For x-treme kids.

• Position: What's New?

It usually doesn't take teenage fads long to spread, much to the disgust of youthful participants who feel their "thing" is being coopted. Baby boomers were quick to latch onto snowboarding, for example, though they wisely seem to have left hot dog-level skateboarding to more-reckless sorts. However, the latter is spreading in a different direction--down to kids as young as eight.

Razor USA LLC, Cerritos, Calif., which made the electric scooter a big hit a few years ago, has gotten a strong foothold in the younger market, featuring the RazorX Mini Lockerboard ($24.99). Cut down to kid size at 17" long for its solid Canadian maple deck, it is hardly a toy, sporting precision sealed bearings, strong composition wheels, and aluminum trucks (mountings). Of course, a major part of its appeal is the revolting artwork on models such as the Venus Eye Trap, which must be seen to be truly appreciated (though that may be the wrong verb for parents faced with this apparition).

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To help the young hotshot learning skateboard stunts, the Punk Ramp ($16.99) is a safer training approach than building steps or other launching pads. Made of...