When comparing Airwheel M3 vs Acton Blink Lite, the Slant community recommends Acton Blink Lite for most people. In the question“What are the best electric skateboards around $500?” Acton Blink Lite is ranked 2nd while Airwheel M3 is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Acton Blink Lite is:
A simple old school look from the 80s, comprised of a different shaped nose and tail, with the tail being larger. Combined with the neon color wheels, this makes for a board that offers some nostalgia while also offering clean looks.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Can operate in very wet conditions
The electrical components are secured from the elements, and the board can be used even in wet conditions.
Pro Can mount setup on any board imaginable, even on a snowboard
The motor setup can be mounted on any number of decks, including decks not originally intended to serve as skateboards. This gives a great deal of flexibility in customizing your ride.
Pro App for tracking statistics and tweaking available on both Android and iOS
A chip inside the board tracks stats and wirelessly relays them to the app, enabling the user to check them in real time. This leads to better decision making while riding the board.
Pro No external motor
The motor is encased inside the wheel (instead of an external motor and belt drive), which keeps it protected and offers a good, high-powered experience.
Pro Awesome design
The board has a striking design with one tail and large wheels fastened to backward-facing trucks.
Pro Smooth ride
The trucks and bushings have a dampening effect on vibration and bumps making for a smooth ride. The large wheels and cushioning risers used above the trucks enhance this effect.
Pro It's fairly cheap
This setup cots 2-3 less than that what you'd expect to pay for a high-quality e-board, making it a very accessible option.
Pro Good warranties
The board comes with a 1-month warranty on the wheels, a 6-month warranty on the battery, and a 1-year warranty on the rest of the components.
Pro Able to ride on medium rough terrain
The large wheels allow the board to traverse rough terrain easily. This makes it a good board to use in off-road conditions, including forested terrain and parks.
Pro Feels really durable
The components are strong and stand up well to wipeouts and poor weather.
Pro Nice design
A simple old school look from the 80s, comprised of a different shaped nose and tail, with the tail being larger. Combined with the neon color wheels, this makes for a board that offers some nostalgia while also offering clean looks.
Pro Inexpensive
Price is $299, which is considerably lower than many other boards. While there are fewer options and lower specs compared to higher end boards, this is a great option for starters in the hobby, or children, or those that just wish to save a few bucks.
Pro Smooth acceleration
The product uses a hub motor rather than a gear drive, which possesses low resistance when pushing while also providing longer and quieter cruises.
Pro Easily reverse the board
There is a built in reverse button on the remote of this board, which allows the user to toggle the reverse mode. This can be good for some fun and tricks, as well as a convenient method of movement when commuting in busy areas.
Pro No maintenance costs
This board uses a hub motor (so no belt), which translates to no extra maintenance cost where the motor is concerned.
Pro Solid remote
The wireless remote is small and easy to use. It is coated in a soft touch material, that allows for an easy non-slip grip.
Pro Great value for performance
For the price, of $299 you're getting a 5 mile range with a 10 mile per hour speed. While this is lower by about half when compared to the high end boards, they mostly cost three times as much as this. This is why the cost to performance ratio is considered good.
Pro Great portability
At 7.7 lbs, the Blink Lite is among the lightest boards on the market. This makes it easy to carry around, either under arm or strapped to a backpack. this way the rider does not need to worry so much about having to lug around some heavy piece of equipment every time they need to jump off the board.
Pro Conveniently ride when the battery is dead
You can use the Blink Lite as a regular board when the battery is out, allowing the rider to not be stuck when the battery dies on them as they are out and about.
Pro Very nice app
ACTON app has a lot of features and info such as battery level, or changing modes, or looking at ones ranking in a social section. This creates an easy way to check ones stats or change ones settings, whether the user is on iOS or Android.
Pro Great for children
The max speed is low at 10 miles per hour. The weight is also low at 7.7 pounds. This combines to offer a board that is not only easy for kids to carry around, but they are able to ride it with little worry of the board reaching too high of speeds.
Pro Long lifespan
No belts, hub motor allows for a longer lifespan and no need to purchase more belts.
Pro Quick charge time
It takes 2 hours to completely charge the board, which is pretty low. This way there are no long wait times when the board needs charged.
Pro Conserve battery with the brakes
The Blink Lite offers regenerative braking, which is useful for conserving battery, as the board will recharge every time the user brakes.
Pro Efficient power use
Being a hub motor, the power of the motor is 1:1, which is efficient when it comes to power consumption. This allows the board to get higher battery life over belt driven motors (if using the same batteries).
Cons
Con Quite heavy
The 25 lbs weight needs to be taken into account. It is not the easiest to carry around if that’s something you’ll need to do.
Con People can see it's motorized quite easily
Thanks to the very large battery box attached under the board, it’s quite obvious that the board is motorized.
Con Bulky battery pack isn’t great to look at
The battery pack is quite large and really stands out – but not in a good way. Its size also adds weight to the board, which is the tradeoff you make for a more powerful battery that lasts longer.
Con The range is unimpressive
When ridden by a 65 kg (140 lb) rider at full speed at 14 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit), the board only has a range of 10 km (6 miles). When it’s colder than this, the batteries will offer even less power. This is true of all batteries, so if you live in a cold environment be sure to consider the impact weather may have on performance.
Con One-wheel drive
Only one wheel has a motor, which can lead to too much torque on one side.
Con Dishonest advertising of specs
Airwheel is advertised with a top speed of 20 kph and a 20-km range (12 mph and 12 miles). The company also claims it can be fully charged in 60 minutes and that it will alert the rider when they reach 12 kph (7.5 mph). In reality, there is no alert at 12 kph, the board only charges to 55 percent capacity in an hour, and listed the top speed can only be reached if you weigh less then 60 kg (130 lb) or are going downhill. It’s possible that a 20 km range could be achieved in first gear, but in the top gear you will only be able to travel half that distance.
Con Miserable top speed
Even with a fairly light, 150 lb rider, the board will only reach a top speed of 11 mph. Obviously this speed will only decrease as the rider weight increases.
Con Doesn’t charge very quickly
The board takes three hours to fully charge. It will only reach 55 percent charge after the first hour. This makes it difficult to quickly top off the battery.
Con Limiting range and speed
The stated range is only 5 miles per charge. This is pretty limiting, especially for those that weigh above the recommended 180 lbs rider limit (as the more one weighs, the less performance they will see). The speed is also on the low end (when compared to higher end, more expensive boards) at 10 miles an hour. This combines to a board that offers speed and distance on the low end of the spectrum. While it is by design, it is something to keep in mind when purchasing.
Con Low torque
Using a hub motor, the power pushed to the wheel will be 1:1. When compared to a belt driven motor, the belt driven motor will offer more torque, which is helpful on inclines and general power performance. Being that this is a hub motor, the torque is lower than said belt driven motors, which makes for a situation where climbing hills or general power performance when needed, may not be enough.
Con Stiff and rigid ride
Being that this is not a long board, there is little flex to be found in the deck itself. That means the board does not absorb vibrations or bumps from any rough terrain. For longer rides, this will become uncomfortable for the rider and their feet.
Con Easily gets stuck on rocks and cracks
The 70mm wheels can get stuck on rocks on the road, or in cracks, throwing the rider off. This can be dangerous and the rider needs to be aware the whole time they are riding.
Con No easy way to swap batteries
This board does not allow for hot swapping of batteries, meaning there is no easy way to extend ones range by changing the batteries from a depleted one to a new on on the fly. This also means replacing the battery once it has reached its end of life will not be easy, especially if the manufacturer no longer makes them at that date.
Con Abrupt braking
The braking does not step down that easily, causing more abrupt slowing down than expected, which can cause stability issues with the rider.