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Comment by marvin | Hacker News Reader

Can these boards be used in the rain, or when the road is damp? Where I live, roads are wet ~40% of the time, so if not this would be a huge no-go.

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From the FAQ:

Is the board waterproof? No, riding the board in wet environments like rain, snow, mud, or through puddles can permanently damage the electronics and battery, cause the bearings and hardware to corrode, and may cause board failure at speed. Please DO NOT RIDE IN WET ENVIRONMENTS. Riding in wet conditions is slippery and extremely dangerous on any skateboard. Damage due to water is not covered under your warranty.

Normal boards shouldn't be ridden in the rain anyways. The trucks and bearings will rust, rendering your board into a piece of wood.

Which is unfortunate, since I live in Oregon, and I used to cruise my Miniglider everywhere. When it rained, I had to resort to walking.

Your trucks are probably aluminum and will be fine, and you can run sealed bearings. Riding in the wet really isn't such a big deal. The biggest problem is spray off of the wheels.

The board damage (if made of wood) is unavoidable though.

You can seal the wood with some kind of lacquer, though, right?

This is too bad, because I live in Bergen, Norway, where according to statistics 65% of all days have rain. So I'd have to resort to walking two thirds of the year => No longboard for me, electric or otherwise.

The FAQ says no, they aren't even a little waterproof.

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