Your 9-13 year old son will love this product. It is easy to learn and fun to ride. Good exercize and my kids have never gotten hurt using it. It seems like the design makes it much safer than a skateboard.

This board was a huge hit with my son. Smooth ride. Love the design. It has gotten many hours of use, and I've even tried it! Great board, and would definitely recommend.

I've been riding a StreetSurfing's Wave for a month, and I'm really having a great time with it. I thought to share my experience in some areas that new buyers may find useful.

Wave vs. Ripstik:
I chose Wave over Ripstik because I heard that it's easier to learn.
The claim was supposedly based on Wave's wider deck plate and shorter caster height. I tried my friend's Ripstik, and my conclusion is that it does not matter which. They are both good and easy to learn.

Having said that, there are noticeable differences in riding feels more than cosmetic. I felt that Ripstik was a bit more responsive, perhaps faster too. But it could be the ground surface or the wheel condition that made me feel that way. I liked the narrower deck plate on Ripstik, as it felt easier to position my feet. But I am very happy with the Wave, and these differences won't make me switch to Ripstik.

Wheel tread wear:
My rear wheel lost its tread about 1/16 to 1/8" after a month. The front wheel lost less than 1/16". I weigh 180lb, and used the board on sidewalks and blacktops for about 30 hours so far (1 hour/day for 30 days). Lately I've been practicing some tricks and rough riding, so it may have contributed to the rear wheel wear more than the front.

New wheels have pointy tread so the initial tread loss could occur in a matter of days. But after the tread flattens a bit, the loss seems to slow down, at least in my case. I don't know how much tread loss would affect the ride, but the way it's going, I don't think that I need to change them soon. I'm actually more concerned about wheel bearings and caster trucks as I may have to re-condition or replace them to keep them nice and smooth.

*** UPDATE - Nov. 10, 2008 ***
I finally changed the wheels after 2 months.
When the wheel loses more than 1/8" in tread, it catches tiny pebbles on the ground so often that it is difficult to maneuver the board. You'll notice this as the wheel (especially the rear) flattens. In my case, when the rear wheel lost 1/8", I switched the front and rear wheels as the front had lost only 1/16" at that time. After a few weeks though, I had to replace them both with new ones.
So according to my usage, the wheels have 60 hours of life cycle (1 hour/day for 60 days).
*** End of UPDATE ***


Exercise value:
My heart rate doesn't go up much even on up hills, so I can't say that it's a great aerobic exercise. I feel that my sense of balance has improved. My lower body (hips, knees, ankles) seem to be a bit more flexible now than before I started caster boarding.

I did have one big discovery. The mechanics of generating power to drive the caster board are similar to the ones to throw punches correctly.
I discovered this when I was struggling to drive the board on the first day. When I recognize the effective body moves, it became easier for me to drive it. I heard somewhere that the origin of caster boards comes from martial arts training tools. Whether it is true or not, I do see a connection between the two.

Ripple and Ripster for kids:
I saw a 6-year-old comfortably riding the Ripster one day. He told me that he started with Ripstik but he had trouble riding it, so he got the smaller board, i.e. Ripster. If a child is below 4 feet and weighs less than 50lb, Wave may be too big, too heavy. I'd consider Ripster or Ripple instead.

Protection gears to learn fast:
I highly recommend wearing a helmet, knee/elbow pads, and gloves/wrist guard when you first try to ride the board. They give you protection of course, but also the sense of security that allows you to overcome your fear. Once you get on the board a few times, you will quickly realize that it is not as hard as you think. Some people who tried my board without protection gears seemed to be too fearful of falling to actually get themselves on board in a proper manner.
Subsequently they gave up quickly, saying it was too hard.

You don't need to be young, fit or coordinated to ride a caster board.
Enjoy!

The wave board is a little difficult to get the hang of at first, but is great fun! Was for my daughter (16) but I plan on using it when she's at school.... (heh heh heh) The board is beautiful too!

I bought this for my 10 year old for his birthday - it was too big for him, so I then bought the smaller wave ripple (wave ripple) for him, and he convinced me to keep this one for myself. We've both had a great time learning to ride it. It took about a day to learn. I'd also recommend real protective gear - and not riding downhill. At all. Ever. (from experience)