The future has officially arrived, and its in the form of all-electric skates designed by Escend out of the UK. These aren’t roller skates with fireworks attached to them like the early pioneers of MTV’s Jackass, nor are they the regular old inlines we donned during our first couple’s skate in the 90s. Instead, the Escend Blades Alpha have successfully combined the joy of inline skating with the unmatched, effortless velocity that comes with electric motors. I kicked, pushed, and wobbled my way through two different variations of these electric skates for you, so be sure to check out my video below to get my thoughts.
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Escend Blades is born
First things first. What is a futuristic microbility product without its makers? You probably haven’t heard of Escend Blades yet, but I doubt you’ll forget their name after you watch me zoom back and forth across your screen on electric skates below.
Believe it or not, Escend’s journey toward creating the first electric motorized skates I’ve ever seen started as recently as October 2020. Cofounders Anton and Rashid met while working for Arrival – another electric mobility company in the UK often covered here on Electrek.
Each founder realized they were not alone in their respective love for skating and quest to deliver an all-electric version to the masses. When they discovered they both were working on their own prototypes separately, the duo then combined forces, quit their day jobs, and began development of the nascent Escend Blades Alphas you see before you.
A year later is when yours truly came in. The Escend team reached out to me and explained they were developing an electric skate prototype and asked if I’d be interested in being one of the first people on Earth to try them out. Naturally, I said no.
Kidding! Aside from being flattered, I was thoroughly excited to try something in micromobility the world had not seen before. We held video calls where I got to see the prototypes, and the cofounders even gave me a demonstration outside their office.
Flash forward to fall 2022. After months of conversations, certification delays, and a hefty wait through customs, the Escend Alphas were on my doorstep. Finally, I could charge ’em up, roll ’em out, and try not to break my wrists while I share my experience with you all. Aside from one minor hole in my jeans, I found great success in these electric skates, which you can learn about below. But first, check out some images and a few of the pertinent specs.
Check out the Alpha electric skates
I explain most of the good and bad with the Escend Blades in my video review, but I still want to point out some of the thoughts I didn’t have room for on YouTube and share some of the performance specs in greater detail.
As you can probably tell from the images above, the Escend Blades Alpha electric skates get their power from the two-wheeled skates themselves. Each “blade” is powered by a 5.2Ah battery pack in its center, housing lithium-ion cells. Each pack powers its respective 400-watt hub motor, powering the rear wheel. The rear also houses brakes, which certainly came in handy during my experience.
What’s cool about Escend’s electric skates is their modularity in that you can choose from two different boot styles to suit your preference/usage (i.e. to share or not to share). The Metro Boots resemble ski shoes and are ordered to your specific shoe size, hence harder to share.
The Doop Boots, however, are more like snowboard bindings, in which you keep your shoes on, step in, and strap up. This option serves a multitude of different feet sizes and offers more opportunity for others to impersonate a newborn giraffe along with you. Escend was awesome enough to send me both options to test out for you, and I definitely have a preference after trying both. More on that below. First, however, you gotta see some of the specs these electric skates offer:
- Motor Power: 800w (2x400w)
- Battery: 2 x 5.2Ah lithium-ion packs
- Frame: Aerospace-grade aluminum
- Tires: 105mm diameter custom-made silicon rubber. Shock-absorbing, wear-resistant on and off-road tires that can be ridden for a minimum of 1000 km (621 mi) before requiring replacement.
- Remote: Wireless with tactile vibration and predictive alerts
- Top Speed: 25 km/h (15.5 mph)
- Three speed modes:
- Eco: 0-10 km/h (0-6.2 mph)
- Commute: 10-18 km/h (6.2-11.2 mph)
- Turbo: 18-25 km/h (11.2-15.5 mph)
- There is also a reverse feature capable in all three speed modes
- Range: 15 km (9.3 miles) on a single charge
- Charge times:
- Remote: 30 mins
- Skates: 20-80% in 1.25 hours, 20-100% in 2 hours
- Other features: Regenerative braking, throttle control for acceleration and braking, IP66 certified waterproof, replaceable battery packs.
- Fun Fact: The Escend Blades Alpha electric skates adhere to FAA guidelines and can be taken abroad.
How to buy and the full video review
Are you sold already? Without even watching my video yet? Damn, I’m good. Hold that thought, though, because we need to talk prices real quick. The Escend Blade Alpha electric skates are currently on sale via the Escend website, starting at a price of $799 for the blade platforms only.
The set with the Metro Boots costs $869, while the Doop Boots package costs $919. Don’t worry, though – Scoot’s got ya. Use promo code SCOOTERSKATES for… 3% off (sorry).
You may not be all-in on electric skates yet, and I totally understand. Regardless, you’ve gotta see these things in action. Please check out my video review below, and let me know what you think about the Escend Blades. Are these the future?
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