5 Tips to Make Your Skateboard Deck Last Longer
5 Tips for Making Your Skateboard Deck Last Longer
Skateboarding can be an expensive hobby, especially when you neglect your gear. One way to save money and still enjoy skateboarding is to take care of one part of your set up that generally wears out first-your skateboard deck.
Here are our five tips to follow to make sure that you get the most life out of your deck.
1. Avoid Razortail
First, try to scrape your tail as little as possible. Don’t drag your tail on the ground to slow down because that will cause razortail, leading to soggy pop. This also applies to throwing down your board. If you scrape your tail on the ground when you’re getting a running start, it can wear it away a little bit. It's best to put wear on the tail from doing tricks.
2. Don't Take it Out on Your Board
Second, make sure you don't get in the habit of throwing your board out of frustration. We’ve all been there at the tipping point where we’re starting to lose our minds after trying a trick over and over again, but it’s never worth taking it out on your board because boards aren’t cheap. When you throw your board and it chips badly, the pop gets ruined.
3. Keep It Dry
Next, try to avoid getting your board wet. Most of the adhesives that hold the plies of your skateboard together are water soluble. So if it gets wet, it can dissolve away causing the plies to separate, ruining the boards pop. Avoid leaving your board outside, skating in the rain, rolling through puddles or even hopping onto your board with wet or muddy feet.
Tip: If you do need to skate in the rain, use an old retired deck that’s already worn down and soggy as a dedicated rain board. This way you can keep your trick set up dry.
4. Land Smooth
You should practice landing bolts on all of your tricks, especially down gaps and drops. Landing with your feet on the hardware isn’t just a style thing, it’s the only way you’ll be able to go off anything bigger in size without snapping the board. Also, you should try your best to commit to the landing as quickly as you can because kicking out over and over again on rough ground will smash up your board very quickly.
5. Keep It Cool
Finally, don’t leave your skateboard in extreme heat. Leaving your board in a hot car can sometimes cause your board to warp. Warping is when the plies of the board start to twist from changes in temperature and humidity. It’s common to have a tiny bit of warping on a board, and it usually goes unnoticed. But if it gets really bad, it can change the way the board pops and flips and makes it feel off.