Review: Backfire Mini electric skateboard

Backfire is a company that makes electric skateboards. They make a variety of electric skateboards for different purposes.

The Backfire Mini is the smallest and most portable electric skateboard from Backfire that's marketed for city commute. The usual price is US $599 and I managed to buy it at US $549 during Black Friday 2020.

I've been riding electric skateboards since 2017 and have used several brands since. Prior to buying the Backfire Mini, I've also considered Vestar Mini (US $529, 6.1kg), Meepo Mini 2 (US $449, 7.2kg), Teamgee H20 Mini (US$399, 7.5kg) and OwnBoard M1 (US $469, 7.2kg). Backfire Mini weighs 6kg.

Just to give you the bottomline up front, the Backfire Mini is well built, looks great, powerful and rides well. It also happens to be the lightest e-skateboard compared to the other models I've mentioned. However, the Backfire Mini is still noticeably heavier compared to the cheap generic 4-5kg China e-skateboards I've used. 6kg is not that heavy, but it's also not light. So if you don't mind the weight, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the Backfire Mini.

Here are the basic specs:

• Range: 15-18km
• Max speed: 42km/h
• Battery: 50.4V 175Wh
• Motors: 450W X2 hub motor
• Deck: Carbon fiber, concave with double kick
• Wheels: 85mm replaceable
• System: Samsung 21700 Battery Cells, output current=60A

Tracked shipping from China to Singapore took less than one week.

The e-skateboard was shipped securely, held by foam, inside a cardboard box (above) which is inside another cardboard box.

These are all the accessories included, namely

• Remote
• T tool
• Allen key
• Screws
• Power adapter

Here in Singapore we use the 3-pin UK style power plug so I'm glad that was included.

I actually ordered the simple black design but that was sold out. Backfire contacted me to ask if I'm okay with the Royal Gold design and I'm fine with that. I actually wanted the black design because it's more discreet.

Royal Gold looks good too if you don't mind it being more attention grabbing.

If you have seen other reviews for Backfire Mini, you may notice there's a cutout on the grip tape for the battery compartment which allows you to reach the battery and internals. There's no cutout on my grip tape and I prefer it that way. No cutout means water will not be able to enter the compartment, and the design looks cleaner too.

The only time you need to access the internals is when there's something wrong with the electric circuit or if you need to change the battery. You don't need frequent access to the internals so the cutout is not necessary. Besides, replacement grip tape is easy to find and affordable. I did ask Backfire to include a black grip tape for me and they did, but it's one with the cutout so I guess I'll stick with the Royal Gold design for a while.

This is definitely one of the better looking e-skateboards out there. It's not like other brands that have a visible battery pack screwed onto the bottom, and some brands even have a separate compartment for the ESC. Two compartments sticking out from the bottom!

The 85mm wheels are big. These wheels make the deck rather high compared to traditional cruiser skateboards with their 60-70mm wheels.

Height of the deck is not that important because you won't be pushing the e-skateboard unless you run out of battery. In case you do run out of battery, you can still push this around and use it like any other skateboard. The hub motor will offer slight resistance but they will still roll easily.

Deck may be high but riding on it still feels stable because it's a 6kg heavy e-skateboard. It's heavy as in it's-difficult-to-flip-it-over-with-your-feet heavy.

The 85mm wheels are big enough to go over cracks and bumps on city streets. FYI, my current e-skateboard with 70mm wheels have no problem with city streets too.

The ball bearings are stamped with Backfire's brand on it. Not sure who made them though.

This is the 450W hub motor wheel. Going up slopes with two of these is a breeze. You probably won't even notice any deceleration unless it's a really steep slope.

The torque is powerful. If you are a beginner, definitely put more time into riding it on easy path less crowded paths before using this on city streets. You'll want to get used to the torque.

Bottom of my deck has a little chip when it hit a kerb. The trucks are quite wide which means it's stable.

These are reverse kingpin truck.

From this angle you don't even see the cables that go to the wheels.

There's a yellow warning sticker with safety instructions that you should definitely read. I've been riding e-skateboard for years and the safety tips are sound. I don't want to be a spoilsport but seriously, it's not good to get yourself or anyone injured. When I ride, I think safety all the time.

Peel away that yellow warning sticker and you can see the heatsink for the internals.

Riding experience

Overall riding experience is good.

Let's talk about the E mode first, then the S (Sport) mode.

With E mode, acceleration is smooth but still powerful. Speed is locked at around 19kmh which is a speed where I can still foot brake (difficult but still can be done). There's no issue when going up slopes. Break is smooth too.

With S mode, speed can go up to 30kmh which is really fast. I don't ride at this speed, or any speed above 20kmh because I value safety. At high speed, the board will wobble a bit more but still considered quite stable since the board's surface area is huge, and wheels are wide apart.

Acceleration for S mode is very powerful. If your posture is not right, you can fly off (backwards) with full throttle.

I like to have my trucks looser because I want to do tight turns and when the trucks are loose, I heard rattling sounds. I had to put some Blu-tack underneath the bushing washer to make the rattle noise go away.

Conclusion

Backfire Mini is a good electric skateboard. It looks great, has good build quality and performs well.

The only downside is it's 6.36kg (measured) which to me is considered heavy. It is certainly the lightest "Mini" electric skateboard compare to other brands like Meepo Mini 2 (7.7kg), Vestar Mini (8kg), Wowgo Mini (7kg), and more.

To know how heavy 6.36kg really is, go to a supermarket, load up six 1.5 litres of bottled drinks. That's how heavy it is. Then walk around the supermarket for five minutes then put those bottles back. Ask yourself if you feel like making the effort to carry the weight around when you have to at places where you can't skate.

When I go out, I always wonder if I should bring the good looking Backfire Mini out or the ugly-generic-battery-screwed-beneath-the-board-China-made electric skateboard which weighs less than 5kg. Had I know just how heavy 6.36kg is, I won't have bought Backfire Mini. Seriously.

But if you don't mind the weight, it's really worth the money.