Buying your first skateboard can be a nerve-racking experience if you have no idea what you’re looking for. The most common questions we get asked are, “should I buy a pre-made complete, or should I pick out components and build a custom setup?” and “what size should I buy, and what do these measurements even mean?”
We get it. There’s a tonne of options to choose from and all of the technical lingo makes next to no sense for beginners to understand, and because of how visually appealing skateboard graphics are, it’s easy to get distracted from focusing on the two most important things to remember when buying your first skateboard, which are:
- If you’re just starting out, there’s no need to spend unnecessary money on top-of-the-line parts, because you’re probably not going to be able to feel the difference between a pre-made complete and a Pro-level setup. Don’t stress about buying the “best” skateboard, because the best skateboard is always going to be one that gets skated regularly, not one that’s worth hundreds of dollars but ends up collecting dust in the shed, and;
- There’s no such thing as buying the right or wrong size skateboard – at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference – but, as a general rule of thumb, if you can choose a size that roughly correlates to either your shoe size, height and/or age, you’re going to feel much more comfortable and confident on it, and that’s going to lead to more usage over a longer period of time, which as we said, is the main goal.
So, if you’re in the market for a pre-made complete skateboard to get you rolling, when you walk into our skate shop – or check out what we have in stock on our website – what you mainly need to be focusing on is the width of the skateboard, which is universally measured in inches. If you can roughly line up the width of the skateboard with either your shoe size, height and/or age, chances are you’re going to be stoked on the way the skateboard feels. Here’s our recommendations:
|
Deck Size (Inches) |
Shoe Size (US Men’s) |
Height (Cm) |
Age |
|
7.0” |
1-3 |
Less than 120cm |
4 and under |
|
7.25” |
3-4 |
120cm-140cm |
6 and under |
|
7.5” |
4-5 |
140cm-150cm |
8 and under |
|
7.75” |
5-7 |
150-160cm |
10 and under |
|
8.0” |
7-8 + |
160cm+ |
14 and under |
|
8.25” |
8-9 + |
170cm+ |
14 and above |
Remember, this is just a guide – there’s no right or wrong, and everyone’s personal preference is different. As long as you get it reasonably close – ie, don’t buy a 7.0” for a dude who’s 180cm tall and where’s size 13 shoes – you’ll be fine. Also, if you’re in doubt and not sure whether to pick something that’s a little bit smaller or a little bit bigger, we recommend going for the bigger one, because extra width is going to provide extra stability whilst learning.
If you’re still feeling stuck and have some more questions, send an email to slamfactory@slamfactory.com.au or call 02 4355 1557 and one of our experienced staff members will be able to assist you.
When you've made your choice, you can choose to Click & Collect or have your order shipped to you for free when you spend over $99, and for every $100 you spend, you'll receive 1x Free Session Pass to ride our Indoor Skatepark. We also have Afterpay, so you can get what you need to start skating now and pay later!