Can I take my electric skateboard to Russia?

Can I take my electric skateboard to Russia? - Confident adult Hispanic male traveler in sunglasses and casual clothes with backpack opening can of drink while walking along pavement against blurred cars driving along street and empty crosswalk in downtown

I am going to the football/soccer world cup in Russia.

I usually use my electric skateboard to travel around in the city so I can avoid public transport. I would like to take it with me to Russia for the next World Cup. I worry that the police or the airport security could confiscate my skateboard when I leave Russia.

I wouldn't like to lose my 600 euros.



Best Answer

All airlines by now have disallowed larger Lithium batteries, and that explictly includes skateboards (carry-on as well as luggage).
You will simply find no airline that flies your skateboard to Russia (or anywhere else).




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Can you bring an electric skateboard on a plane?

Yes, you can. Electric skateboards with a battery capacity of less than 160 Wh can be taken on a plane, but airlines have the last word, and some of them will not allow you to fly with your board. It is prohibited to transport any batteries with capacities of more than 160 Wh on planes.

Is electric skateboard illegal?

Privately owned e-skateboards, like e-scooters, are classed as Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEVs). While they can legally be sold by retailers, they currently cannot be taxed or insured for use on public roads so their use is limited to private land with the landowner's permission.

Are electric skateboards illegal in Germany?

Since, electric skateboards are legal on the roads in Germany, they can serve as alternative means of transportation. You simply need to make sure you obey all traffic laws and PLEV specific laws to ensure you don't get in trouble with law enforcement.

Are electric skateboards legal in italy?

No, electric skateboards are not legal in Italy. Almost every other mode of personal electric transport was classified in their new micro-mobility decree, except for electric skateboards.



Why Skaters HATE Electric Skateboards And Longboards




More answers regarding can I take my electric skateboard to Russia?

Answer 2

Many (if not all) airlines have policies prohibiting such items. Not only are large lithium batteries prohibited, electric vehicles are prohibited regardless of the size (or presence) of a battery. You will not be able to take your electric skateboard with you on the airplane, neither has hand luggage nor as checked luggage. Some examples (I picked one from each major airline alliance):

KLM

Lithium battery operated self-balancing devices or personal movement devices, such as hoverboards, airboards, oxboards, e-skates, waveboards and U-runners are not allowed to take with you onboard even if the battery is disconnected or removed.

British Airways

Due to the potential fire risk associated with lithium batteries, hoverboards and other self-propelled electrically-powered vehicles (e.g. Air Wheels, Solo Wheels, etc.) are completely forbidden.

United Airlines

In the interest of safety for our customers and employees, we do not accept as checked or carry-on baggage any recreational self-propelled vehicle or device designed to carry one or more persons or goods, and which moves by use of a lithium battery-powered electric motor.

Answer 3

TL;DR: you may or may not be able to bring your skateboard on a plane. You could go by train. But are you sure you want to bring the skateboard anyway?


You can't bring large lithium batteries on planes because they are a fire risk.

Restrictions are based on the battery's capacity in watt-hours (Wh). To find the capacity of your battery, multiply the capacity in Ah (amp-hours) by the voltage. If the capacity is quoted in mAh (milliamp-hours), divide by 1000 to get Ah.

Anything over 160Wh (watt-hours) is forbidden on passenger planes, period, by international regulations. Lithium batteries can only be put in the hold of a passenger plane if they have capacity up to 100Wh and are installed in a device. Any battery that's not in a device (the airlines call these "spare batteries"), and any battery of more than 100Wh (up to 160Wh) must be in your hand luggage. Furthermore, you must notify the airline in advace if you intend to bring a lithium battery in the 100–160Wh range (I think there are restrictions on how many can be brought on the plane in total). You're only allowed two spare batteries in that range.

From cursory research, it seems that typical skateboard batteries are 22V and in the 5000–8000mAh range, which gives a capacity of 110–176Wh. The upper end of that range cannot be brought on planes at all. The lower end can be, but you can only bring two batteries, they must be in your hand luggage and you must inform the airline in advance.

I expect all airlines will require you to put the skateboard itself in your checked baggage. If you can't remove the batteries, you can't take it, since they will need to be in your carry-on.

An alternative option might be to travel to Russia by train, but it might take a couple of days. You can certainly get from Paris to Moscow, though you'll need to search more than I did. Die Bahn is usually excellent for European rail travel but it doesn't understand that, for a really long journey, stopping somewhere overnight is the right option. For Paris–Moscow, it decides you need to be in Berlin by 9am and the only way to do that is to go via Antwerp, Rotterdam, Utrecht and a bus to Hannover, which is obviously crazy; clearly you'd travel to Berlin the night before, with a single change somewhere in the Rhineland.

Other issues you do or do not raise:

  • Bringing the skateboard into Russia is presumably fine, unless you have reason to believe that electric skateboards are illegal there. Customs shouldn't be concerned with you bringing valuable things into Russia as long as it's clear that you'll be taking them with you when you leave. Lots of people travel with much more valuable items, such as laptops and cameras.

  • I'd be extremely surprised if you were allowed to bring a skateboard into the stadium with you. Even if you're allowed to bring them into regular football games in France, the World Cup is Different[TM]. It's a major sporting event and they're very restrictive about what can be brought into stadia, for safety and marketing reasons. For example, at the 2006 World Cup, a large number of Dutch fans famously had their shorts confiscated because they were advertising a non-sponsor brand of beer.

  • Other answers have already covered whether it will be feasible to use an electric skateboard to get to the matches in Russia, and whether it would be wise to use one around the big screens and so on. Remember that major events such as the World Cup do attract a lot of petty crime – do you really want to have to guard your skateboard while you're trying to enjoy the game?

Answer 4

I am Russian (originally from Moscow), and I can tell you it's absolutely fine to use it.

Most of the answers are right – there are actually a lot of guys riding a gyro scooter (because it's just got extremely popular Russia and I don't know why), hoverboards, and sometimes you can even see a guy riding a Boosted Board (O_O it's $1500) in Gorky Park. So there is no problem to use it, if we are speaking about the law. Man, what I am talking about, in Moscow there is a company who made dozens of parking zones with electric bicycles all over the city.

Charging your board somewhere in Starbucks or anywhere else while you are drinking your coffee is also not a problem.

So the only problem you have is your air flight, because as some of the guys said before in this thread, you have to check in your airline about is it ok to take such a big Li-ion battery on board. Personally, I think it's just better to find a very soft pack for it and just drop it like baggage. In this case you are just avoiding mental pain and saving your time.

Answer 5

Russian cities are quite crowded, and will be even more so during this event. I strongly suggest you don't take it there. Not only it won't speed you up, but you probably will end up recharging it all the time, since places of interest are usually further away from each other, than in smaller countries. Stadiums are mostly on the outskirts of the cities, as well, so subway is the way to go, not electric something.

Answer 6

There is no ban on electric vehicles like yours in Russia - in the fact there are many people riding segways / hoverboards / EUCs / e.t.c. The only issue is your airlines company which may not allow to carry large Li-Ion battery with you.

I really suggest you to check that before you buy the tickets, otherwise you may not be even able to leave France with your skateboard.

Answer 7

Also you should check the local laws. In the USA and Canada, police have been known to ticket these "unregistered electric vehicles"

source: http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-mans-first-ride-on-electric-skateboard-ends-with-600-ticket

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