Whether in the suburbs, in nature, downtown, or on the road, a Boardy has been my true companion for the last two years. In the past two weeks, I’ve had an opportunity to ride the new model, so I can share my experience with you.

Conclusion: I’m (still) feeling it’s a must-have in life.

Experiencing freedom

When first trying a Boardy, the first and biggest wow moment comes right after the initial kick. There’s no sense of friction, no slowing down, nothing – you just whoosh down the street with surprising speed but in absolute silence from corner to corner in a single kick. The inflated tyres and the flexible wooden board greatly add to the sensory experience, creating a feeling of dynamic movement and toning down the impact from any bump you hit into a kind of undulation. With a pair of regular 12” wheels, you don’t have to watch out for cracks and small gaps in the pavement or changes in the terrain, as even running on rough stone paving or dirt roads does not cause any discomfort. The foam handle is soft to the touch but provides a firm grip even in the heat, and the Shimano handbrake and the pretty expensive hubs deliver perfectly what is expected of them. The whole structure feels firm and solid but light, giving a feeling of control and security. The board is made of a material consisting of specially processed wood layers, providing the rider with a dynamic experience of the terrain that is unmatched by other scooters with their rigid boards. You can feel and react to everything under your wheels but in easy mode, without any discomfort or a fear of being stopped abruptly.

A showstopper

The whole scooter simply emanates quality, and it gets noticed. Even our two ‘old’ Boardys get regular compliments (often accompanied by a request for a test round), and I have to admit that the new model looks even smarter. The matte graphite-black parts contrast nicely with the natural, light wooden surface of the board, and the clean and timeless functional design, devoid of any excess, greatly enhances the effect. And it feels quality, too – the touch of the surfaces, the quality of workmanship and the details, the sturdiness, the dynamic response you got from the structure at speed and impact, and the very natural feeling of riding it all add to that. It’s the Harley of scooters.

No terrain to shy off from

The best feat is that you can go everywhere riding it. I regularly use it on cracked concrete pavement, old asphalt roads, dirt roads and tracks in the nearby forest or around the lake, a bicycle road, and cobblestone pavement, without even really noticing the changes in the terrain, hopping on and off kerbs. It works great on wet surfaces and in light snow, too – even whooshing through shallow puddles is okay (and a must-do). On flat and relatively dry terrain, you can easily do 20–25 km/h (that’s not a problem even for my 9-year-old), which makes it an effective means of transportation and a great eco-conscious choice for urban warriors: a backpack and a Boardy make carrying home all that stuff from the market or the grocery store so much faster and easier (and shopping rounds are so much more fun).

Travel companion

With a weight of about six kilos, lifting and carrying a Boardy is a simple task (my son has been proudly bringing his own scooter up the ten stairs on our way home since he was eight). Also, the steering column can be folded back to the board, making the scooter easy to transport on trains (as hand luggage) or fit into the boot of an average car (and it does not need much place). On such occasions, I used to fasten the folded steering column to the board with a luggage strap but as far as I know, Boardy’s own solution is on the way.

The mule

Despite its slender look, the Boardy is surprisingly sturdy: the guys who make them tested it (check Boardy’s FB page), and it did not break (or suffer any damage) even under 450 kgs of weight. It’s unlikely I’ll ever confirm that, but it surely works well (and is still easy to propel, even up a slight slope) with about 100–110 kgs. Before I managed to get my hands on a second Boardy, the two of us (with a then-seven-year-old) used to go to school on mine, him standing in front of the board with his elbows on the inner end of the grip (and usually nibbling on something or chatting incessantly) and me in the back, kicking the ground. It worked very well for us in the first two years of school on a daily basis: there was enough space on the board (not anymore), the steering column did not wiggle, neither did other parts of the structure, and the brakes were effective enough to safely stop this weight in time even at a considerable speed, even when the terrain was wet.

An e-bike does not help you stay fit

I am often asked, “Why didn’t you buy an e-scooter for that money?” Actually, the answer is very simple but has multiple facets: Because I sit with my laptop at least six hours a day (often much more) but want to stay fit and, therefore, use every opportunity to exercise. Because I’ve been constantly under time pressure over the past two decades and multitasking has become my second nature, so clearing my head while doing some cardio while going shopping or anywhere I have to seems an ideal way of dealing with daily tasks. Because I don’t want things around me that require too much attention, and a Boardy is practically no-maintenance (save for a tyre check every other week) and indestructible. Because I believe in clever design and simple solutions, and don’t feel needing something with a battery that needs to be charged regularly for something I can easily do without. It’s a life choice, basically.

A good kick scooter tones and shapes your whole body, as the right move is similar to speed skating. With a Boardy, it’s easy to go for speed (because you don’t have to watch the terrain) and give your all, which is great cardio. If you go for distance in the first place, you can plan covering about 50–60 km a day on average built roads. Either way, it’s hard to get bored with the feeling of gliding through the world so freely.

Regular scooters vs Boardy 1.0 vs Boardy 2.0

My first scooter was a fairly good Swiss piece with 20-cm cast plastic wheels. After switching to a Boardy, I can’t really imagine switching back again, but it’s no surprise as Boardy’s design is a conscious response to all demands in an urban environment that regular scooters fail to meet – negotiating diverse and difficult terrains perfectly while giving the best possible riding experience. Accordingly, there’s not much difference between the old and the new models: the new one simply looks better and feels even safer and sturdier. The old model has become iconic in my country, and the new one seems to follow the line.

Overall

The Boardy is the perfect kick scooter for an active life in the city and a semi-urban environment. It’s not simply better than any other non-electric scooters on the market but a game-changer in its category. If you’re thinking about getting a (kick) scooter, I don’t think you can make a better choice.