We rode over smooth ground, ridges and slopes, testing for durability, stability and design (The Independent)
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From longboards for cruising along the coastline, to boards fighting for a more sustainable industry and classics for flipping tricks in a park, there’s a wide range of skateboards out there. While some may look the part, there’s more to buying a board than appearance and price point.
When shopping for your new board, numbers relating to the wheels will give you more of an insight into what kind of ride it’s likely to give. Wheel sizes tend to vary between 48mm-60mm — the bigger the wheels, the more speed you’re able to gather, though the acceleration will be a little slower.
Smaller wheels tend to be used more for tricks or at the park, while larger wheels are typically better for cruising and covering distance. Look out for the hardness of the wheel compound, too. This usually sits between 73a and 101a – the higher the number, the harder the wheel (this is more useful for tricks as the board won’t lift off the ground as easy, whereas a softer wheel can provide a smoother ride).
The wheel bearings, meanwhile, can be ranked as ABEC 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 — the higher the number, the more likely the board will be able to handle higher speeds and offer better precision. And it’s also worth considering the size of the deck, the shape and material, plus how high the board sits off the ground.
We’ve taken all the above into consideration and tested out some of the best boards we could find on the market.
These skateboards have all been individually trialled and tested. They’ve all been ridden over smooth ground, ridges and slopes, carried around and assessed on their design, durability and stability. We ended up with nine boards that we would recommend, each with its own unique selling point.
The best skateboards for 2022 are:
Best overall – Oxelo big yamba cruiser skateboard: £49.99, Decathlon.co.uk
Best for skateparks – Oxelo team fury pom pom skateboard: £74.99, Decathlon.co.uk
From the get go, this board is just a really enjoyable experience — it has a super soft landing and feels so quiet and smooth. With it being mostly made from polypropylene, a lot of vibration is taken away for a more gentle ride. Pushing off and being on the board feels quite stable, so you get some of the benefits that you would get from a longboard, without the chunky size.
The wheels are a decent size (59mm, ABEC 7 bearings), and the board has wheel wells to avoid any bite, while the height off the ground feels like a good level for such a stable board. It’s been made with town riding in mind, and the design makes it dynamic and quick, while turning feels seamless.
It’s small (68cm x 19cm) and light enough to carry around, plus we just really like the bold ombre-style design and teal wheels. It’s one of the cheaper options in our list and we can’t recommend it enough for city and coastline cruising.
This board manoeuvres well on flat and sloped concrete surfaces and is nicely balanced, but it really excels in skateparks and half-pipes. It has 101a wheel compound (wheels are 52mm, ABEC 7 bearings) and as such, the hardness and denseness of the wheels makes it easier for doing tricks as it doesn’t lift off the ground too much. It has a wider deck too (81cm x 20cm), which makes it easier to find foot placement, making it a fairly good option for beginners.
We really like the design of this one. The board is made from 100 per cent Canadian maple and has a striking pink line running through a ply in the middle of the deck. The trucks are unpolished and understated. And the bright canvas on the underside stands out against a simple white deck and wheels. This one is great as an all-round classic skateboard option that can be used on the street and in the park.
Santa Cruz skateboards have been well-known in the industry for decades, and the company continues to produce boards that encapsulate skate and surf culture. And this one features the brand’s iconic screaming hand design which will be perfect for any age user.
It’s really nimble and easy to turn (the wheelbases are shorter than usual) – using it on the street can feel super easy, though because of the nimbleness, a slight wrong footing can lead to feeling a bit unbalanced. The board verges on being a little wobbly at times, but it’s been designed with a new wider shape to help with foot placement. The deck is lightweight, as are the trucks, and the wheels are either made with 83a or 95a hardness, landing roughly in the middle for wheel compounds, which makes it quite a good all-rounder.
Globe is another well-established brand on the skating scene and this longboard feels like one of its finest. The design feels really considered: the board is made from bamboo, giving it a nice flex and conclave; and the wheels are large (74mm) and soft (74a), giving a smoother ride. There’s wheel wells to avoid wheel bite, and the bearings are ABEC 7 which provide higher speed and longer rolls in between pushes. Plus, the trucks are reversible to flip between a focus on high speed and tighter turns.
The board can really pick up some speed on concrete surfaces without losing its stability. It’s decent at turning and feels good as an option for people who want a board for longer cruising.
We like how it looks, too – the design is simple and soothing, but you can also see different colours in the ply and the wheels are a lovely jade green. Globe also plants three trees for every tree they use to make their boards, which is an added bonus.
What drew us to this board initially was its unique design and social message. To start, it’s made from recycled bottle caps, most of which are bought from KNGF Geleidehonden (Royal Dutch Guide dogs foundation), which in turn creates income for training guide dogs. Secondly, each one is entirely unique and can be custom-made to draw on one colour theme. And it’s worth noting that the boards were created with the intention of being a conversation starter – more specifically around the topic of sustainability and the overuse of raw materials.
These details aside, we love how it looks and that you can see the individual bottle caps melded into the mix. In terms of use, it’s definitely a board to get used to. The deck is bowed in the middle, so it’s less stable to stand on, and the wheels (ABEC 7) occasionally feel like they drag a bit on the first few pushes, so can struggle to keep up with the momentum of the push. This one probably isn’t the best board for beginners, but makes an interesting ride for more seasoned skaters.
This board has a lower price point than most of the others we’ve included in this round-up, and we’d recommend it for anyone who wants to try out skateboarding before investing. The board is good quality, constricted with maple and has a beautiful but simple bright design on its deck. Bearings are ABEC 7 and the wheels are 52mm and 99a, so they’re fairly heavy and more solid on the ground.
While the price point makes this good for beginners, we’d recommend it for those who would want to take it to a skatepark or for learning tricks rather than cruising or town skating. It has a faster acceleration and slower speed, but the solidness of the wheels means it can pick up some of the joltiness from the ground and be a bit of a rougher ride. Overall, this is a good option for the price.
Arbor Street complete skateboard, whiskey experience
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Best: Classic board for all levels
Rating: 9/10
As a classic board, this one works really well. The wheels are a little bigger at 54mm, with 90a hardness, making it a bit of a softer ride than other classics like the verb (£62.95, Skates.co.uk). The wheels also make it quite a versatile board for a range of terrains – it can work as well in parks as it does in the street, which is entirely what it was built to achieve.
It’s easy to handle and would be a good option for beginners, though this is a great board for all levels. It’s made out of Canadian maple, with this particular design being part of the whiskey series, a set of boards made to manage more speed and rougher surfaces. As part of the Arbor collection, a portion of sales go towards planting koa trees in Hawaii, too.
Unfortunately, this board is currently out of stock but you can sign up to be notified via email when it’s back, which is expected be no later than 20 February
This surf-style skateboard cruiser is made out of a recycled car bumper and it hails itself as the first eco-friendly surf cruiser on the market. While another unique feature of this board are the two handles cut out on the sides, which we love for making it super easy to pick up and carry around.
The wheels are pretty large at 60mm, quite soft at 83a, and the bearings are fairly hard at ABEC 9. The distance between the deck and the ground is noticeably higher and the deck curves up around the edges, making it a little difficult at times to find a comfortable foot placement, but a grippy deck helps to keep feet in place.
While surf-style skateboards tend to be more stable and pushable, the extended height off the ground makes the Charger-X a little challenging at times and can impact stability, so we’d recommend it more for intermediate skaters than beginners.
With a board length of 75.4cm, this is more of a cruiser, as the name suggests. Wheels are 80mm, giving more grip and speed, while they sit at a relatively soft 80a for added control over the board for when you’re traversing different terrain. The 22V lithium motor is controlled by a battery-operated handheld remote. It’s a push start board, but once you’re on, there’s variable speeds controllable through the remote.
Coming in at just under £250, this is definitely one of the more affordable electric skateboards out there, but that does show a bit through its battery life. After 10 minutes of riding, we noted that the battery had knocked down from “green” to “amber” and overall, it has a life of roughly 40 minutes when used at speeds of up to 10mph. Great as a novelty, or perhaps more of an electronic toy skateboard, but it doesn’t quite work for travelling distances. It’s a little on the loud side too, but overall, we were impressed by what the board achieves for its price point.
The Oxelo big yamba cruiser skateboard still wins our hearts for town skating – it’s also small and light enough to carry around. For cruising, the Globe arcadia longboard felt comfy and durable enough for distances. For beginners, if budget isn’t so much an issue, we’d recommend the Arbor street complete skateboard as a good all-rounder that can be used in parks and in the streets.
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