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WoodDetail Surfskate Review: The Pumpable Skateboard

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Reviews

The WoodDetail surfskate company is based in Barcelona, Spain. WoodDetail surfskates use a tension spring surfskate truck on six different models ranging from 31” to 34” in length.

Read this review to see if a WoodDetail surfskate is for you.

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 WoodDetail Surfskate Review on YouTube
Watch Mark the Landlocked Surfer’s WoodDetail Surfskate Review

Bottom Line Up Front

The WoodDetail surfskate truck has relatively little rail-to-rail lean and range of motion. The hangers are narrow, and pumping it is very inefficient. For those reasons, I don’t include WoodDetail in my list of the best surfskate trucks.

I don’t know how to categorize the WoodDetail and I’m not sure who and what’s for. It’s neither a good pure surf trainer, nor a good street cruiser. WoodDetail surfskates are very high quality. But I think you’re better off with something other than a WoodDetail surfskate, at least to start with.

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The WoodDetail Surfskate Truck

 
The WoodDetail surfskate truck is a tension spring design that looks very similar to the old YOW S4/S5. However, it feels much different.

waterborne surf adapter lean
First of all, the WoodDetail surfskate spring feels much tighter than either the YOW S4 or S5 springs. This means you get less range of motion out of it.
waterborne rail adapter
The WoodDetail surfskate truck also has much less rail-to-rail lean than the YOW S4/S5. The reason for this is because the truck angles are different.
waterborne rail adapter
waterborne rail adapter
The sharper angle of the YOW S4/S5 allows for much deeper rail-to-rail lean than the WoodDetail surfskate.
waterborne rail adapter
waterborne rail adapter
The next difference is that the hangers on WoodDetail surfskates are narrower than other surfskate trucks.
waterborne rail adapter
This makes the WoodDetail very inefficient to pump. You have to put a lot of effort into pumping the WoodDetail to get very much propulsion out of it at all.

Pumping the WoodDetail surfskate feels like pumping a mountain bike in first gear.

It’s ironic because, on the one hand, it’s actually very easy to pump. On the other hand, you have to pump a lot because it doesn’t move you forward much.

The WoodDetail surfskate truck is very high quality and looks very functional. So you would think that it would compare to a YOW surfskate, SmoothStar surfskate, or Carver C7 surfskate. But it doesn’t at all. It feels much tighter than all of them and has much less range of motion and lean than all of them.

For all of these reasons, after testing 60+ surfskates with 30 different surfskate trucks, I do not include WoodDetail in my list of the top 10 surfskates.

WoodDetail Surfskate Decks Review

 
I have the 33” Lobos model, which is now called the Barcelona. I love almost everything about the deck: the length, shape, width, and concave.

waterborne rail adapter
waterborne rail adapter
waterborne rail adapter
However, the wheelbase on this WoodDetail surfskate model is only 16”. This makes it too narrow for my 18” stance width.

Typically, on a 33” surfskate model you would expect to see a wheelbase between about 17” and 19”.

waterborne rail adapter
Most of WoodDetail surfskate decks are similar, with a relatively narrow wheelbase compared to their length. This limits them to riders with stance widths of between about 14” and 16”.

For riders with stance widths wider than that, these decks are tippy and unstable. If you ride with your back foot on the kicktail, your front wheels will easily pop up.

Narrow wheelbases also contribute to the inefficient pumping and of the WoodDetail surfskate.

So personally, I think WoodDetail surfskate decks would be improved by widening the wheelbases.

Who and What are WoodDetail Surfskates Best Used For?

 
I honestly don’t really know what category even to put the WoodDetail surfskate in.

As a non-surfer, I’m not qualified to definitively comment on it as a pure surf trainer. However, I can compare it to what surfers consistently say are the best surf trainers. These are the YOW Meraki, Smoothstar Thruster and Smoothstar Thruster D, Carver C7, and SpiceSkate SpicePilot.

Compared to all of these, the WoodDetail surfskate truck feels much tighter. It has much less range of motion and rail-to-rail lean.

I wouldn’t categorize WoodDetail as a street cruiser because it also generates very little forward momentum. This means it doesn’t go fast and you don’t want to travel very far on it.

The only thing I can think of to call the WoodDetail is a pumpable skateboard.

I don’t know who I would recommend this board to and for what purpose. The way it’s designed, it’s going to function way better for smaller riders and maybe even kids.

Honestly, if I had to put it in one category, it would be a beginning rider for kids, or at least for smaller riders.

It’s not something that you’re going to be riding long distances on. It’s not something that you’re going to be training surf maneuvers on.

You might like a WoodDetail surfskate. But my recommendation is to start with something from the best surfskates instead, then try a WoodDetail later.

My free Surfskate Selector app will help you choose the best surfskate for you in just 8 quick questions.

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