What’s the best surfskate to buy?
if you're using the surfskate as a surf trainer, you'll want a board which replicates the feeling of surfing.
We get asked this question a lot!
But for us, it’s a bit like asking “what’s the best food?” out there.
It’s kinda impossible to answer because there is no right or wrong. It all depends on your personal preferences and the feeling you want to have.
So in this blog post, I’m gonna cover my favourite (and least favourite) Surfskates – especially when it comes to using the board as a surf trainer.
(And finally, before we get into it – I want to emphasise that this is just my personal opinion, it’s a very subjective topic so I hope I don’t offend anyone!)
If you’re a Beginner or Intermediate Surfskater, and don’t have much experience on a skateboard, it’s important to have a more user-friendly board
…or at least, one which isn’t too difficult to use.
I personally don’t think the Swelltech boards are the best for beginners to learn on, because the trucks are way too loose and the board can be quite unstable.
If you choose a board with a spring truck system and you feel like the board is too loose for you, I’d recommend you tighten the back trucks as this will give you more stability. You can do this with the mako, Carver, Yow, Smoothstar boards.
(Make sure you don’t tighten the front trucks though because it can add too much pressure to the spring which could result in the spring snapping!)
For us, our favourite boards to help improve surfing are the Mako, Carver C7, and Yow. They all have a spring style front truck which gives you a loose feeling, and will help you understand how to pump and generate speed.
(I personally don’t like the Smoothstar so much because I find the trucks to be too loose, which makes it easy to wiggle. If you start wiggling on your surfskate, you might build bad habits because its impossible to generate speed like this while surfing, so for me, it’s not as functional)
If you’re using the surfskate as a Cruiser, to commute or ride around your town...
…I like the Carver CX the most because the trucks are more stable but still replicate the feeling of surfing.
One other thing you will want to consider is the size of your board.
I often hear a lot of people say that they need a longer deck because they are taller or heavier, but this isn’t always necessary.
I’m 180cm and 77kg and I like to use the 32inch Mako board. This is because I like to have a narrow stance on my board. If you prefer to have a wider stance, then you might like a longer deck.
Finally when it comes to choosing a deck…
There are a lot of different types of decks out there too, and it’s easy to choose one based on the appearance but it’s also a good idea to be mindful of the functionality of the deck.
For example, some boards have a fish tail which look like a surfboard but this isn’t useful at all.
I like to have concave in the deck because it gives more stability for your feet. Also, if you have some concave in the tail, it can be easier to snap (as it makes it easier to kick the tail) so if you’re learning manoeuvres like that, you might want to consider a board that has some concave in the tail.
(If you like the sound of this, you can check out the Mako surfskates here)
Of course, all the different brands are priced very differently and your budget will most likely be important too.
We hope this helps you when it comes to choosing which board is best for you.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Finally – if you’re interested in checking out the Mako surfskate, you can read more about it here.