After having detailed the different benefits/disadvantages of a SurfSkate in the article How can a “SurfSkate” make you a better surfer? it is high time to introduce the different models of SurfSkate available on the market.
Our comparison of SurfSkate models will only take into account the “classic” Skate models (four wheels) with a front articulated truck, so WaveBoards/RipSurf (two-wheel skate), PumpRockr (three-wheel skate) or CarveBoard (a hybrid long skate with wheelbarrow wheels) will not be considered.
Note : The links are affiliated with Amazon in order to us help to produce more and more quality items. The prices displayed date from 25/01/2021.
Carver
Yow
Price : 250 $, Trucks only : 80 $
Trucks : Trucks adjustable according to the level of spring hardness: soft, medium and hard. Possibility to turn the system “off” to get back to a classic skateboard.
Comments : the newcomer on the SurfSkate market. The prices are slightly better than Carver, the choice is vast and the adjustment possibilities of the board are remarkable. However if the truck takes more angle than most SurfSkate (including Carver), the relaunch seems less important than one would have hoped for. The front truck system has been improved (V2), to be tested…
Surfskate
Price : 300 $
Truck : articulated truck (360° V-Truck et SwellTech)
Ranges : Street, Bowl
Comments : the great challenger of Carver on the SurfSkate market. At first glance, a SurfSkate looks like a miniature surfboard: great design work. The handling is excellent (V-Truck/SwellTech system that swivels 360°), but in return the stability is slightly below a Carver or SmoothStar and the relaunch requires more work than a Carver. The latest SwellTech version seems to offer a manoeuvrability/recovery compromise closer to the Carver. It is little marketed in France compared to its competitors.
SmoothStar
Price : 200 $
Trucks : Articulated trucks (Thruster SmoothStar)
Ranges : Street, Bowl, Longskate
Comments : the Australian forerunner. In the world of SurfSkate, SmoothStar is a pioneer. The boards are significantly wider and longer than the other SurfSkate boards (a good point for the bowl), the truck system is similar to the Carver and even seems to have a larger rotation angle than its American competitor. A serious competitor.
The Wave (Flow)
Price : 120 $
Truck : Semi-articulated truck (Backbone)
Ranges : Street
Comments : on paper, the board of The Flow seems to benefit from some very serious arguments: a very well-placed price (at least half the price of its competitors), a (semi-) articulated truck system and a sober but efficient design. On test, the reality seems much more contrasted: the truck system is only “semi-articulated” (closer to a “classic” skateboard with loose trucks than to a SurfSkate), the quality of the components is to be reviewed (logical considering the price) and the reliability of the trucks is really problematic (weakness of the springs from my own experience). It would seem to me more judicious to turn to the other SurfSkate mentioned above: more expensive but more reliable and durable.
Other SurfSkate in sight : CurfBoard, Autodidakt, Atom Surf Skateboard, Fanatic, Osprey, Adenalin Skate..
Comparative table
