Skateboard

How to choose the right skateboard?

The choice of a complete skate board may seem like a real headache when it's your first acquisition. If your curiosity has led you to consult various blogs, magazines or watch skate videos, you have wondered how you can achieve your first olie, the basic figure of practice for every skater, by having adequate skateboard equipment. Between the different practice themes such as the street, skatepark or even the green and transition ramp.

Hawaiisurf offers you to be able to compose your skateboard equipment , guiding you through all these disciplines, by offering you examples of complete beginner skateboard packs to be able to take the step and start practicing in complete safety, with quality equipment.

What size deck should you choose to be able to practice skateboarding comfortably and progress quickly?

The skateboard deck, which is also called the "deck" is made of a wood mainly based on Canadian maples (7 layers superimposed between them), as well as a strong glue (increasingly eco-friendly ), all assembled by machines (presses) which will give more or less "concave" to the board (shape of the board more or less flat under the feet and raised with more or less angles on the tail, the rear part of the board and at the nose its front part).

Each skateboard deck offers a more or less pronounced concave as well as a shape that allows the board to be classified in a specific category. You can check the shape and concave of your choice on each skateboard deck brand page, on our website hawaiisurf.com.

In addition to the "shapes" (shape of the skateboard deck), there are also several deck widths which we express in inches. As a unit of measurement, the inch is used mainly in the United States, the cradle of Skateboarding culture, which is why we keep this unit of measurement even in Europe when we talk about board sizes. One inch is approximately 2.54 CM. A board can therefore be classified according to its width:

- Narrow boards: From 7.5 inches to 7.875 inches
- Intermediate boards: from 8.0 inches to 8.25 inches
- Wide boards: from 8.3 inches to 8.5 inches

The narrower your board, the more maneuverable it will be and will make it easier to launch tricks like flip-based tricks. Conversely, a wider, heavier board will offer much more stability and therefore make it easier to land your figure.

We can also add to these types of widths which are today the most common in the modern world of skateboarding, specific shapes such as:

- Child/junior shape: from 7.0 inches to 7.4 inches (same shape as modern boards)
- Old School/Poisson shape: from 9.0 inches to 10.5 inches (80's street/park shape)
- Shape Cruiser: From 7.5 inches to 8.5 inches (shape shorter in length for cruising)

Below are visual examples of the different skateboard shapes available in your Hawaiisurf skateshop and on our online sales site.

Note that this table is for information only and that this personal preference remains specific to your desires. It all depends on what you want to do with your skateboard and of course on your level of practice.

Shoes in 40EU-7US to 42EU-8.5US >> Recommended decks in: 7.5 to 8.0 inches
Shoes in 42.5EU-9US to 44EU-10US >> Recommended chainrings in: 8.0 to 8.375 inches
Shoes in 44.5EU-10.5US to 45.5EU-11US >> Recommended trays in: 8.125 to 8.5 inches
Shoes in 46EU-12US and more >> Recommended chainrings in: 8.375 to 8.5 inches

Now that you have a more precise idea of the types of boards that are in circulation on the skateboard market, you will be able to take the time to choose your skate pack according to your desires for practicing, how you want to skate. and especially on which playing field?

The skatepark / off-road skateboard packs, versatile use!

For beginners it is difficult to quickly choose a suitable playground, so it is preferable to opt for a complete skateboard setup that can help you progress on almost all skate spots, and thus not limit yourself to one. type of practice. The size of the board as we explained to you a few lines above is the first choice in the purchase of a skateboard.

For the use of a versatile all-terrain skateboard, here is what we recommend for building your custom skateboard using the skateboard pack sections on our site or directly in our skate shop with our skateboard advisers.

Here's a rundown to help you build your beginner skatepark/all terrain skateboard pack.

• BOARD: You can take both wide and narrow (take into account your skate shoe sizes to make the most suitable choice).
• TRUCKS: Opt instead for Low or Mid
• WHEELS: from 52MM to ES greater than 97A hardness
• BEARINGS: Rather Fluid & Robust (Example Bones Redz)
• RISER PADS: Optional (not important if you are a beginner)
• ISS : Size 7/8'' Allen type screws (or 1'' if you have taken Riser pads)
• GRIP: classic plate (Jessup, Mob ect)

To start in Skatepark in particular, we also advise you to use protections, especially if you want to discover the joys of the ramp, curve and other modules with inclination. The skateboard helmet is almost mandatory in all skateparks under surveillance.

If you're out of inspiration, we also offer ready-made complete skateboard packs in several sizes from the best skateboard brands in the world, all within fairly low budgets, of which here is a timeless selection below.

Street Skateboarding! The street as a playground, modern-day skateboarding...

The street is yours, if you manage to tame it and use all the modules that urban architecture offers on a daily basis. From the marble curb, to the rails of the metro stations, passing through places to send lines of tricks on each bench like at République or the plaza Créteil, each city is an open-air skatepark, and for that it is better to have some quality gear designed for this kind of playground.

Skateboarders accustomed to "street" practice generally use narrower boards to be able to use "pinball" figures more quickly. The trays are suddenly more agile and manageable. For the trucks, use "low and mid", or even "light" versions for the construction (with the central axis called kingpin lightened in robust materials such as titanium). Reducing the weight of your skate pack means increasing the ability to do higher olies and being able to handle your board more easily in curves. For the wheels, opt for at least 100A in hardness with smaller sizes like 50MM to 52MM maximum, thus offering more acceleration and control. Be careful all the same to know the quality of the ground where you will be driving regularly, the road is sometimes based on poor quality bitumen with holes, which can slow you down suddenly and cause you to fall. This is the case, for example, with roads in paved sectors.

Here is a recap to help you build your beginner street skateboarding pack.

• BOARD: Rather narrow, easy to handle between 7.5 and 8.0 inches, manageable.
• TRUCKS: Low (low) or Mid (medium) version
• WHEELS: from 50MM to ES for a hardness greater than 99A
• BEARINGS: Robust and Fluid (Bones Redz or the Shake junt range for example!)
• RIDE R PADS: Optional (not recommended in street)
• ISS : Small type 7/8'' inches
• GRIP: Rough grain for maximum grip (Diamond, Jessup, MOB, etc.)

We suggest you compose your skateboard packs directly with a preference for certain brands, thanks to our category of intermediate level skate packs, designed by the Hawaii Surf skateboard team and staff in order to orient you on quality setups! Here are some examples below, you can customize your choice of items 100% once in the pack…

The skateboards dedicated to the practice of the Curve, Ramp, Bowl, pool (of transition)!

Fly at high speed above the copping, land in the curve, feel your skateboard bombarding at full speed under your feet, catching your board in the air, that's what this kind of practice is made of, rather oriented to those who go master with ease already the practice of skateboarding and its foundations but just as accessible with good advice and motivation for beginners on condition of opting for the purchase of a suitable skateboard pack!

In terms of choosing the skateboard deck, you will have to opt for boards with a minimum width of 8 inches. We have been able to see that wide boards also exist in an "old school shape" version, it is with this kind of shape that skateboarding made its popularity in the 80's with a hybrid practice between street and especially in transitions and curves.

For Trucks , opt for robust brands such as Independent trucks with width sizes adapted to your boards (minimum 139 MM /5.25'') and Mid to High height to avoid "wheelbites". For the choice of your skateboard wheels , the sizes are rather large with a minimum of 55M under the board offering to keep more speed in the transitions between figures. If you ever made the choice to take an Old School shaped board, equip it like the old ones with plastic rails, not only will this protect the sublime design of your board while giving you even more stability during grinds on coppings ).

If you are going to take on the Marseille bowl, for example, never forget your protection pack with at least the helmet and the right thick pair of knee pads, which will allow you to cushion the toughest falls.

Here's a rundown to help you build your beginner ramp-bowl-transition skateboard pack.

• BOARD: Wide from about 8.125 to 8.5 for modern shapes and minimum 9.5 for retro-old school shapes.
• TRUCKS: Mid or High height, sturdy
• WHEELS: From 54MM to ES for modern setups and up to 59MM for old school shapes, all with a hardness above 98A.
• BEARINGS: Fluid and fast like the Bones brand for example
• RISER PADS: suggested (to raise your trucks and avoid contact with the bed)
• ISS : If you opt for pads from 1'' to 1.25'' depending on the size of your wheels
• GRIP: Rough quality with the brands MOB, JESSUP

Make sure you ride with a good protection pack like those from TSG , S-ONE or PROTECT.

We offer complete setups ready with "old school" shapes but also modern shapes from the most famous brands in the practice of curves such as Black Label, Powell Peralta, Birdhouse or Creature skateboards.

Now that the design of a skate pack has no more secrets for you and that you have decided to go into practice, find the entire skateboard offer by Hawaii Surf on our online skateboard shop or at the Parisian skate shop.

At Hawaii Surf you benefit from a 10% discount when you compose your skateboard pack, with the grip plate offered and the assembly if you wish, all with free delivery within 24 hours on working days!

If you have any questions about skateboarding equipment or the discipline, contact our riders and customer advisors at 01 46 720 710 or by facebook-messenger and by email at [email protected]

Meet at the skate spot for a session between motivated skaters!

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