So you're starting out longboarding and you don't know which of the hundreds of boards to get. First of all, you have to decide what style of riding you plan on doing. The different styles are: Downhill, Freeride, Freestyle or Carving and Cruising. Some boards are better than others for certain styles and we are now going to give you a few examples of good boards for each riding style.
Downhill: Downhill boards are typically very stiff, low to the ground and have a good amount of concave. Rayne longboards are all high quality and definitely good for downhill. Some of their more popular boards are the Nemesis, the Demonseed and the Killswitch. They are all between 35 and 44" long and 9.5 to 10.5" wide. Landyachtz is also known for making very good downhill boards such as the Evo (regular and carbon), the Switch, the Switchblade and the Chinook. It is possible to get downhill boards for cheaper but they won't be as good, and the few that I have named are definitely worth the few extra bucks.
Freeride: Freeride boards have little to no flex, medium to high concave and are symmetrical which means that there is no front or back which helps with riding switch. Loaded boards are very popular for just about every style. For freeriding, the best are the Tan Tien, the Bhangra and the Dervish. Loaded is currently advertising that they will be coming out with a pure freeride board fairly soon. Other good boards for this style are from Landyachtz. Their most popular boards being the 9two5 (regular and carbon), the Drop Carve, the Drop Speed and the Time Machine. Finally there is the Original freeride board which is very good for sliding but is a bit heavy if you are used to boards such as the Tan Tien.
Freestyle: I wouldn't suggest getting a longboard only to do freestyle for the sole reason that it is much easier on a regular skate board. I will be naming a few boards that are good for freestyle but can also be used for freeriding or cruising. As I said before, Loaded boards can be used for just about anything. For freestyle, the Tan Tien, Bhangra, Ceviche and Fattail are all very good. Another popular board for freestyle and cruising is the Apex 34. Other than these few, any board under about 30" with a nose and tail should do fine. But again, if you only plan on doing freestyle, I suggest getting a skateboard. It will save you lots of money and will be much more enjoyable.
Carving and Cruising: For this section the most popular companies are Loaded and Original. The Loaded Dervish, Pintail and Vanguard and all very good boards. These three, as well as all the other boards made by Loaded, are very flexible which is comfortable to ride around on and help with you carving. Original boards are almost all made with cruising and carving in mind. For this style, it is hard to find boards better than the Pintail 43, Pintail 46, Apex 34, Apex 37, Custom 35 and Custom 44.
So there you have it, the best of every style of boarding. If you still don't know what you want to get i would suggest a Loaded board because they are so versatile. Wether you want to make it down a hill sliding like a mad man, or just cruise around town, these board can do everything. All the boards that I mentioned can be a bit pricey but the difference between these and a cheap one is indescribable. We will hopefully be posting information on what wheels, trucks and bushings to get within the next few days. If you have any personal questions such as opinions on what setups to get please send us an E-mail at longboardingtips@gmail.com and we'll be happy to answer. Hope this helped all you longboarders out there.
Till next time,
Longboardingtips Crew
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