Review: Evolve Hadean Carbon Series

When was the last time you had a proper tumble? One that left you in agonizing pain. It's been more than a decade for me. But I can finally revert my “Days Since Last Accident” sign back to zero, and it's all thanks to a skateboard. I knew I should've listened to my mom.  

On my first real ride with Evolve's new Hadean Carbon All Terrain electric skateboard, I didn't go more than 30 feet before I lost my balance and landed chest first on the road. The board rolled off toward the sidewalk. Groaning, I slowly picked myself up and limped toward it. I scuffed up my palm and knee, but my torso was stiff and in pain. By the next morning, it felt like I got hit by a truck. It took around two weeks to feel completely normal again. 

I was naive. I'd never ridden a skateboard before, let alone an electric one! That day, it became obvious that this thing was nothing like the electric scooters and electric bikes that I've tested. Balance actually matters! I figured I could learn as I went along. Well. Chest, meet asphalt.

Photograph: Evolve

Evolve's Hadean is an electric longboard with dual 3000-watt motors baked into the chassis, along with a beefy battery. The carbon fiber construction feels high-end and durable. You control it with an equally premium-feeling remote you hold in your hand, called the Phaze, secured by a wrist strap. The Phaze has an LCD display, a throttle, a brake, and buttons to switch modes, configure speeds, and customize visibility lights on the board.

Squeeze the throttle on the back of the Phaze and you'll move forward on the board. (There's a dead man's switch you can toggle on so it never accelerates without you pressing both.) Gently hit the brakes and you'll stop. You steer by leaning your body left or right and turning the board's trucks (the devices on the bottom of the board that contain the wheel axles on a pivot point). Hadean includes a tool to tighten or loosen the trucks; I prefer more stiff trucks, as I found it easier to control my balance. 

During those two weeks of pain, the Hadean leaned against the wall next to my front door, staring at me as I left the house without it. Shortly after the pain went away, I'd consider taking the board somewhere for an errand—the post office, a nearby deli—but then suddenly remember how great walking feels. 

I finally mustered the courage. Cue the training montage. I watched YouTube videos with riding tips. I took the Hadean to a parking lot and practiced riding it powered off, kicking off with my leg to get a proper feel for the board and balance. Then I slowly eased into its electric assist, starting at 5 mph and ratcheting it up to 10. Last week, I hit 21 mph.

It's exhilarating and exciting, and you just feel so darn cool riding it. As someone who enjoys riding escooters, I can say they don't hold a candle to how much fun a board feels. It's like I'm on the Alponian Solar Cruiser from Treasure Planet or Marty McFly's hoverboard from Back to the Future. 

But it's also anxiety-inducing. Unlike an escooter, where you hold handlebars for balance and steering, there's nothing to grab on the Hadean. As I glided through the streets of Brooklyn, my mind raced. What if I accidentally hit the brakes hard and go flying into oncoming traffic? What if I lose my balance and fall into oncoming traffic? What if I have to react quickly and make a sudden turn into … oncoming traffic?

Photograph: Evolve

Practice makes perfect. After a few short trips running errands, I felt significantly more comfortable. I even took the Hadean on my longest trip ever: From Williamsburg, over the Williamsburg Bridge, to Pier 76 in midtown Manhattan. I then attended a few other meetings in Chelsea and returned home. It was a 15-mile trip, and it was flippin' awesome. 

The 7-inch pneumatic tires make for a very smooth ride (except when you're forced to go over a milled road or cobblestone). I also love that I can just pick up one end of the board and roll it around with me anywhere. That said, it's 30 pounds, so it's not exactly as light as an actual skateboard. It can be tough to carry up stairs because the board is so long.  

The Hadean is more powerful than 90 percent of the electric scooters I've tried, on any kind of terrain. It eats steep hills for breakfast, and that's despite it carrying a 220-pound 6'4" human on top. (It's rated to climb a 35 percent grade.)

It has a top speed of 26 mph Now, I've felt comfortable hitting 30 mph on an escooter, but it just feels like things can go wrong so quickly at those speeds on a board, so my happy place was somewhere in between 15 and 21 mph. You have four assist modes to choose from: Eco, Sport, Corsa, and Custom. I mostly stayed in Eco mode, which topped out right around the 20 mph mark. Sport cranks it up a little bit and increases the board's torque, and Corsa will let you hit that top speed. I used Sport briefly and it noticeably climbed the Williamsburg Bridge faster than Eco, but the latter never felt slow at all. 

You can dial the speeds to your liking on the remote and set it to the custom mode, though scrolling through the menus is a little slow. Evolve says it's releasing an app soon that will let you configure all of these settings, but I wasn't able to try it. 

The Hadean's range is impressive too. That 15-mile trip I took? It was mostly in Eco mode (and I was going around 15 to 20 mph), but the board had 30 percent left in the tank. I'm at the top-end of this board's weight capacity, so smaller and lighter riders will enjoy an even greater mileage (Evolve claims 25 miles). Unless you're in Corsa all the time. 

If you want even more speed and range, you can get the model with “street” wheels, made of urethane. Evolve says this model can hit 31 mph and has a 40-mile range. It also sells a slightly cheaper version with a Bamboo board instead of the carbon fiber in the model I tried. 

Photograph: Evolve

There's not much to dislike about the Hadean. I have minor quips, like the placement of the charging port and power button. Both are on the grubby underside of the board, and the former is particularly annoying to plug into. I'd have much preferred them on the edge instead. It would've been nice if the board were slightly lighter, too.

The board isn't meant for newbie riders, but in general I'd love to see a few more warnings, and maybe tips, on the website and packaging.  Evolve has videos on its YouTube channel that are helpful, but they're not immediately noticeable from the Hadean's product page. Maybe most people dropping more than $2,500 on an electric skateboard know what they're doing.

That's the kicker. This thing is expensive. There are plenty of electric skateboards that cost much less. From what I've seen, the boards that match (or come close to matching) the Hadean in range, speed, and ease in climbing ultrasteep hills are just as spendy, though you can find options like the Backfire Hammer for $1,400. I haven't tried any yet. 

The Hadean was my first bout with electric boards. Sure, I fell, but I'm also itching to get back on. Should I buy it? I asked my partner the other day. Maybe I can afford it if I sell an arm. If you're a fellow newbie, here's my parting advice: Know what you're getting into. Wear protective gear (yes, a helmet). Take it slow. You need to be confident, or you'll falter. Soon enough, you'll be flashing by, looking cool on the streets.