Customer Reviews

Xglider Fusion Street Boards

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a description of most types of boards based on the experiences of my son (15), my daughter (9), and me (48):

Skateboards - Fun for jumping tricks (grinds, board flips, etc.). Casterboards are more maneuverable and fun than skateboards on a street, but less fun at skateparks. Soularc Skateboards have one curved deck on top of another for a springy carving feel. Flowboards have 7 wheels in a semicircle in front and 7 wheels in a semicircle in back for a snowboard feel. Sole Skates are small, three-wheeled skateboards. Longboards are longer and wider skateboards.

RipStiks - Like skateboards but with two small decks connected by a crossbar, and two inline casterwheels which swivel 360 degrees. Seems safer than skateboards because RipStiks don't easily shoot out from under you (they just flop onto their sides). The wheels might show some wear fairly quickly, but even with flattened wheels they're way more fun than skateboards for zipping around on the street. We're able to take apart our RipStik casters and clean them, but not our Wave Board casters, giving RipStiks an advantage over Waves. RipStik Gs have metal crossbars for doing grinds. RipStik Airs are molded into a single piece of plastic, and feel stiffer than RipStiks. Ripsters are smaller to fit younger kids.

Wave Boards - Like RipStiks, but with shorter crossbars. Makes more of a "clatter" noise than our RipStik. Wave Ripples are smaller to fit younger kids. ExBoards, X-Boards, EssBoards, VigorBoards, Cudas, Freeriders, and eXtreme boards are similar to RipStiks/Waves.

WhipTides - Like RipStiks, but with four inline casterwheels. The crossbar bends up-down and side-to-side, unlike RipStiks. Can do tighter turns and slaloms than RipStiks. Can't do jumps or lift one wheel off of the ground. There's a slight "wiggle" motion as you go faster. I'm more aggressive on RipStiks since they don't wiggle, but my daughter prefers the wiggle because it helps her get moving. Shred Sleds and Alive Boards are similar to WhipTides. Hurricane Boards and Cycle Force Swingboards appear to be WhipTides with only two inline casterwheels.

Xgliders (Xliders) - Have two separate (unattached) casterboard decks, so they're a bit tricky to learn and easy to lose your balance or do the splits. Can do different tricks and tighter turns and slaloms than RipStiks/Waves/WhipTides. You can't just step on and go, like with RipStiks. Instead, you place the two decks onto the ground, carefully step on one at a time, then go. RipSkates are like Xgliders, but with a removable crossbar. I made a RipSkate clone by bolting a crossbar between our Xglider decks, and it's very fun because it allows you to do tight turns (even better than a WhipTide) without the danger of your feet going in different directions. RipSkates provide two different riding experiences for the price of one. Freeline Skates are similar to Xgliders, but the wheels don't spin 360 degrees. OrbitWheels have separate decks as well, but your feet are *inside* the wheels.

PowerWings - Have safer features than RipStiks (two casterwheels in back plus a wheel in front for stability, and handlebars with brakes). You face forward and move your hips side-to-side, but on casterboards you face sideways and use a twisting movement with your hips. It's easy to lean too far back and flip over, but with practice this allows doing wheelies. Some PowerWings have safety bars at the back to prevent flipping over. Rip Rider 360s are similar, but they have a big plastic wheel in front with pedals, and kids ride them sitting down. Trikkes and "Slider The Unscooter" are also three-wheeled, but with unique methods of propulsion.

Bladeboards - Like RipStiks, but the casters are designed differently. We cleaned and lubricated the casters, and put in new bearings, but it still feels sluggish and noisy compared to RipStiks. Bladeboards don't appear to be sold anymore.

PumpRockrs - Skateboards with one casterwheel in front. Can't make tight turns like casterboards can. T-Boards are skateboards with two casterwheels, but don't appear to be as maneuverable as RipStiks. OBoards appear to be PumpRockrs.

TimberWolf XtreeMs - Similar to RipStiks, but the casters are designed differently. My kids and I are experienced riders, but we felt cautious at first because the TimberWolf is quite a bit faster and more maneuverable than RipStiks/Waves/WhipTides. The casters can go forward or backward, so you can swap ends as you ride, and do 360s. RollerSurfers have different casters, but they also allow you to swap ends and do 360s.

Streetboards - Like skateboards, but the decks are in three sections. Your feet rotate the outer sections to propel the board, and you can strap into bindings on the footplates (optional). Good for jumping tricks (grinds, etc.), but not as maneuverable and fun as casterboards on the street. Snakeboards are shorter versions of Streetboards. It took us several days to figure out how to ride our Snakeboard because the movement is different than with casterboards. Our RipSkate clone is everything that I had hoped the Snakeboard would be. Alterskates had a similar rotating mechanism to propel the board, but no-one at their website responds to emails. LandSharks are kneeboards which you propel similar to Streetboards (using a handlebar).

Bottom line:
We own a skateboard, RipStik, Wave, WhipTide, Xglider, RipSkate clone, Bladeboard, TimberWolf, and Snakeboard, and we've ridden a RipStik G, RipStik Air, PowerWing, PumpRockr, Flowboard, and LandShark. Our favorite boards are: RipSkate, TimberWolf, WhipTide, RipStik, and Wave (in that order). To do carving/twisting/turning/spinning around the street, casterboards are best. To do jumping tricks, skateboards and Streetboards are best. At skateparks, skateboards are best.

About the wheels:
We replaced our worn-down RipStik wheels with two good wheels from our Xglider, and put the flattened RipStik wheels onto our Xglider. Strangely, we didn't notice much of a difference in the feel of the RipStik or the Xglider. After 20 minutes, the rear wheel on the RipStik had worn down a bit, but RipStiks/Waves are fun even when the wheels are flattened (until it becomes excessive). The wheels on our other boards don't seem to wear down very quickly.

For some videos of my kids and me playing a casterboard game that we invented, search for "Caster Soccer" at YouTube. Another fun game is playing "tag" on casterboards. We wear protective gear when trying new boards or tricks. Skate safely!

I got this for my sons (10 and 13)a couple of months ago because they are so good on the Ripstick/waveboard toys. This is definately harder to learn than the others because they are separate boards, but with some effort they have made a good start. Clearly this is a serious core building toy! Sadly, the image of this toy comes with a red strap that helps beginners learn the skill, but Xgliders sold today do not include this red band any longer. Also, I could not figure out how to create our own. The result has been that I have had to keep encouraging the boys to keep trying this because the steep learning curve is keeping them from wanting to master this skill for themselves. I say, bring back the red strap!

Easier than the Freeline.
Waaaay easier!

My cousins who use ripstik/waveboard learned to control this in less than 10 minutes! I am NOT kidding!

I learned this in under 5 mins, because I already used a similar but more difficult version. It is called Freeline skates!
Personally, I would stick to Freeline skates, but my knees can't handle. I lost patience, so I made the switch to Xlider.

Xlider is the korean version.
I guess "Xglider" is americanized.

More fun (in my opinion) than ripstik/waveboard.
Seriously!
Anyone who'd see you on the streets with these will ALWAYS think it's super hard to learn, but really, it's not THAT difficult!

My feet aren't "restricted" unlike the ripstik/waveboard.

Don't mind the "eyesore" of a box design. The fun of the xlider surpasses the ugly design of the box.

I dunno if they'd start selling parts, coz the rubber padding is wearing off for me.
When I lent my pair to a friend, I think she rubbed the rubber part on the concrete floor.
Otherwise, the rubber pads would survive and not get damaged.
Very durable.
Easy to find/replace the wheels if they get worn out.

I replaced my wheels with lighting wheels, so I look like I'm floating on the air at night!

SUPER AWESOME!

It just frustrating when you buy something, and its just not quite all there. If you look at the front of each board, there is a lip. My cover on one was missing, and with the ordering with Amazon, its super hard to get it fixed...plus for any who are ordering this, there is no red teather, rope, strap, whatever you want to call it. It simply doesn't come with one. Other than those two things, the board is cool, but crazy hard...make sure you can ride a rip-stick before you buy this, otehr wise you won't get the full enjoyment. peace

I purchased this for my 10 year old son and he absolutely LOVES it! We are defintely going to purchase a couple more for my other children. This was a trial purchase and it was up to our expectations. It's just like his ripstick, but even better and more challenging.

I think this is nice board! My sons (14 and 16) love it. I like the board too. After 2 weeks I start drive it enough good to enjoy the process.

VN

It's cheaper than the old skool skateboard I wanted. I've taken it out three times and it's quite natural. The basics are easy, but it takes time to master. Careful. The first time out your inner thighs are gonna burn. Gonna probably buy another one for a friend.

We got the x-gliders as a Christmas gift. My kids could ride it with in half an hour. There have been many hours of x-gliding fun. Make sure you buy more than one set if you have more that one child, I'm glad I did!

PRO:

1. very good quality and lots of fun.
2. smaller turning circle than Ripstick/Waveboard
3. 2-piece design means easier to carry around.

CON:

1.you need a bigger foot to balance, therefore I won't recommand this to friends with shoe size less than 10. These friends can still enjoy Ripstick/Waveboard. The reason is that each foot has to balance a Xglider while 2 foot jointly balance a whole Ripstick/Waveboard.

2. The way how Xglider starts (toe-down) causes toes squeez into the front of the sneaker, very uncomfortable if not painful. Again Ripstick/Waveboard wins here. I will try to figure out how to start Xglider with toe up, just as I do with Ripstick/Waveboard.

3. four wheels means more friction. Again Ripstick/Waveboard wins here.

4. wheels are smaller than Ripstick/Waveboard, so it is harder to bust gaps on sidewalk.

Note: My results are from asphalt paved parking lot and average concrete sidewalk. If you play in skate park, you should fare much better.

Both Xglider and Ripstick/Waveboard has a hard time to deal with uphill. use skateboard or inline skate here. Scooter is even better.

At last, salute to Fusion for bringing this fun toy to us.

My almost 13yo son loves it. He caught on right away - but he is excellent at the ripstik.