by Vance Trznadel Jr.

Created on: January 30, 2009

Choosing a skateboard deck is an important decision when starting to skateboard. Skateboard decks come in many different sizes. Skateboard decks can come from size 7.5 to 8.5 in width but can be wider or slimmer. How do you know what width is appropriate for you? look at your shoe size. What size deck you choose to purchase depends on how big or small your feet are. If you have smaller feet, you will tend to want to use a slimmer board and if you have bigger feet you will tend to want to use a wider board. Your feet should hang off a little when you put them on the board, only about an inch off. This is important because of what is called board control. Board control is important when you want to do tricks because it helps you maneuver a board better. If you are skating on a board that is too big it will be harder for you to move the board around just how you want it too and if you are using a board that is too small for your feet, it will be harder to keep the board from flipping around too much or staying under you. I personally ride a board that is 7.5 inches wide because i wear a size ten shoe. That is just an example to compare your shoe size to. If you are indecisive about what brand to pick, that doesn't matter too much. Different brands will have different shapes depending on what manufacturer makes their skateboards for them. If you are just starting off and don't know what to pick, i suggest a regular "blank" deck. You can get these at almost any skate shop. This is good basically because they are usually cheaper than brand name skateboards and since you are just starting to skateboard it won't make a difference. Another important thing to look at is the concave of the skateboard. The concave on a skateboard is in the whole section of the board between the nose (the front) and the tail (the back) that sinks in. It is important to pick the right amount of concave for you because the concave helps you when you try to flip the board, it provides a better angle for your flick to help the board spin better. Pick the type of concave you're most comfortable with and one that doesn't feel too weird on your feet. One more important factor on choosing the right skateboard deck is how wide and long your nose and tail are. How wide and long your nose and tail are determines how much "pop" you will get from that skateboard. Your pop on your skateboard is how much leverage your skateboard will give you to make your tricks go higher. The longer your nose or tail are the more pop you will get out of that board and the longer it will last because your nose and tail will wear down eventually. So if you want more pop get a board with longer nose and tail. The wider your nose and tail are the more evenly spread your pop is. This helps alot when you're starting off because you have better board control. Thats basically all you need to help you pick out your first board or any board at that.

Learn more about this author, Vance Trznadel Jr..
Click here to send this author comments or questions.