CR's Take: At $95, it’s not a small investment, so you might want to have your kids try it before you buy one. And, as with any wheeled toys (bikes, skates, rollerblades, skateboards, caster boards), safety equipment is a must. A helmet and other protective gear should always be worn.

RipStik is a caster board, which looks like a skateboard but moves like a snowboard. Made by Razor, it’s recommended for ages 8 and older. The board has only two wheels, or casters, which swivel 360 degrees. Instead of a solid deck, the RipStik has two independently moving "deep concave deck" plates connected by a bar in the center.

We recruited an adult, one teenager, and several kids (ages 9 through 12) to give the RipStik a whirl.

Razor says that the RipStik allows a rider to accelerate and turn without pushing off the ground. Instead of pushing off with one foot as you would when getting onto a skateboard, a rider simply mounts the RipStik, and it begins to move. As we watched our testers ride, we noted that, for the most part, the rider’s front foot stayed in place while he or she controlled the direction of movement by wiggling the rear foot.

RipStik was well-liked by most of our testers. Within minutes, the kids were able to get on and ride the RipStik. The consensus from the kids was that learning to ride a RipStik would take a few hours, and to get “really good” would probably take a couple of weeks. Most of the kids were able to do simple tricks like wheelies after an hour or so. They felt that the RipStik was easier to turn, but harder to stop, than a skateboard. The kids, most of whom were relatively new to “boarding,” told us that RipStik is extremely popular among all their friends and classmates.

The 16-year-old tester picked up the RipStik easily and quickly, but in the end he said he preferred a skateboard. RipStik is harder to maneuver than a skateboard, he said, and he could do a lot more tricks on a skateboard.

Our adult tester loved the RipStik. He described it as not at all like skateboarding, but more like surfing or snowboarding. He felt that some type of boarding experience would be hugely helpful in learning to ride a RipStik.

Since the kids learned to ride the RipStik quickly, they became a bit complacent about falling, thinking they’d be fine as they tried to do simple tricks. So it’s extra-important that they use helmets and other protective gear as they become daring, and perhaps a little overconfident riding their boards.