This is a bit of a tricky review to make due to the nature of the board; it’s designed for kids. So equipped with a Lil Bomber I went off to see my nephew Tom and between us we were able to come up with a review.

Tom is not a mountainboarder, but he rides a mean RipStik and has had a couple of snowboarding lessons so I thought he could cope.

First comes the marketing guff produced by GI:

Inspired by Akoni Dama and his mission to get more kids riding, the Lil’ Bomber 90 is a light-weight, tight lil’ package. The wider side-cut and youth-engineered bindings provide greater turning leverage for increased speed control and stopping power. Built with full size 8″ wheels and 12mm skate trucks, this board packs components that maintian their functionality and durability as the rider and your skills grows.

From this, Tom and myself translated that this was designed for small people wanting to get into mountainboarding, and that it has a wide deck and special bindings to ease turning.

The “youth-engineered” bindings were good, a bit of manipulation and Tom had a really good fit, and was able to control the board fairly well. Onto his maiden voyage.

On jumps Tom and zooms off down the street, an instant expert, carving smoothly down the street, and stopping with a neat j-turn without too much effort.

His first impression was that it does not turn as well as his RipStik and that it does not bend very well. From this I interpret that the ride was a bit stiff. I’m not sure if this was due to Tom’s size (he’s not very big). A more heavy kid may be able to overcome this shortcoming. This aside he had no trouble turning.

A quick session of the basics, and we were off to a gentle hill, this I think, has made Tom a life long mountainboarder. He loved the off-road nature of the ride, and the 8″ wheels handled the terrain we were riding on with ease, full points for using full size wheels G.I.

Tom had one criticism of the board, and that was the graphics on the bottom, he though they were a bit “Lame-o” with the “stupid smiley sun” (his words not mine). So you may want to run that past any kids you are planning to buy this board for.

Our opinion – excellent fun, and pretty easy to ride, an excellent entry level board to bring new riders into the sport. I’ve lost my demo board to Tom, but I think that was a cheap price to bring a new keen rider to our sport.

Manufacturers Information

SPECS:
LENGTH: 35.4 inches/ 90 cm
WIDTH: 9 inches/ 22.9 cm
WEIGHT: 13 pounds/ 5.9 Kilos
DECK CONSTRUCTION: Hard Maple
BUILD: Intermediate
KIT INCLUDES:
Balistik Turff 2 ply tires
5 Spoke Hub Technology
15″ 12mm Skate Style Trucks
Roots Lil’ Pro Bindings
Lil’ Bomber Maple Deck
Tool Kit & Instructions

INSPIRED BY OUR GOOD FRIEND AKONI KAMA AND HIS MISSION TO GET MORE KIDS RIDING, THE LIL’ BOMBER 90 IS A LIGHT-WEIGHT, TIGHT LIL’ PACKAGE. THE WIDER SIDE- CUT AND YOUTH-ENGINEERED BINDINGS PROVIDE GREATER TURNING LEVERAGE FOR INCREASED SPEED CONTROL AND STOPPING POWER . BUILT WITH FULL SIZE 8” WHEELS AND 12 MM SKATE TRUCKS, THIS BOARD PACKS COMPONENTS THAT MAINTAIN THEIR FUNCTIONALITY AND DURABILITY AS THE RIDER GROWS.