Step-by-Step Guide to Choose a Skateboard

Choosing a good and suitable skateboard can be a fear for many, especially beginners, because they are new, they are completely ignorant of skateboards and how to choose the right one. And this article will be the key for you to open the door to free yourself from the stress of picking a skateboard for the first time. Read on!

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Step 1: Choosing the right skateboarding size

Selecting sizes is extremely important. You should choose a skateboard that is suitable for your skateboarding purposes. There are basically 3 sizes of skateboard which are Penny boards, short board, and longboard. The Penny boards are about 20 – 24″ long in average. Shortboards or common skateboard decks are 28 – 30″ long on average, and Longboards are on average 32 “to 40” and above.

To know which of these three boards you should choose, ask Why are you skateboarding? If you like performing tricks, choose a shortboard. If you just like to go around the city choose a longboard, penny board or a cruiser skateboard. Although I haven’t mentioned a cruiser skateboard yet, just to let you know this is a longboard but smaller. The Best Cruiser skateboards can bring a great experience when cruising around the city and sight seeing because it is simply designed for cruising.

Step 2: Choosing the right board shape

When you look at a skateboard, you may think it is flat, but it is actually not. There are actually many options for you to choose from, for example, w-concave, flat-cave, radial, progressive, asymmetric, convex, etc. Radial concave shape is the most common one.

This kind of board shape has the edges of the deck higher than the center which helps to keep your feet on the board and not easily slide off. Once you start making progress, you can try other types of deck shape for certain tricks. Beginners just need a radial concave shape.

Step 3: Choosing skateboard deck size

When choosing a skateboard you need to pay more attention to the width of the board. When it comes to skateboard deck width, there are 4 main types which are micro, mini, mid size, and full size.

• Micro deck: are 6.5” to 6.75” wide which is designed for 5 year-old kids or younger who are under 3 ‘4’’ tall.
• Mini deck: are 7.0” wide which is designed for 6-8 years old between 3’5” & 4’4” tall.
• MID deck: are 7.3” wide, usable for 9-12 years old between 4’5” & 5’2” tall.
• Full-size deck: are 7.5”+ wide for all skaters over 13 years old, and taller than 5’3”.

Step 4: Choosing the material

Equally important is the materials that used to make the skateboard. It is one of the factors that determine the longevity of the skateboard as well as the quality of your riding. Materials commonly used to make skateboard decks include Canadian Maple, Bamboo and Baltic Birch plywood.

Canadian Maple is the most popular material used by many brands. In addition, plastic was also chosen to make skateboard decks. You often see plastic in Penny decks. You can also find aluminum and fiberglass decks, these decks work the same way as plastic decks. Beginners should opt for Canadian Maple decks as everyone else does, even experienced skaters.

Step 5: Buy a complete skateboard or build one?

The last step you will be able to get confused about is these two options. In my opinion, it’s best to build a skateboard only if you know what you really need. For example you are doing tricks, and you need this/these deck size / shape, wheels, trucks. If you know exactly what you need, then building a skateboard on your own is great. But for beginners, pre-assembled skateboards are the perfect choice.

Alright, so I’ve gone through 5 steps of choosing the right skateboard. Hope you know how to choose for yourself a suitable setup. Read the article again carefully, jot down the important information and let’s start shopping for your first skateboard!