Backfire Zealot S3 review – An electric skateboard with zip and some serious lighting

REVIEW – Electric skateboards aren’t new, but the technology just keeps getting better. Backfire Boards sent their Zealot S3 for review and having grown up skateboarding in a town with huge hills, I was excited to see just what kind of torque I was going to get. I was not expecting the amazing execution level on the lighting, and the ride did not disappoint. Read on Gadgeteers.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $899
Where to buy: Backfire Boards

What is it?

The Zealot S3 is an electric longboard style skateboard with dual belt-drive motors and an insanely smooth, elaborate lighting system built into the perimeter of the board.

What’s included?

• Zealot S3

• AC Charger for board
• Remote and USB-C charging cable
• Diagnostic cable
• T-Tool and Hex wrenches
• 2 spare belts, spare screws
• Manual and sticker pack

Tech specs

• Deck: Composite maple, fiberglass and ABS
• Trucks: 8-inch aluminum alloy w/ 50º rake and 4340 steel axle
• Wheels: 96*55mm polyurethane 78a durometer
• Battery: 503wh lithium, 14S configuration, 58.8V w/ smart BMS
• Motors: Dual 875w, high-torque belt driven
• Lighting: Integrated perimeter atmospheric rainbow LEDs
• Remote: Machined aluminum shell with AMOLED display
• Limits: 25-30 miles range | ~ 30mph | 30º hill grade | 265 lbs rider weight
• Charging time: ~2.5 hours
• IPX rating: IP65 (water resistant only, NOT waterproof)
• Dimensions: 23lbs, 39 x 9.8 inch deck

Design and features

Until you turn it on, the Zealot S3 looks a lot like other electric long boards.

And then you turn it on.

Don’t let the light show above fool you though. There’s some serious power in the board, and the necessary control comes from this controller. There’s a thumb wheel just out of view (see additional pic later on) to control acceleration and braking, and a slider switch at the bottom to move it to reverse if you need to back up for some reason.

As for the board, dual belt-driven motors supply lots of torque for both acceleration and braking.

The rear truck above and front truck below provide rock solid turning performance along with the necessary stability to deal with the high speeds. You can see the clear protective bumper on nose and tail in these photos which can help keep the board from getting dinged. Definitely handy as this board is not light at 37lbs. Depending on your weight, you may need to loosen the trucks a little. At 220 lbs, these were good for me out of the box.

This is the super well protected and low profile battery pack up by the front wheel, along with the charging port (up by the truck) that you’ll want to be sure to close before riding.

By the rear truck is the motor controller box that includes the power button. This is also a great view of the full dual belt-drive system at the rear of the board.

Assembly, Installation, Setup

Getting started is pretty easy as the skateboard does not need any assembly. Just connect the power supply to an AC outlet and plug it into the port in the battery pack by the front trucks. You’ll also want to charge the remote by connecting the provided USB-C cable to it’s port and to a USB-C power supply (not included).

When you’re ready, power on the Zealot S3 by pressing the power button on the module by the rear trucks. You’ll be greeted by a light show as the edges of the board light up from back to front symmetrically and then back again. Press and hold the larger button on the remote to power it on. The AMOLED display will light up with the Backfire logo and automatically connect to the board as they were paired before packing.

The remote has a knurled thumbwheel that you will use to accelerate and to brake. Basically you roll your thumb forward to go and backward to stop. It’s a great way to get some finer control over a trigger which can easily be squeezed too quickly. Make sure to put the wrist lanyard on to avoid drops while riding. It will work for a left hander, but the buttons and switch will be awkward.

Should you need to re-pair the remote to the board at some point, you’ll want to dig further into the user manual which you can browse here. There’s a few other useful details in here that you won’t find elsewhere including these nuggets…

• A Button (Small Button)
  • Single Press = return
  • Double Press = lock/unlock throttle
  • Triple Press = toggle on/off the deck lights
• B Button (Large Button)
  • Long Press = Turn On/Off
  • Single Press = Cycle between Eco/Sport/Turbo
  • Double Press = Enter menu
  • Triple Press = Cycle through display themes

In the menu you’ll have the ability to see details on the board and remote, adjust limits for the three power modes, and customize the lighting way more than I anticipated. Some of those lighting modes were shown up in the features section. Let’s move on to how it rides.

Performance

Again as a long-time skateboarder/snowboarder I love to carve turns, so here’s the Zealot S3 doing exactly what I wanted it to do. You’ll have to click this link as it looks like vertical videos don’t get the embed feature.

Here’s a video my son helped shoot by following on an ebike. I’m in Sport Mode which tops out at about 75% power or around 23-25mph.

Of course my skateboards weren’t electric and as comfortable as I am on all kinds of boards, the torque you get from the motor takes some getting used to. You want to lean forward and brace against your back foot. And you’ll want to lean back and brace against the front foot when braking. Even the fine tune control you have with the thumb wheel will take some practice. It’s easy just to lift the thumb to stop accelerating, but the instant slow down that happens can cause you to lurch forward. It’s best to be alert and back the wheel down slowly and then into braking once you’ve shifted your body weight. You can go into the remote settings mode and dial back the acceleration if needed.

Here’s what Turbo Mode looks like, and yes it’s fast enough where the full face helmet felt very necessary.

Satchel using Turbo Mode to drop me easily…

And one more where Satch is getting tricky…

The Zealot S3 is a complete blast to ride. The wheels are the right durometer to absorb some rough surfaces but feel silky smooth if the pavement is new. The trucks are nice and wide. I’m a size 13 and wouldn’t mind a slightly wider board, but it didn’t stop me from grinning anytime I got out on this.

Let’s jump back to the lighting again. Everything shown in the review so far have been still images. Here’s a video showing the start up sequence which you can customize along with eight different motion lighting effects. You’ll also see a couple of solid colors I set up which you can set to be solid, or breathing. There’s a huge selection of colors to choose from. It’s pretty remarkable what the Backfire Team was able to integrate into the board as when the lights are off you can’t even tell that there are embedded lights.

Final thoughts

The Zealot S3 is straight up adrenaline under your feet. It’s a blast to ride and the different modes allow you to ease into the speed when you’re ready. The lighting puts everything over the top and helps make you hyper visible at night if you’re comfortable enough not seeing road conditions. Always wear a helmet and seriously consider pads and other safety gear.

What I like about the Zealot S3 electric skateboard

• Longboard carves and stability
• Seriously punchy torque with rapid braking
• Lighting is perfectly executed and very bright as dusk falls

What needs to be improved?

• Relatively heavy, but understandably so
• Wouldn’t say no to a wider board for us large footers
• Remote definitely favors a right handed person

Price: $899
Where to buy: Backfire Boards
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Backfire Boards whom did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.