INDO BOARD versus the competition. Who makes the best balance board?

Almost 25 years ago Hunter Joslin, a lifelong surfer and skater from Florida, took his lifelong obsession with balance boards and created the INDO BOARD. The design was fairly simple and was derived from a “Bongo Board” that he found while working as a lifeguard at his local swimming pool. In 1974 Hunter began riding balance boards and designing his own prototypes before the first INDO BOARD ever came to the market in 1998. Today INDO BOARD is known across the world as the world’s most recognizable and highest quality brand of balance boards. INDO BOARDs have been used and endorsed by World, National and Olympic champion athletes in virtually every sport as well as being found in the top fitness and athletic training centers around the world.

INDO BOARD Competitors – the rise of the knockoffs and cheap imitations

In 1998 there were very few companies making traditional roller-style balance boards that incorporated a deck that the rider stands on with a roller, that moves independently of the deck, underneath the board. As a result, the INDO BOARD became extremely popular, especially in the core actions sports markets of surf, skate, snow, waterski, wakeboard, wakesurfing and just about every other “board sport”. Over the years a few companies joined the mix by making variations of this design, but the INDO BOARD became the brand name most associated with high quality balance boards. Fast forward to today and the market has become inundated with INDO BOARD knockoffs and cheap alternatives that look similar but lack quality and performance.

Balance Board quality – Quality materials make a big difference!

THE INDO BOARD DECK - From the beginning, the INDO BOARD was designed to last. We build our decks from 11/16″ high quality, cabinet-grade, Baltic Birch. Most of our competitors and knockoffs use cheap wood materials such as pine or poplar or some combination of the two. While some balance board riders may think they don't need a strong, high-quality deck, those riders that graduate to tricks such as ollies, body varials, shuvits, acid drops, etc… will be glad to know that the INDO BOARD was built to take abuse. Cheaper balance board decks typically break when attempting these tricks. 

THE INDO BOARD ROLLER - made of extremely high-quality ABS plastic in a rotational mold, our roller is designed to last forever. The vast majority of our competitors are using cheap PVC or CPVC pipe that is manufactured for irrigation purposes. Below is an example of a competitors board. Notice the cheap irrigation pipe with plastic caps glued to the ends. If you look closely you will see that the deck (made from inferior grade wood) has also cracked as the result of us testing it’s durability against the INDO BOARD (see video below). 

Balance board design – Why the INDO BOARD design is the best.

Unlike our competitors and the knockoff brands, the INDO BOARD was designed around functionality and quality.  INDO BOARD rollers are typically bigger in diameter than the competitors. Through many, many years of research and development we arrived at the perfect sized rollers for each our our various decks. We also take into consideration the length of the deck in our designs. For example, our INDO BOARD Original model uses a 30″ long deck with a roller that is 6.5″ in diameter.  This ensures the perfect range of motion, allowing the rider to move the board from end to end without the deck constantly hitting the floor. Our competitors use longer decks and smaller diameter rollers thus dramatically decreasing the range of motion the rider has when on the board.

Style matters – INDO BOARD graphics are unique and allow you to express your style.

From day one we designed graphics that would set our product apart and allow riders to express their style. Since we come from the skate, surf and snowboard culture, we knew that riders want graphics and set out to create high-quality deck graphics that would appeal to riders from every walk of life. We feature graphics created by famous artists such as Drew Brophy and Jay Alders. We also support grassroots, local artists that are looking for their big break. Several of our decks also feature graphics that depict endangered Marine life in our Ocean Conservation Series. Those products give a portion of the proceeds of the sale to organizations like the Sea Turtle Conservancy and Shark Angels.

Cheap balance boards are, cheap – Don’t settle for an INDO BOARD knockoff

With 20 years of research and development and another 25 years of manufacturing INDO BOARDS, we have more years of experience in designing, producing and riding balance boards than nearly all of our competitors combined. INDO BOARDs may cost more than our competitors but they are designed and manufactured to last a lifetime and to perform like a balance board should. Combine that with sick deck graphics and give-backs to endangered Marine Life and it’s easy to see why you should spend a little more to get an INDO BOARD, the Original Balance Board.

Last updated on October 14, 2022