Whether you’re speeding down a hill, or dodging people on the streets on your way to school, longboards are the hip new way of getting places.
With so many brands and models to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you?
Worry not, because we’re here to help! We’ve taken a liberty of making a list of the best longboards on the market today. In addition to that, we’ve also created a short section to explain a few longboarding terms to give you a hand with your choice.
Things You Need to Know
The first step toward acquiring your first longboard is knowing what are you going to use it for. There are several riding styles, and the longboards are made to accommodate them:
- Downhill Boarding. As the name suggests, downhill boarding is all about tackling hills and high speeds. Since you’ll be going very fast, you need a board that’s been built to handle such speeds. For this style, it is recommended you use double drop boards. These puppies utilize a curved deck, placing your feet below the board’s trucks.
- Freestyle Boarding. This one is all about tricks and kicks, which means that a drop deck board or a drop-through board is best. These have trucks mounted through the deck, but the deck is flat (the trucks provide additional stability).
- Cruising/Carving. Cruising and carving refers to standard riding for simple transportation means. Here, it’s best to go with a standard board that has top mounted trucks because specialized boards are quite expensive (especially double drop, which can be very expensive).
Top 10 Longboards Table
Top 5 Best Longboards Reviews
1. Santa Cruz Lion God Rasta Drop Thru Cruiser
If Rasta and slow evening cruises are your thing, then this Santa Cruz drop through cruiser is just the thing for you. Slender and sleek, this board meets little air resistance and slides smoothly across the tarmac.
The board is equipped with 75-mm Road Rider wheels, Road Rider trucks and Santa Cruz bearings. This equipment, combined with Santa Cruz grip tape on the deck, make this board a true beauty on and off the road. However, Santa Cruz hasn’t forgotten that even the most casual rides leave a toll on your board over time, so the materials used are the best possible and able to withstand tremendous beating before finally breaking.
Pros:
- Excellent board, great durability.
- A very fast board, very little air resistance.
- Very good grip tape.
2. Sector 9 Aperture Sidewinder Drop Through Cruiser
Sitting on spot number two of our best longboards list is the Sector 9 Sidewinder. This is one for the most durable and most ubiquitous boards. It is built to be soft and comfortable enough for street cruising, and rigid enough to handle the tightest turns and greatest speeds.
To facilitate soft and responsive controls, this board has been outfitted with special, two-kingpin trucks. The two kingpins allow you to make very tight turns and enable you to have absolute control over the board at all times to avoid a high-speed accident. So, if you’re brave enough to take on some steep hills and wish to round some sharp bends, this is just the board for you.
When it comes to customer feedback, quite a few folks have pointed out that this item utilizes an excellent combination of build materials. Therefore, if you’re looking for an item you can use in the long run, this fella just might be it.
Pros:
- A very ubiquitous board – excellent for cruising, freeriding and downhill riding.
- Very durable building materials.
- An exceptionally fast board.
- Excellent responsiveness owned to the double king-pin trucks.
3. Atom Drop-Through Longboard
Spot number three belongs to a downhill specialist. This Atom longboard is built especially for high speeds and tight turns. It is made ultra-low to facilitate maximum stability and superb responsiveness.
In addition, the board has been built for ease of pushing when commuting on the city streets. It’s built durable to handle everyday commutes and extreme speeds.
The item’s unique perimeter shape reduces wheel bite and increases turning capabilities. It features reverse king pin trucks to further the turning abilities and responsiveness of the board. If you’re a city cruiser, some say you should not look any further!
Pros:
- Excellent responsiveness in tight corners.
- A board built for maximum speed.
- Superb durability.
- Good for city cruising.
- Unique shape for less wheel bite.
4. Quest Skateboards Super Cruiser
Moving on to number four. Featuring at this spot is the SCSK8 cruiser board. This board comes in with a blank deck, so you can go crazy and decorate it how you wish. However, this is not the only thing this board is here for. As one of the best cruising boards on the market, this longboard has been customized for long rides on the city streets.
This board is one of the most maneuverable on the market. The product’s excellent trucks allow you complete control of the board on the fly.
However, the trucks aren’t the fastest, having a rating of 5/9 on the ABEC scale. That being said, since this is a cruiser board, you probably won’t be going at neck breaking speeds. All in all, this is a great board for nice rides across town and morning and evening commutes. If you’re not into speed all that much, you will have zero issues with this one.
Pros:
- Excellent cruiser board.
- Great maneuverability.
- Superb durability.
- Comes in fully assembled.
Con:
- 5/9 ABEC rating means it is not very fast.
5. Quest Skateboards Super Cruiser
And as the last product, we have left this Quest Super Cruiser as a desert. Even though it is half way down the bottom of our best longboards list, it is no less valuable than our top picks. In fact, the only reason we put it on the no. 5 spot is because we couldn’t share spots in the table above.
The deck of the board is made of multi-ply hardwood maple for added security against breakages. The board features a very durable pair of aluminum trucks that provide superb maneuverability and responsiveness.
It features high-quality Bones bearings too, so you know the board can develop some good speeds too. All in all, an excellent cruiser, and at excellent prices too, perfect for commuters and city slickers alike.
We have encountered folks who insist that this is the ultimate longboard, but we have to say that such a conclusion heavily depends on a variety of personal preferences. So look around, but this fella indeed might be your perfect match.
Pros:
- Great maneuverability and responsiveness.
- Very durable hardwood maple make.
- Excellent aluminum trucks.
- Superb Bones bearings.
