Skateboarder Buyers Guide

Buyers Guide For 2018

We are going to take you through each and every aspect to buying your next skateboard.  With thousands of companies out there and millions of shapes to pick from we will keep you up to date with what is going on in the industry.  We have every shape and size for every riders ability.  From the beginner to the advanced this post will help you determine what is best for your next deck or gift.  If you are buying for a friend or family member and not sure what to get this will help you make a good decision that will forever make an everlasting impression of how you picked the highest quality deck.  

Posted by admin 10/20/2017 0 Comment(s) Skateboards,Manufacturer,

From hot new shapes to bringing back some of the old school shaped decks we have you covered with the largest selection of customizable or blank decks for you to print on.

Shapes

First lets talk about the shape of skateboards.  There are many to choose from and this can make it a bit confusing for some.  We like to categorize them by the shape.      

Popsicle Shape

The skateboards that are shaped like a popsicle stick can be called a number of names.  Street, Park, or even called skateboards.  This can throw people off a bit but all those names can be used together to determine that the customer and seller are talking about the same thing.  

Old School Decks

Another style of skateboard is called Old School.  The old school comes from how decks were shaped back before the popsicle shape came to life.  Old School decks are short like street or park deck but the nose is shaped differently then the tail.   This style of decks are make up about 10% of decks sold in the United States.  Among the buyers are older skaters that are getting back into it and like to skate vert.  Most Old School Decks are made for ramps and pool skating.

Mini Cruisers

     These decks have a shape similar to a longboard or Old School but smaller in the length and also in the width.  Sometimes mini cruisers can have a wider shape as well.  These types of shapes are usually mounted with softer wheels to have a smooth ride.  Mostly you won't find skaters doing tricks on them unless they are messing around.  They are not the best for ramps and bowls but still can be used for that kind of skating but not to be taken seriously.  Mini Cruisers are great for small spaces some schools allow students to ride them and put them in a school locker.   This is where new names for the mini cruiser comes into play.  Some have called them campus cruisers or backpack decks because some are so small that they fit in a backpack.  These decks are lighter then a longboard but give the same feel as a longboard due to the soft wheels a majority of skaters will put on them.

Longboards

     The name says it all but we will go further into explaining the pro's and con's of this type of board.  There are many great things about longboard skateboards.  They can also have many different categories of shapes and purpose of the intended use.  Lets get into this a bit deeper.

Downhill Longboard

     The downhill longboard has been a driving force with the skateboarding industry.  When most were skating popsicle boards and the longboard shape sales were slowing down a new trend of skating can into the scene.  Skaters started to bomb hills and get as much speed as they could and then the racing began.  Organized events started taking place with the downhill crowd.  It was a race to the finish that was extremely dangerous where more and more people started getting hurt.  With that skaters were building trucks that can withstand the speed and turn without getting speed wobbles.  Speed Wobble is when a skateboard builds up to a speed that can’t handle a turn without bouncing the rider off.  Racing with a reverse kingpin truck did help this due to the angle of the kingpin and pivot bushing.  Top speeds were achieved with the use of protective gear that was designed by to pros.   With the leather suits and the aerodynamic helmets that were custom made to the long boarder took downhill to another whole level.  Television sports channels would broadcast the contest with huge sponsors along with a fat first place purse.