When purchasing a skateboard, quality is of the utmost importance. However, you certainly don’t have to spend $120 for a complete deck. There are certainly cheaper options available, where you don’t have to skimp on the quality front. One thing you certainly don’t want to do is purchase a toy store skateboard. The Dora the Explorer decal on the bottom should be your first hint that what you are purchasing isn’t top of the line.
A low quality skateboard is simply taking an already somewhat dangerous sport, and exponentially increasing that danger. You would never rock climb with cheap, shoddy equipment. Skateboarding shouldn’t be any different. Quality is crucial.
Quality bearings are an important part of having a good skateboarding experience. Bearings are what determine how smoothly your wheels will spin, and how fast your board will be able to roll. Low quality bearings can make skating a chore. Bearings need to be durable and able to withstand a lot of pressure. Landing a kick flip down a flight of stairs just to have your bearings shatter and pitch you on your face is just one of many reasons to make sure you go with a quality set.
Don’t skate on anything but a sturdy, strong deck. In order for a deck to be good, quality wood must be used in the manufacturing. There should certainly be some give when you bounce up and down on the center of your board, but if you can hear anything that sounds like cracking, you know you are on a cheap, low quality deck. You definitely want a high quality deck to avoid it snapping on you. A good deck should be resistant to impact, but also light. It should be able to slide well, yet also be resistant to wear and tear.
Trucks should be made from a good, high quality metal. Since trucks are connected to the bottom of the deck, quality is important for stability. They should also be secured with rubber sealant, rather than plastic.
Good quality wheels are important and determine different speed dynamics. If you want more speed, you will want a larger wheel. For stunts, you will want a smaller wheel. Often, if purchasing a cheap skateboard, the wheels will be plastic. This is dangerous, and something to look out for, as controlling a skateboard with plastic wheels is much more difficult because your wheels won’t be able to grip the pavement as well.
The bottom line is that quality is key to having a good skating experience. If you are skating on a high quality board, your only limits will be your skills. Don’t ever skate on a board that will limit what you can do. Skate on the best, so you can be the best.
Dynamite Skateboards offers high quality yet cheap skateboards for any level skater. The author of this article is Andrew Fish, a freelance writer.