The Atom Pintail Super Carver Longboard is a great beginner longboard - click the picture to see actual user reviews!

Before choosing a longboard and buying it hastily, you need to know what you want in a longboard; there are an insane amount of options out there.

For a beginner, this can be really daunting and baffling. I created this page to help you get familiar with the different varieties of longboards out there and give you a good idea of what to look for when choosing a longboard.

Here are some of the things to look out for in choosing a longboard. This does depend on the kind of longboarding you will want to be doing, as you will find out below:

See some of my recommended beginner longboards here.

Length

• The length of a longboard is very important in a longboard of your choice.
• The distance between the trucks on the board determines how sharp the turns will be on your board.
• As a general rule of thumb, boards with trucks closer to each other will make tighter turns.
• For a rider with a smaller stature, shorter boards are recommended. However, if you are larger, when choosing a longboard, you can get a shorter board for making tight turns – this makes shorter boards ideal for downhill racing.
• Longer boards are more suited for carving – but they will not make very tight turns – however, they go at a more stable speed.

Also, longboards vary in width and shape. For example:

• Pintail longboards have loose trucks and are generally pretty wide, which is great for cruising and carving!

Now if you are just starting out I would most likely recommend choosing a longboard of a length between 37 to 48 inches. For the wheels, I’d suggest 65mm-7omm wheels as well. Also, a pintail longboard would be great because its versatility will allow you to try out different types of longboarding until you find something you like best. Remember to consider all the criteria I’ve mentioned in choosing a longboard – if you’re lost, try reading some of the reviews I have – many of them are written so any beginner can quickly tell if it’s suitable for them.

See some of my recommended beginner longboards here.

Searches:

• choosing a longboard