Which longboard skateboard for a beginner?
April 6, 2018 8:38 AM Subscribe
Can you recommend a long board skateboard for a beginner?
My girlfriend wants to buy her son, 19, a long board skateboard. He's a beginner and from what little he'll say, he wants a long board to cruise around campus and because he likes those his friends have.
Her budget tops out at $200.
In case it matters: he's 6'4"; skinny (maybe 200lbs, at most); and wears size 15 shoes.
What should she buy?
My girlfriend wants to buy her son, 19, a long board skateboard. He's a beginner and from what little he'll say, he wants a long board to cruise around campus and because he likes those his friends have.
Her budget tops out at $200.
In case it matters: he's 6'4"; skinny (maybe 200lbs, at most); and wears size 15 shoes.
What should she buy?
Sector9, Landyachtz, Rayne and others all make excellent longboards, but the $200 price ceiling excludes a lot of models. On that budget, maybe check out the MuirSkate house board.
Note that there are different deck styles. The two boards I linked above are the same kind, "symmetrical" "free-ride" decks that are "drop-through". These are generally designed for downhill & trick riding - not that I'm any great shakes at either, but a symmetrical deck is convenient for practicing tricks you're bad at, without having to constantly fix up the board's orientation.
The other major style is "pintail", which looks like a surfboard - but really, deck styles have smeared out into a spectrum now; lots of decks are sort-of one thing and also sort-of another - there are pintail-like boards with wheel notches, drop-through boards that have longer kicktail extensions, and so on.
There are also "compact" "commuter" cruiser models; again, Muir has a house deck that you might even be able to fully-customize within your budget.
Anyway, for a beginner, the deck shape is where I'd focus:
* Hanging with friends, cruising, trying out classic skate tricks (jumps, spins) suggests to me probably a cutout freeride deck. (The cutouts let you run larger wheels and/or turn sharper, without the deck biting into the wheels).
* Mainly transportation suggests a pintail (or maybe a "mini" model if he needs to hop on bus, etc.). (On a pintail, the narrow nose & tail serve the same purpose as the cutouts, giving the wheels room to breath.)
* Special decks are made for longboard dancing, but unless he knows he wants to do that, one of the other styles is more generally suitable (dancing boards can get looong).
(And for the record, my only association with MuirSkate is "completely satisfied customer".)
posted by Rat Spatula at 6:53 AM on April 7, 2018
Note that there are different deck styles. The two boards I linked above are the same kind, "symmetrical" "free-ride" decks that are "drop-through". These are generally designed for downhill & trick riding - not that I'm any great shakes at either, but a symmetrical deck is convenient for practicing tricks you're bad at, without having to constantly fix up the board's orientation.
The other major style is "pintail", which looks like a surfboard - but really, deck styles have smeared out into a spectrum now; lots of decks are sort-of one thing and also sort-of another - there are pintail-like boards with wheel notches, drop-through boards that have longer kicktail extensions, and so on.
There are also "compact" "commuter" cruiser models; again, Muir has a house deck that you might even be able to fully-customize within your budget.
Anyway, for a beginner, the deck shape is where I'd focus:
* Hanging with friends, cruising, trying out classic skate tricks (jumps, spins) suggests to me probably a cutout freeride deck. (The cutouts let you run larger wheels and/or turn sharper, without the deck biting into the wheels).
* Mainly transportation suggests a pintail (or maybe a "mini" model if he needs to hop on bus, etc.). (On a pintail, the narrow nose & tail serve the same purpose as the cutouts, giving the wheels room to breath.)
* Special decks are made for longboard dancing, but unless he knows he wants to do that, one of the other styles is more generally suitable (dancing boards can get looong).
(And for the record, my only association with MuirSkate is "completely satisfied customer".)
posted by Rat Spatula at 6:53 AM on April 7, 2018
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posted by snsranch at 9:11 AM on April 6, 2018