ripstik vs ripstik air

I recently bought a red ripstik from my local sports store after seeing some kids using them at my local mall. I wasn't sure weather they really would be worth the money since I had a $300 elemental/fury trucks skateboard deck for my local transport.

After 2 hours on my new ripstick I could travel the length of the street with no problems with a few occasional hiccups but nothing too bad. The ripstik has an amazing feel to it, far superior to a regular skateboard. The 'fun factor' on a ripstik is because there is less stability than a regular deck, but this does not mean it has less control. Into the first week of using it I started doing trips of about 3Km on the footpaths and far prefering the ride to my skateboard.

I have ridden ripstik's for 3 months now and I can carve like crazy on them now.

Ripstik vs Ripstik Air....
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original ripstiks have a movable torsion bar in the middle of them, no griptape, heavy seperate foot holds, 360 degree movable castors with regular wheels in them whereas the ripstik air is a 1 piece lightweight tough plastic foot hold with grip tape and more advanced 90 degree or so castors with wheels.

I searched everywhere to find a comparison on which is better...here is the verdict...

Immediately after getting on the ripstik air I felt heaps more stable because of the grip tape and no swivelling foot holds on a caster bar. pushing off and getting up to speedwas quicker and easier. On the original ripstik I felt more lanky and had to use more balance to do this because of the torsion bar. But this didn't immediately count out buying the original ripstik because as I straddled on the ripstik air I noticed that the cruizing speed on no slopes wasn't as fast as the original heavier ripstik with the torsion bar. Infact the ripstik air felt a little slow, but the stability on it made me way more confident to get to its average speed faster.

I noticed no different with the castors on either deck being 360 degree or 90 degree while cruizing on the board because physics makes it almost impossible to make them turn 360 degree while going straight, though if you were to ollie the ripstik this new feature of the ripstik air will prove far superior. As for the torsion bar on the original ripstiks, I would suggest that it makes for a more fun ride because of it's feel and also assists for slow running tight turns which I rarely need to do on the ripstik.


I have had both ripstiks for the same time and I much prefer the ride and feel of the ripstik air. The ripstik air is like a modern skateboard whereas the original ripstiks are heavier and make for a faster journey just like a long board skateboard.

I hope this helps anyone who is confused about which one to buy!

possesd