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When it looks, feels and is packaged like a competitor’s, is it really competition or just a knockoff?

The Juiced Board comes dangerously close to echoing that sort of sentiment. Juiced and Boosted are words that loosely share the same meaning, but it’s the appearances where both electric skateboards really seem to converge.

Until now, I never would have recommended a sub-$1,000 electric skateboard. The cons for electric skateboards in this price range — including the Juiced — are lower build quality, performance and a less intuitive remote. This isn’t better than a Boosted or an Inboard.[1][2]

But as long as you respect its limitations, it works well as an introduction to electric skateboarding.

The riding experience

The Juiced dual+ model contains the regenerative braking feature I’ve come to enjoy on the high-end boards. By slowing down, you begin the conversion of kinetic forces to energy that can charge the battery, even if only slightly to increase range. This “dual+” model has a seven-mile range before tanking out, with a top speed of 20mph and a 15 percent grade hill climb. Charge time is around 45 minutes, which is pretty solid.

However, one of my main gripes with the Juiced board is one that’s shared whenever I revisit these “off-brand” boards: the lack of rider confidence. Starting with the remote.

The remote is powered by two AAA batteries (while most others are rechargeable) and is very finicky. Want to gently slow to a stop from top speed? Expect a few heart-dropping jolts before you find the remote’s sweet spot.

To be sure, I took the Boosted board 2 dual+ along the same route from Spring Street and Lafayette to the office, which...

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