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OVNI Surfskates Review: Orion, Sirius, & Andromeda Trucks
OVNI surfskates are a brand from Brazil that offers three different surf training surfskate trucks for surfers.
They claim that OVNI surfskates are “absolutely revolutionary” and “light years ahead.” But are those claims true? Find out in this OVNI surfskate review.
If you’re trying to find the best surfskate for you, then check out my free Surfskate Selector app. It includes all models from the best surfskates. Just answer 8 quick questions and it reveals the best models for you.
Watch My OVNI Surfskate Review on YouTube
Bottom Line Up Front
OVNI surfskates feel very unstable, especially the Andromeda system. Out of what I believe are the best surfskate trucks, they can most closely be compared to SwellTech surfskates. The Andromeda system is even more unstable than SwellTech.
If you are a surfer and advanced rider, you may like the instability of OVNI surfskates and find them helpful for surf training.
As a non-surfer, I find the balance required to ride them to be far too radical and I definitely don’t recommend them to other non-surfers. They are much too unstable to ride over rough surfaces. They also don’t generate much forward momentum when pumping, which means they don’t work well for riding long distances.
I also find the manufacturing of the OVNI surfskate trucks to be poor quality.
For these reasons, I do not include OVNI surfskates on my list of the best surfskate trucks.
My take is that if you’re a non-surfer, OVNI surfskates are not for you. If you’re an advanced surfer and you want the most radical surf trainer you can find, then I recommend you get a SwellTech surfskate before an OVNI surfskate.
OVNI Surfskate Trucks Review (Orion, Sirius, & Andromeda)
Let me start with a disclaimer up front. When you read the instructions OVNI gives you, they say,
“Our surf trucks don’t have curve limiters. Take care about what you do when surfing with them. If you miss the ankle angle, you will fall to the ground as you fall into the water when you miss the angle of inclination of your surf board.”
For this reason, the purpose of OVNI surf trucks is not only to have fun but to improve the surfing of those who use them. They are used by many surfers as functional training to warm up before surfing, to improve fitness and to train surfing maneuvers on flat days or when it rains.”
As a non-surfer, I’m obviously not qualified to comment on how well surfskate trucks replicate the feel of surfing, or whether they work well for surf training.
What I can do, however, is describe my experience with OVNI surfskate trucks to help you make an informed decision for yourself.
OVNI offers the following three surfskate trucks:
OVNI Orion Surfskate Truck
- To emulate tri fins surfboard (shortboard) surfing style
- For surfing preferably on flat surfaces
- For intermediate to advanced riders
OVNI Sirius Surfskate Truck
- To emulate twin fins surfboard (fishboard) surfing style
- For surfing preferably on flat surfaces
- For any skill level
OVNI Andromeda Surfskate Truck
- To emulate tri fins surfboard (shortboard) surfing style
- For surfing preferably on sloped surfaces
- For advanced surfskaters
How Do OVNI Surfskate Trucks Feel & Perform?
The OVNI Orion and Sirius surfskate trucks only move on one axis of rotation, parallel to the deck. This makes them much more stable than the Andromeda. However, they are still less stable than most other pure surf trainer surfskate trucks.
The two feel very similar to each other. The primary difference between them is that the Sirius has a wider axle, and is therefore more stable and suitable for beginners.
They feel very loose and fluid, but they have comparatively little rail-to-rail lean because they only move on one axis. They also generate very little forward momentum.
Out of the best surfskates, I find that the OVNI Orion and Sirius most closely compare in feel to the Curfboard. The main difference is that the Curfboard is more stable.
The Andromeda adds an additional axis of rotation, which makes it more unstable than even SwellTech surfskates.
One thing you’ll notice about OVNI surfskates is how narrow the axles are, comparatively.
Here’s how they compare to the Carver C7 axle:
The narrow axle contributes to their instability, as well as lack of forward momentum.
The Paradox of OVNI Surfskate Trucks
With their lack of curve limiter, you would think that you would get a lot of range of motion out of OVNI surfskate trucks.
However, they have the same effect as Swelltech: They are very tippy, and if you lean too far on them, they jackknife.
So the paradox is that, although the trucks have a wide range of motion, you can’t actually use a lot of it without jacknifing and biting pavement.
This means you have to ride them gingerly and keep them at just the right balance to avoid jackknifing. You can’t confidently lean into turns.
I will say that I feel a lot more comfortable and confident on the Sirius than I do on the Orion. Because it has a wider axle than the Orion, it’s more stable.
The Andromeda with the additional axis of rotation feels extremely precarious—so precarious, in fact, that it’s beyond my skill level. As Shane Lai puts it, it feels like balancing on a slack line.
According to OVNI, what they say is this one is for surfing in bowls, slopes at medium to high speeds and for medium sized riders at a professional skill level.
I would say I’m at about an intermediate level with surfskate bowl riding, and I wouldn’t dream of taking the OVNI Andromeda surfskate truck into the bowl.
That’s not to say that it can’t be ridden in a bowl. But I would like to see the professional rider who can. And even if they can, I’d like to see the professional rider who would prefer this over anything else.
Bottom line: OVNI surfskates do give you the pumping and carving functions of a surfskate truck. But for me as a non-surfer, they are not comfortable at all. They feel very precarious and you can’t push them aggressively or you’ll jackknife and tip.
OVNI Surfskates Hardware & Manufacturing Issues
In addition to the three front surfskate trucks, the package I received from OVNI surfskates also contained a rear truck and some hardware.
I found a number of issues:
- The rear truck is noticeably not machined well. The holes don’t align with your deck holes. I stripped out a bolt trying to screw it in and had to redrill the hole in the OVNI truck.
- I found their springs to be too loose. They give you extra springs so I tried to replace them. However, I was unable to remove the bolt. This means the extra spring they give you is worthless and you’re stuck with what they give you.
- They give you carriage bolts for your deck bolts, which I’ve never seen before on any skateboard, longboard, or surfskate. Carriage bolts have rounded tops covering a square piece. The square piece is supposed to hold the bolt in place as you screw in the nut. The problem is that the square pieces are too small, so they don’t hold in place. Furthermore, OVNI didn’t even include nuts with the bolts. This means that the bolts they give you are worthless and you have to find your own.
It took me an hour and a half to put together my first OVNI surfskate because I had to find the right combination of hardware and risers.
Because of how OVNI surfskates feel and perform and the issues with their hardware and manufacturing, I don’t include OVNI surfskates in my list of the best surfskates.
If you’re a surfer looking for a radical surf trainer, you may enjoy OVNI surfskates. But I think you’re probably better off with a SwellTech.
To find the best surf trainer for you, use my free Surfskate Selector App.
