What Is a Longboard?

Longboards are boards with long and wide decks. They come in multiple different shapes suited for specific riding styles and generally have large soft wheels. These features make longboards perfect for cruising, freestyling, downhill, or just day-to-day riding.

Compared to a regular skateboard, a longboard skateboard delivers a much smoother and more surf-like riding experience. Longboards also provide faster rides than skateboards because of their large wheels. They are generally good beginner boards, as you don’t have to learn any tricks to have fun with them.

Longboards - What to Know?

When choosing a longboard, there are some things that should be known before making a decision. There are several longboard types on the market, each for a certain use, and they are typically categorized as follows: longboard cruisers, carving longboards, freestyle longboards, dancing longboards, freeride longboards, and downhill longboards.

These different types vary by construction and shape. A cruiser longboard is typically the best-suited longboard for beginners, and their shapes and designs are often surf-inspired. It is also probably the type of longboard that first pops into mind when thinking about longboards in general, especially a pintail longboard. Dancer longboards are built with the longest decks, while downhill and freeride longboards are constructed to be stiff for optimal speed and control.

Longboards also come in two different truck mounting types, the top mount and drop-through installation. Trucks in drop-through mode are super easy to push and generally well-suited for downhill riding since they provide good stability, while the traditional top mounting is typically featured in cruiser and dancing boards.

A Complete Longboard Is a Good First Choice

No matter if you're new to longboarding or an advanced rider, a complete longboard is a great choice with many benefits.

First off, a complete board ensures that you get a longboard setup where all the parts fit together. The manufacturer has put together a setup that’ll match a certain purpose and riding style. Second off, the board is ready to ride right out of the box. It’s nice, quick, and easy!

Last up, with a complete, you'll get a great longboard for a good price. When the manufacturer assembles all the parts in one place, they cut on costs, but the quality stays high.

You can find more information on the different longboard types, shapes, and trucks in our comprehensive Buying Longboard Guide.

What Size Longboard is Best for Kids?

The most important decision to make regards to the longboard size is the length - this should be between 32 - 40 inches depending on their size. The taller they are, the longer their longboard deck should be. Getting the right size longboard is important - a board the wrong size will be harder to master and take the fun out of longboarding. In general, teenagers should be fine with regular-sized longboards.

Remember that falling over is a part of the learning process, so it is important that your kid is wearing the right Skate Protection.