In case you were out of the loop in regards to electric skateboards, small is big. Don’t worry, we promise we didn’t just have an oxymoronic-induced seizure—longboards are quickly taking a backseat to more travel-friendly mini-decks. Leading the charge in this game of mini sized boards is Boosted (formerly known as Boosted Boards) with their Mini S and, the slightly more expensive and more impressive, Mini X.

In this article, we’re going to give you all the details on their very cool (and very tiny) Mini series.

Smaller is Better

Modeled after 80s era skateboards, the first thing you’ll notice is the Boosted Mini’s diminutive size. And, yes, in this case, smaller is better. The Boosted Mini stands just about twenty-nine inches in height, so just above the average rider’s knee. This size makes the board super easy to transport. When you’re walking down tight hallways you won’t feel like you’re lugging the fender of a Buick around under your arm. While many other companies are making mini decks alongside the Mini S/X, Boosted is still the gold-seal standard.

The Tiny Speedster

Like the other Boosted boards, the Mini S can burn rubber. With a top speed of eighteen miles an hour coupled with its size, it can seem at lot faster than it actually is. Luckily, Boosted thought ahead and gave the Mini, like its other boards, three speed settings to choose from in case you want to cruise slow and low.

For a few hundred dollars more, you can grab the Mini X, which boasts an additional two miles per hour to get you where you need to go that much faster.

Like Boosted’s other boards, it can also climb hills (up to a twenty percent grade) really well just, y’know, in a smaller way.

Tyranny of Distance

Both of the Boosted Minis are going to get you where you want to go but there are slight differences between the two:

The Boosted Mini S has an admirable range of seven miles on a single charge. This puts a bit of a dampener on the Mini S being used as a true commuter board and more or less keeps it in the realm of a very expensive and very cool toy. Luckily, though, charge times for the Mini S are lightning fast—right around an hour and fifteen minutes.

The Mini X on the other hand keeps it steady and ready with a fourteen-mile range. While this kind of range has become an industry-standard, it’s nice to have the option on a board that’s so compact. Like the Mini S, the charge time is surprisingly quick for the battery—inside an hour and forty-five minutes.

The Board Game

As mentioned before, the deck is shaped similarly to those used by Californian pool carvers in the 1980s (think Dogtown and Z-Boys). The deck has a deep-dish concave so it hugs your feet fairly well but the tail isn’t as responsive as those old school decks so don’t expect to be carving too many pools of your own. Like many boards of its ilk, the deck itself has a poplar wood core with fiberglass layers on either side and reinforced by polymer sidewalls to aid in impact resistance.

The only issue here is that because the deck is so small, the battery takes up most of the undercarriage. Because of this, critics have noted that the deck feels less responsive and there’s less give as there would be with a longboard, leading to more bumps being felt and a slightly less comfortable ride.

While the Boosted Minis are great little decks, the Mini S may not be the best if you’re the type of person who’s dealing with lengthy commutes to and from work. Alternatively, the Mini X just might have you covered in that regard. Similarly, if you’re used to a comfortable cruise on your longboard, you might want to look elsewhere. But, if you’ve already got your commute covered and you’re just looking for a cool, quick, and small little deck to tool around the neighborhood or down to the store and back, then the Boosted Minis could be just right for you!

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