Whenever there is new gear released by Evolve, there happens to be a certain hype around it. Check our Evolve R2 remote review - a new remote for the GT and GTX Boards.

There was quite the hype and some problems, followed by an R2 update which solved many problems. We tested the new Remote for a few weeks now and will show the pros and cons about it.

What you get in the box:

• New R2 remote
• Manual

Whats new and is it any good?

The trigger design of the R2 remote has been renewed to make it harder to unintentionally hit the brake, when going full speed. Now you have two triggers, one for your index finger to accelerate and on for your thumb to brake. Both are now magnetic  switches for more precise control. But the new trigger design is one of the things people dislike, since you have to switch the way you hold the remote to hit the brake and may lose some time in an emergency. But when testing it, I felt pretty safe and appreciated that I couldn’t hit the brake unintentionally.

The display now also features a battery indicator for the remotes battery, that it especially needed, if you got one of the earlier builds with the rather small battery. The newer one comes equipped with a battery twice as large, which makes for a significantly longer lifetime. The new dead man switch prevents your board from taking of unintentionally. Whenever you accelerate from a stop, you have to hold the dead man switch until you are riding at a certain speed. But if you don’t like that feature, you can turn it off in the settings.

Update for the Evolve R2 remote

As already mentioned, there has been a minor updated for the R2 remote, after many people were disappointed with connection issues and LCD screen problems. Evolve started rolling out a new batch with a larger battery and some firmware patches. We got one of the first R2 remotes, but we still couldn't find any of the problems users were disappointed about. In case you have one of the first R2 remotes, you can send it back for free and get the updated one, which will connect almost always and shouldn't have any LCD problems.

Evolve R2 Remote Review: Pros and cons

Pro:

• safer and easier to use for beginners
• better for cruising and less aggressive riding
• more battery information
• dead man switch

Cons:

• slower switching between accelerating and breaking
• with the first R2 version, more connection issues
• a little less battery lifetime

Conclusion

This conclusion is obviously going to be how I experienced the R2 remote with my Evolve Bamboo GT for the last few weeks and I really liked it!

The new ergonomic design is more comfortable on a long trip and the better triggers make for a smoother acceleration. The shorter battery life hasn’t been an issue for me, since I always  recharge it after two board charges anyway. The connection did have some issues, but only when turning the board on. I never had any connection breaks during riding the board.

In my eyes it is a good evolution of the old stock remote that always felt kind of flimsy and cheap. I do recommend it as an addition to your setup.

We hope you enjoyed our Evolve R2 Remote review.

More information at evolveskateboards.com