Skateboarding isn’t all about skating ramps and busting out technical flip tricks or grinds, the entire sport has evolved much more and longboards are just one avenue it has taken. Longboard skateboards aren’t even nicely packed into one box, with different disciplines practiced and different boards used for each one. If you’re new to longboarding then read on to find out a bit about the different types of decks you should use depending on what you plan to do.
Cruising & Carving
The most laid-back form of longboarding for sure, cruising and carving along wide, gently sloping smooth tarmac roads is as fun as it’s relaxing. For surfers it really helps to maintain balance and core muscle strength when there are no waves to surf. Cruising and carving boards are great all-rounders, and the perfect longboard to start with. The Dregs 42” Double D La Muerta Deck is a great carver with plenty of length, and the Comet Swallow 38” Deck with its stylish swallow tail is an awesome cruiser.
Freeride
Once you’ve got comfortable with carving on a longboard you might want to progress up to a more specialised freeride board. Freeriding is more about manoeuvres, like big slides and tight, fast turns in quick succession. The idea is to hit up an empty hill and shred up those urethane wheels! Be warned, excessive sliding does significantly reduce wheel life. The Sector 9 Tempest is a great starter deck for anyone wanting to get into freeride longboarding. An awesome step up deck is the Riviera S.O.S flexy complete skateboard, a high quality lightweight freeride deck that puts a little larger dent in your wallet.
Downhill
For the adrenaline junkies out there, downhill longboarding is probably the one for you. Ever since the early days skateboarding has had an element of competition, and racing is just of aspect of that. Downhill longboarding is all about speed, tearing down empty hills and not putting on the breaks. Full safety gear is essential for this, and many experienced guys are wearing motorcycling leathers and a helmet when they ride downhill. If you want to get into downhill racing, a versatile board to start with is the Comet Ethos II 40” Deck, the extra length improves stability. If you are looking for something smaller, try the Comet Voodoo Airframe 35.75” Deck, which is ever so slightly wider but a whole lot shorter.
Questions?
Hopefully we’ve covered everything here, but if you do have any questions about longboard skateboards or are still unsure which to try out first just drop DriftingThru a line. We want to make sure everybody gets the board that’s perfect for them, so we’ll do our best to make sure you know everything you need to make the right choice.