Riding the ripsurf is a little bit different from riding the ripstick and ripster, but essentially is the same process and feels basically the same with just more wiggle and reaction. The Ripsurf is more wiggly and responsive compared to the ripstick and ripster, probably because the wheel placement is closer to each other. I also found it's more comfortable riding the ripsurf than the ripstick and it had more stability than the ripster. At first I had a hard time riding it, but eventually I got the hang of it. Previously I've rode a ripstick at my cousins house and rode a ripster at walmart, so I had a bit of experience. Both situations were different. I rode the ripstick on smoothly paved asphalt, similar to the asphalt I rode in my neighborhood, and at linoleum flooring at Walmart. It took me 5 minutes to ride this comfortably. I found that the wider board also makes foot placement easier, since there is now more space to put your feet. Riding is the same process as a ripstick, you sweve your hips and feet in order to get momentum and move farther. It's a fun toy when you're able to ride really fast. The faster you go the more smooth it is, meaning the more swerves and carves you can do on the street. From the videos it looks like the thing can go pretty fast, and was a big influence in me deciding to try this thing out. I never had a ripstick or a skateboard before, so this board seemed like the perfect thing to test. I first rode this inside my house, then the next day in my neighborhood. Riding in my house, which has relatively smooth floors, it went very smoothly and I imagined me able to do very amazing curves. Since I had barely any space, I had to wait until the next day when the sun came out. Once I went outside I found that going from high ground to low ground gets you to be able to move in a figure eight pattern pretty well, not to mention pretty fun :). I was just swerving up and down up and down, really feeling the swivel and movement for a couple of minutes. That's the positive. The cons about the ripsurf. Despite the times it worked well, my overall impression of using the ripsurf is disappointment. From watching YouTube videos the ripsurf seemed to glid very smoothly and could accelerate without much effort. Sometimes when I was using the ripsurf I REALLY had to swivel my legs and body just to move inches forward, which seemed like a walking pace. Not to mention I was riding on a very smooth asphalt. Going to two blocks took a lot more energy than to walk or using a scooter. It was more shaking my butt than actual swirving and carving from left to right, even on a level road. Also going over rocks could stop the front wheel entirely, making the boards butt tip up and forward. So the ride could not be so smooth. I feel like with a skateboard it's a WAY smoother and reliable ride to get you place to place. I like how the rip-- boards do not use pushing but instead use body momentum, but for the ripsurf it's quite slow :(. Pros +fun when you're on uneven ground, when you're able to get momentum going +when able to carve and swerve with speed it feels amazing +fast to react to body movement, compared to ripstick and ripster, quickly turns +easy to learn once you practice +PRICE DECREASED TO 70 BUCKS :D Cons +on flat asphalt it doesn't ride smoothly +hard to accelerate most of the time. +jittery from lack of momentum when slow +takes a lot of effort to increase acceleration even on smooth asphalt +unreliable for transportation +easily stops when encounter a pebble +going up in a tiny incline is still difficult compared to a skateboard or scooter Overall I wouldn't keep this board. I thought that I would be able to accelerate faster and cruse easily to destination to destination. It was fun when I was able to go fast, but most of the time I felt like walking, scootering, or skateboarding would have been way faster. If I had a local skatepark with smooth concrete then, yeah, this toy might have been a potential keeper. I can imagine riding the toy on smooth linoleum floors or on flat concrete. I did get the board used, and the box was kind of badly wrapped, so maybe it had to do with how it came here. But my still overall rating is the same. 3/5
