by Chris |
Last Updated: September 21, 2021 Blitzart Tornado
Pros
- Lightning fast battery charging time
- Impressive range for battery life
- Incredibly durable wooden construction
- Higher weight capacity than comparable boards
- Affordable option
- Comes in several colors
- Very lightweight
- Convenient built-in carrying handle
Cons
- Remote control seems to be made of lower-quality materials
It might be easy to overlook the BLITZART Tornado electric longboard, since it fits squarely in the middle of the pack when it comes to speed, power, and battery life. That is, it’s probably too much for younger or inexperienced riders, and it’s probably not enough for more experienced thrill-seekers.
Yet, it would be a mistake to discount the merits of this excellent e-board. In fact, it boasts some excellent features and a high-quality design that is frankly hard to come by, even in this saturated electric skateboard market. Indeed, this BLITZART Tornado even edges out the competition in certain key categories.
So before you move on to comparison shopping the more robust and thrilling models out there on the market, give the BLITZART Tornado a once-over; you might be surprised at what this special longboard has to offer.
Key Features
- Speeds of up to 16 miles per hour
- 10 mile range from fully-charged battery
- Charges completely in 2.5 hours
- 350-watt hub motor
- 7-layer maple and 2-layer bamboo deck construction
- 2 speed modes
- 250-pound rider weight capacity
- 38 in. deck
- Weighs only 13.6 lbs.
- 90 mm wheels
Design & Construction
The BLITZART Tornado, like other BLITZART boards, is constructed with 7 layers of sturdy maple wood and an additional 2 layers of bamboo on the top and bottom. This construction has both the durability and the classic appearance and aesthetics of more traditional skateboards.
Indeed, unlike some of the other high-tech options out there, no one’s going to mistake you for someone from the future on this board. But we actually really loved the classic look and feel of this board.
Technology & Connectivity
The BLITZART Tornado comes with an exceptionally ergonomic wireless remote control. With it, you have the power to accelerate, decelerate, reverse, and brake right in the palm of your hand.
The remote control and the skateboard feature two different speed modes that you can toggle between depending on the skill level of the rider, or simply based on your preferences at any given time.
We did feel that the remote itself seemed to be constructed from somewhat sub-par materials and had a kind of flimsy feel to it. While we never had any real issues with the remote, we did wonder how it would stand up to long-term use or, worse, a high-speed crash into the pavement!
There is a solution to this though, as BLITZART offers a different remote control to be purchased separately, and it appears to be a higher-quality piece of equipment.
Motor
The Tornado boasts a 350 watt hub motor. This type of motor has many advantages over, say, chain or belt motors, as it is far less prone to damage and malfunction.
Further, hub motors are significantly quieter than these other options and aren’t as cumbersome and clunky either.
One final note about hub motors: another great advantage they have over chain and belt motors is that boards fitted with them are radically easier to push manually. If you ever run out of battery life on a hub motor skateboard like the BLITZART Tornado, you can simply push the board manually like you would with a traditional skateboard. You’ll find this far easier to do with a hub motor skateboard than with other types.
Ride Quality
While not as smooth as some of the other boards we’ve evaluated, we really had no complaints about the BLITZART Tornado’s overall ride. It can’t take bumps and cracks in pavement quite as easily and fluidly as some higher-end models, but there was nothing bad enough that made us think the Tornado offered a choppy or overly-bumpy ride.
Battery & Charging
For a mid-range electric skateboard, the BLITZART Tornado actually boasts some impressive battery features. It has a range of about 10 miles off of a single charge, which isn’t bad at all. More impressively, though, this board can claim a truly speedy 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery. That’s a faster charging time than nearly every board we’ve evaluated, big and small!
Additional Features
One specific feature that we often look for in any electric skateboard is a fairly simple one: a carrying handle! This might seem like a minor issue, but if you’ve ever had to lug an electric skateboard for any distance once the battery went dead, you know how much of a blessing a simple feature like a handle can be. And yes, we loved the fact that the BLITZART Tornado included one in its design.
What’s more, though, is that this is such a lightweight model that, coupled with the carrying handle, it’s a perfectly portable board. So, even if you do find yourself with a lifeless battery, toting your BLITZART Tornado to your next charging station will be a much more manageable task than without one!
Overall
It may not be the Ferrari of electric skateboards, but the BLITZART Tornado is really more of a sturdy, reliable workhorse skateboard. It’s reasonably fast, has a decent battery life,
How Does It Compare?
BLITZART Tornado vs ACTON Blink Qu4tro
Ok, yes, we know: pound-for-pound, the BLITZART Tornado simply can’t stack up against the innovative design, 4-wheel drive capability, high speeds, great battery life, and overall features of the ACTON Blink Qu4tro. That much is true.
Yet, there are plenty of reasons why you might actually prefer the BLITZART Tornado over the Blink Qu4tro, so bear with us.
For one fairly obvious reason, the BLITZART Tornado goes for a tiny fraction of the asking price of the ACTON Blink Qu4tro. That alone is enough to at least consider it as an alternative.
But there are other reasons, too. For instance, if you’re just dipping your toes into the electric skateboard waters, you probably aren’t ready to drop the serious dough to try out the Blink Qu4tro. And even if you could, would you want to jump in headfirst like that? Most people would probably decide ultimately that it’s a better bet to buy the far more affordable, yet still feature-rich model in the BLITZART Tornado.
You’ll still get lots of great features and, most importantly, a quality electric longboard for a much more budget-friendly asking price. Read our review
BLITZART Tornado vs SKATEBOLT Tornado
You might be surprised to learn we had a harder time making the case for the BLITZART Tornado over the SKATEBOLT Tornado than we did making the case for the BLITZART over the Blink Qu4tro. That is, while the ACTON Blink Qu4tro is clearly the superior model by almost every metric, the comparison between the two “Tornado” models from these two brands was much closer.
This is largely a consequence of their respective asking prices. Here, we can’t lean on as huge of a disparity in price to make our point, as the going rates for these two models aren’t nearly as far apart.
Instead, we need to look at individual features and overall skateboard performance. And we’ll start by saying this: the SKATEBOLT Tornado simply outperforms the BLITZART skateboard of the same name in just about every category. Again, it’s faster, has longer battery life, and can climb steeper hills.
Yet, if you’re looking for something more in the middle, something that’s got some speed but nothing too crazy, a board that can get you places but isn’t necessarily suited for long voyages, you can still save yourself a bit of money by choosing the BLITZART Tornado.
But if you really want that extra speed and range, the SKATEBOLT Tornado is the clear winner. Read our review
BLITZART Tornado vs Halo Board 2nd Edition
The last comparable model we’ll consider is the Halo Board 2nd Edition. And again, we have a case where the specs for this model clearly outperform the intentionally mid-range BLITZART Tornado.
The Halo Board boasts top speeds of up to 26 miles per hour, produces an impressive 3000 watts of power through its dual hub motors, and does it all with a feather-light 14-pound package.
So, what’s not to love? Well, the same thing we’ve mentioned with the previous two options: the asking price. The Halo Board is indeed very impressive, but that kind of speed, power, and build quality will leave a pretty sizeable dent in your wallet.
You simply need to consider the tradeoffs and how important each on is to you. Price vs. features. Quality vs. cost. Speed vs. practicality. It’s really up to you to determine what is most important in your electric skateboard search. Read our review
Summary
If you want a reliable and affordable electric longboard with some good features that’s good for short commutes, it’s tough to beat the BLITZART Tornado. It’s in the mid-range in just about every category, but that might just be its strongest selling point. Think of it as the “Goldilocks” board: it’s just right.