Longboard Skate

…Skate something that feels and behaves like a snowboard or a surfboard

There can be only one board…the Lush Samba has a dropped deck and 3dm Avalon wheels resulting in a very loose ride. Edge control is an important part of riding this board. The Avalon wheels are nice and grippy, but when you dig that rail hard into the turn, you can feel the wheels scrabble for grip as the back slides out. With a little imagination, you’ll be throwing buckets of powder in every carve. If you like your speed carving it’s all about the drop-through Kilima.

…Carve up a hill with skill and style

For mellow cruising and soulful hill carving the ideal choice is a classic 40″+ pintail shape. The Mako, Bahari, Makonga and Kuni and Kisiwa all make for awesome hill riding. Wide trucks and soft wheels keep you stable and fast over almost any surface. For the ultimate ride consider a drop through board such as the Kilima. With the trucks mounted through the board the ride height is as low and as stable as possible making it fast and very manoeuvrable.

…Send my wheels into screeching, sideways, technical slides

Sliding is a growing form of longboarding and allows for impressive tricks and progressive fun. Boards can range from the 33″ globe to the 58″ Kisiwa - but most folk prefer the Globe series. The shorter the wheelbase, the snappier the slide and the faster the rotation. Big boards create slow, graceful slides, which are harder to initiate but easier to control. Concave keeps you locked into the deck and kick-tails aid the more technical and impressive slides. The harder the wheel, the easier the slide. Wheel durometers around and above 90a are ideal.

Commute to work/college/uni through the rush hour traffic

The ideal board will be small, light and manoeuvrable. A kick tail isn’t necessary but it can give you something to rest your foot on and allows you to flick the board around the walkers and the talkers as you cruise down the high street. The Tula, Makonga, S-Flex and Kuni make for good commuters. Wheels should be soft (around 80a) and above 62mm to keep you rolling over the cracks.

…Turn an empty car park into a soulful boardwalking play ground

For longboard surf style manoeuvres, big, wide boards are ideal. Something like the Kisiwa is the ideal tool for practicing your hang tens, spinners and cross-stepping when the surf is flat or onshore.
Even for the landlocked surfer at heart, this board can transform an empty car park to 3 foot Malibu with a little imagination. The wide design gives you plenty of room to move around and the kick-tail adds to the manoeuvrability. Wide, shallow angled trucks such as Holeys are ideal for tight turns and wheels should be big and soft to give the maximum effortless glide.