Surfskate Deck Survey Results

(201 TOTAL RESPONSES)

QUESTION: Which surfskate brands do you currently own? (Check all that apply.)

Additional YouTube Polls:

QUESTION: If you could tell surfskate companies anything about how to design your ideal surfskate deck, what would it be? (Open-ended.)

(Responses are unedited.)

“deep concave, 16.5“ wb, good flex, some negative rocker”

“High concave, back and front kicks and light weight (no need for it to look like a surfboard in order to feel like one)”

“feet pockets are extremely important and concave is a beginner’s bestfriend :)”

“Shaped by me with deep concave,clear grip wood+fiberglass,oldschool”

“Take a look at the oldschool decks, add some concave – it seems they would work good for surfskating”

“Carbon fiber, concave to lock your feet in for pumping, 16-18 inch wheelbase, and a wide kick tail”

“I like a medium to aggressive concave with a good pocket to plant my back foot. Durability is a factor especially for such high cost of these decks. I don’t really care for fish tails. They look cool buy I think they may take away from stability.”

“Take notes from Carver because they have the best concaves”

“35” tall, 11″ width, deep concave, no nose rocker, wide tail rocker medium flex”

“35 inch x 10. Medium concave. 10 inch wide tail. Gentle tail rocker. Thin plywood with glasfiber bottom skin.”

“Make the tails bigger”

“Wide nose and tail, more concave, better wood (like longboards), wheelwells to make the surfskates marginally lower, better surface of the trucks without rogue casting (Slide)”

“wide, concave, good wood quality, good long lasting grip”

“Make a functional deck with good foot pockets, some flex and wheelbase variability. Good looks (like a surfboard) are a plus but not really needed…”

“11 inch width, extreme tail(big angle). Different wheelbase options (17-21 there can be more than one model). Composite materials for lighter weight. Tail skid plate for longevity. Urethan side bumpers for longevity. Concave just enough to feel locked in. Tail should be at least 8 inches. Koabar decks or Soulboardiy decks are doing well.”

“My ideal surfskate should have a wide round nose and a squared tail with rounded edges classic old school. The width should be 10.25 inches wide with a length of 32.5 iinches. And and 18 inch wheelbase. A medium concave would be perfect. High quality wood properly cured and aged to help prevent premature warping. No less than 7 ply Maple.”

“show more detail on concave in the category”

“Carver blacktip or soulboardiy as benchmark”

“Go quality and ditch the pointed noses and swallow tails, it’s not a surfboard.”

“I would suggest to all companies to avoid fishtail for surfskate!”

“Try differents surf shape, but apply xxl street skate caracteristics dimension (ex: snapper from yow but 36″ or 37″ / and avoid fish tail, it’s useless)”

“Big for give at my foot more space, whit good graphics, no tip on noise or tail”

“Handcrafted good material with a nice concave and a wheelbase bigger 33”

“Depending of the Trcuks/Adapters the wheelbase must fit my default stance on a surf board. The width should be big enough, so that especially my backfoot fits on the deck. It should have a medium-large concave , and maybe additional to a tail rocker a litte nose rocker.”

“From a surfer’s standpoint, i think they should take a surfer’s stance into consideration when making/marketing a deck. Saying that, i believe that deck lengths are a bit limited with some reputable brands have surfing roots ie Slide & Miller —— 33” won’t give a tall surfer his ideal stance. Deck concaves and wider surface areas in the tail rocker should be considered as well, since heavy carving will be depended on finding a sizeable kick-off spot for pumping and turning, along with concaves acting as “stoppers” for one’s feet to lock into when doing deep and tight turns. I believe Smoothstar is headed in the right direction with theirs, though their decks do wear quite easily.”

“think about the surfer first… foot placement is generally going to determine 19-22″ wheelbase. rear foot needs to fit into the pocket to provide kickturn/leverage in the bottom turn and cut-backs. front foot needs a concave width of at least 8.75″ to allow rail to rail transition for either slow or fast turns – wheelbite at speed is not fun.”

“Think about surfskates as a new way to ride and think about different niches inside the surfskate world (Street, Bowlriding, Surf Training etc) like Carver did with the C5 Truck.”

“More variable wheelbase options”

“Experiment with the margin between wheelbase and deck. For example, longer decks + shorter WB combos”

“36×10, little angled, but wide kick, variable wheelbase 20-23 or near. Would be nice to have a composite waterproof deck.”

“More size options, flexible decks”

“Better fit specs and descriptions online to make purchasing easier.”

“more concave and information regarding wheelbase/length riding style would be awesome”

“fewer shapes, more choices of design on the boards, option to choose thickness of boards”

“the deck must be good material and versatile for many situation like street and park etc”

“Design a surfskate board specifically for bowl riding. (Sorry, im not gonna ride the waves ????)”

“Think about quality and go up with prices”

“Make it more flexible (bamboo for ex), with a better rocker”

“Something helpful would be a range or model that is suitable at entry level upwards that caters for the different heights, weights etc. I personally found it tricky trying to find what was best for me and opted for a lesser board first until I felt confident to pick a better board, when I got my newer surfskate, I wished I’d taken the plunge earlier but it was all part of the journey and my learning process. If it is possible to have a good all rounder it might be a better hook for people and also earn some brand loyalty? A good experience with an entry level all rounder might lead to further purchases as you progress. I guess it’s not easy to produce a board that is suitable for everyone………”

“Sustainable material, versatile for more purposes, maybe even the option to change wheelbase distance, not too many options, eliminate design and focus on what it actually does”

“Make it easier to purchase the surfskate trucks separately from a complete board.”

“Keep the same proven design throughout entire size spectrum so I do not have to compromise and select bigger deck only because my preferred ship in not available in smaller size.”

“For all: find one Uniform Shape Description system”

“One surfskate for each type of rider…”

“Better/more Wheel Wells to ride bigger wheels or use Trucks from others companys. Flexibilty Options, Wheelbase Options. Like Hackbrett Skateboards from Germany”

“Variety is great. Many people want a surf trainer but many of us also want a fun a versatile board for the street or parks and some just want to cruise. There is room for everyone, but more information about the boards would help me when trying to decide what to buy.”

“Feet placement guiders for beginners”

“Look to ldp construction and design principles”

“Make them fit for real use – we will run it into a concrete post sooner or later, and pump tracks destroy your nice graphics”

“High grit grip tape is far more important that apoxy embedded grit. With hard pumping, the front foot moves too far forward and repositioning kills the momentum generated from the pump.”