much fun going forward. I rode it around town today until the battery died & didn't try once. Supposed to snow again tomorrow. Doesn't look like I'll really get to play again until next weekend. I was wrong. It was a video by Mashable that showed the reverse function. About the 30 second mark. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gA-p3nuS_dg.html Will try again. The manual doesn't seem to say anything about reverse, only forward & brake, so I'm almost wondering if the guy from Mashable had a test unit & that feature was removed? The video by the Verge doesn't mention it at all that I can remember. Might have to contact the company.

+Dashea Williams UPDATE: I just heard back from Acton, the makers of this board on Twitter. They say they removed the reverse feature in production due to safety concerns. I'd still highly recommend the board. Didn't feel any need for reverse when I rode it until the battery died a day after making this video. At least I know I'm not crazy.

+Jon J. Thank you :) will you make an update video on the Blink board - it looks like you are the only one with a honest review.

I'm actually thinking about it, yes.

+MassDynamic No. If the board is on, the lights are on.

if u take it apart it's not that hard

No problem. So fun. Got to take it out the day after this & ride til the battery died. Once you get comfortable on it, top speed in beginner mode is boring. I graduated up to pro pretty quick & had a way better time.

Thanks! I think it's a balance issue. If I consciously lean back, it doesn't seem to die on me.

I have no experience with the more expensive boards, so I can't offer a direct comparison, but the board doesn't feel or look cheaply made. It does well on hills. I tested it at the park with no issue, but didn't realize the camera didn't record it until I got home & was editing my footage. Not sure of the exact incline or how it would do over lots of hills, but this hill is steep enough to almost be sketchy coming down on a regular board. Riding around town, our sidewalks are a good 5 inches higher than the road. it goes up those with no issue unless the concrete is heaved up enough to catch the wheels. I am experiencing some issues with the board & remote losing connection in pro mode now though. I've contacted the seller on eBay & am about to send an email to Acton directly. turning the board off for a second & then back on fixes it & I am go another couple of blocks or farther, but then it disconnects again.

It does have a feature where it goes into standby if there's no input after so long, so I'm wondering if it's going that in error or what.

+Jon J. Did you try the feature where you can use your phone as a controller? Maybe the outcome will vary.

+Zach Frucht I've seen that that's was planned, but don't see anything in the documentation or on the website. I find no app in the Play Store either. I'm an Android user & have only seen mention of an iPhone app in videos from tech conventions & such before they actually went into production. Mashable also has a review video where the board has reverse mode. According to the response I got on Twitter from Acton, they removed that feature in production for safety. I'm also not sure how I'd feel about not having that physical feel of the throttle on the remote. It's nice to be able to let off on it a little for a sharp turn or bump. What happens if your screen times out or something & you need to respond quickly? Thinking it'd be a killer on phone battery. I'd be happy to try it if/when it's available, but I'm skeptical about how it would work as well as the dedicated remote.

+Jon J. interesting.

+isaac ruiz I'm sure you could, but the battery & stuff are bolted to the deck, so you'd have to take that into consideration. You've only got so much length on the wires between the battery & motor/back wheels, so you might change the balance of you used a longer deck.

You can, but you'll have to push quite a bit more, especially depending on how smooth your street/sidewalks are.

+Yim Yam this board has very little resistance when it comes to pushing. im guessing it even smoother then the boosted because people complain that it has A lot of friction.

I would think that's possible, but I'm not sure what that would do to the overall balance. There's only so much wire between the battery & motor, so on a long board deck, you may end up with the bulk of the weight towards the back. Probably not a deal breaker, but something to keep in mind. With the size of the board now, the weight seems pretty evenly distributes. I'm sure doing this would void whatever warranty they provide on the board itself.

+Jon J. thanks a lot. Do you plan on doing a video about the inside of this board ?

+Guillaume Cornu Not at this time. I'd rather not risk messing it up or voiding the warranty since I only just got it. Maybe down the road or if I come into some money, but if this one breaks out of warranty, it'll be hard to convince my wife that I need a new one. Haha!

+Jon J. ahah, ok thank you

They removed reverse in production for safety reasons. I contacted them on Twitter. Do you have any issue where the board will stop & then not go again in fast(pro) mode? I have to send mine in so they can check it.

+Jon J. ya my board dose that

+keith mcmahon Check the wires from the battery to the motor. There are connectors in there. On mine, theyre red while the wires are black. Make sure those connectors are tight. Be careful if you happen to unplug all of them at once. When I hooked them back up after doing so, the board was driving backwards. Haha! I was out for a ride again today after having received an email from Acton support to check the wires & actually apparently knocked one completely out. It wouldn't go at all. Plugged it back in & off I went, but I also noticed that 2 of the wires are rubbed down to bare metal up by where they go into the motor, so I've sent them another email with a picture.

No my board stops and goes again All the time

+keith mcmahon Still, check the wires. Mine did that sometimes too. I'm willing to bet you've got a plug that's not all the way in the connector for it, or that you've got a wire or 2 rubbed down to the metal, causing a short.

The hardest part for me was balancing. Having only skated a little bit when I was younger, I wasn't prepared for how loose the trucks are. With that said, it didn't take me long to get comfortable with it. I've only had it out on a few long rides, but beginner mode is already boring to me.

eBay. Links in the description. You can pre-order from the official site, which is also linked in the description, but it says they won't ship until May.