WowGo 2S Max Electric Skateboard Full Review
Intro
What makes the WowGo 2S Max special is the 12S battery configuration which is usually found on boards over $1000. The Higher S count or series count translates to higher voltage. And with higher voltage we should expect faster acceleration and less noticeable voltage sag. Coupled with the newly upgraded 550W hub motors on both sides of the board, the wowgo S2 is poised to be the king of entry boards in 2023, but is it? Let's take a deep dive.
Motors
The WowGo S2 Max has a much stronger mid-range than other boards with 500W motors. Meaning starting out from a standstill, the S2 max actually don't feel much different from other entry level boards. But once it's past the 10mph+, I can feel the motors kick in harder and acceleration faster. This 10 to 25mph range is where the board really shines. And just to calm expectations, the board won't feel like a true full-fledged 12S board, for example the AT2 plus, uses a 12S battery configuration and has much stronger motors to push the voltage being passed to it while the 550W hub motors, despite an upgrade over the older 500W motors, isn't enough to put in on par against the AT2 Plus. However! That is not to say this is an unworthly upgrade. No not at all. For $400 bucks, this is kind of upgrade is unheard of. If you are looking for the fastest $400 dollar entry level eskate. Stop looking. This is it.
Carving
The wowgo S2 Max excels at not only speed but also turning and carving. Most electric skateboards use standard 45 degree angled trucks on their boards. The S2 Max uses 50 degree angled trucks. What does the angles do? The higher the angles the easier it is to turn and the lower it is, the more stable it is. I can really feel the difference when turning and carving on this board. And I have to say, paired with a softer 85A bushings and these higher angled trucks, this board is a very aggressive carver and handles sharp turns with ease. The downside of such a maneuverable board is stability at higher speeds. It started to feed unstable, especially after going over speed bumps, I feel the board shake quite a bit. Of course this not a big issue, you can just tighten the bushings get more stability at higher speeds. But that will sacrifse the turning radius of the board. The wheels on these boards are super gripy as well, they feel much softer and gripper than traditional urethane street wheels. The soft compound also help lower the general noise of the board as you roll down the street.
Breaking
Breaking isn't usually a big feature that I cover often. But I feel I need to highlight it quite a bit here. The breaks here are excellently tuned for beginners because it has a huge margin for error near the start. The initial 10% to 15% of the brake knob does very little in terms of slowing down. While some advanced users might complain about how soft these brakes are in the beginning of the turn, it does wonders newer riders at higher speeds. This allows the riders to adjust their speed while going fast with precision and plenty of room for error. This is a feature that's often overlooked when users ask for stronger brakes. And that usually leaves little room for error at high speed, which might end up throwing the riders off. That isn't to say these brakes are bad, not at all, when you pull the knob with full force, it executes that command precisly and comes to stop at rate comparable to other models at similar price.
Deck
The S2 Max also has a suite of features I need to mention that makes this board super enjoyable. That's the foam grip, which dampens road vibrations by quite a bit, If you are going to be on this any eskateboard for more than 15 minutes, these grip tapes are the way to go. The board has a remote start which is even better than some board's kick start, just turn on the board and go and turn off the remote when you get home. The deck is also in an ultra slight concave, which doesn't stress your feet but still provides amazing traction to riders who love to carve. The deck is also made out of 8 layers of canadian maple wood, bamboo and fiber glass, making this durible for high speed yet flexible for low speed carving and turning. The remote also has telemetry and generation information you need to know about the board. Most entry level boards don't have displays on their remotes.
Range
I got about 10 miles on the range test. That's with a ride weight of 200 pounds and temperature near 0 degrees celcius. So I expect performance to be much better in more pleasant weather and if you are lighter than me.
Donut Wheel
I have not yet tested the Donut Wheels yet for this board. This will be a separate video and separate review. Generally donut wheels are for rough road conditions or if you want a much smoother ride. And these donut wheels are much cheaper than cloud wheels. But do they offer the same type of comfort and performance? Let's find out on the next episode of ET Tech!
