The Longboard Blog

This is a copy from our 2008 holiday shopping guide:

The holiday season emails are beginning to arrive, and the most common question has been, “I want to get a longboard for my [girlfriend, husband, etc.], but I don’t know where to start”. I will do my best to provide you with a basic guide on choosing a longboard as a gift.

If the person you are shopping for is a longboard enthusiast, then it’s very likely that they may have dropped a hint on specific products or you may know the style of riding they prefer. For this guide, I will center my attention on longboards with universal capabilities, such as cruising with some speed and carving.

Longboard skateboards have become increasingly popular as a mode of transportation. People use longboards for commuting to the office, cruising to class on college campuses, and training for winter sports like snowboarding.

Length: Longboards between the length of 38″ and 47″ are preferred for longer distance riding. Longer boards tend to be more stable and track straight due to a larger turning radius. Longboards under 38″ have a shorter turning radius which make them good for shorter commutes and college campuses.

Materials: Longboards come in many different materials, such as wood, wood composites [blend of more than one material], and full composites [absence of wood]. Wood is the most familiar material, and offer a very light and stiff platform. Boards with a low amount of flex are good for cruising since a flexible board may rob you of energy from the up and down motion. Wood composite boards are usually thinner, stronger, and have added flexibility. The flexibility of these boards are great for carving, where the flex creates a spring action pumping in and out of turns. Full composite boards can be made of all fiberglass and even see-through plastics. These materials can enhance performance and visual appeal.

It’s nearly the same every day. We arrive at the shop, open the main office door, turn off the motion sensor light, turn on the warehouse lights, and fire up the computers. I happened to be filling in for Gordon, our shop manager, while he was surfing and visiting Sector 9 in California. Our questions@ email was pretty full, and likely had a new longboard company introduction. This day was different though. I saw photos of longboards that were laser engraved, a composite drop through board with spacers to lower the board further, and gorgeous graphics. Oh Losee, you had me at hello.

I really want to bring a La Tabla De Los Muertos home for myself, but like all Losee boards, they are in transport to other admiring customers soon after arriving here. The La Tabla De Los Muertos is beefy, the mark of a great downhill longboard. Like a thick lasagna, baked with 7 layers of maple veneers sandwiched between black dyed fiberglass weave. A 1/2″ spacer they call The Dropper, places the deck a half of an inch closer to the grinding stone.

Take a look at the Turntable close up photo. The laser etching looks and feels much deeper in person, giving it and all of the laser etched boards a 3-dimensional look. The upturned nose on the Turntable is one of my favorite features on a cruising longboard. It creates what I can only describe as a wheel on a bicycle, diving in and out of corners from the front side.