The perfect weapons of the skaters

Plan B, Element, Flip, Mental or Blind are some of the brands that recognized skaters chose to compete in big events.

It is well known that skaters are the principal architects of making incredible manoeuvres and taking to the limit their tricks. However, we can not leave an important element out that make all this have sense: the skate. The different features of the boards determine not only the kind of skate it’s going to be practised but also the way of walking and the quality of the tricks that are going to be made. According to this, we can say that deck materials, its shape and particular details such as length, edge, width, nose and tail have their importance.

Before going in particularities, we are going to stop in some general data: on one hand, the width of the deck is between 7.5 and 8.25. The wider the decks are, the better they are for balance and stability. The tighter decks are more suitable for Street and for doing tricks. If the skate style we are looking for has different styles, decks should be medium. On the other hand, the concave shape has influence on the strength in which tricks are made. The more concavity, the more agressive skater walking can be.

After these few strokes, we are now going to analize the skates of the X Games big champions. The first one, it could not be in a different way, is the skate of the Californian Paul Rodriguez, a skater with an extense experience in X Games and winner of up to four gold medals. Rodriguez, who has skated several times in Barcelona, has a Plan B skateboard deck, which uses top-quality materials and construction to provide long lasting pop. It is a smooth and fast 7.75 deck with a wheels width of 55mm.

Another skater who uses a Plan B skateboard deck is Ryan Sheckler, three-time gold medalist in X Games and always a podium threat in big events. It is a 7.5 deck and it is perfect for the practice of Street. Made under some rules and specifications that get unique quality and with the new prolite technology, consisted of improvements in weight, thickness and rigidity, all this make it become one of the market best decks.

We now go to Element brand, and its skater Nyjah Huston, one of the youngest but also one of the best skaters in the Street world. Huston’s deck has top-quality materials and construction to provide long lasting pop. Made by featherlight technology, smooth and light design, it has thiner sheets and a concavity that strenghten the internal materials.

Bob Burnquist is one of the skaters par excellence without any doubt. Holder of up to 21 medals in X Games, the Brasilian uses a Flip deck that is built to last with high-quality materials, solid construction, and the coolest graphics. Such technology provides an added elasticity that make it be one of the thinest and smoothest decks. Whether you're skating street, ramp, pool, or just looking for a sidewalk cruiser, you have all your skateboarding needs covered.

Shane O’Neill is another bright hope of the skate and he already takes part in the ranking of the best skaters. The Australian has a Mental deck, which utilizes a Kevlar inlay on the top ply for added strength and longer lasting pop. Its buttery shape is great for shredding on any type of terrain and it uses a technology design that help the skater land those pesky flip tricks with silky smoothness.

Another skater who is coming up fast is Chaz Ortiz, a young athlete who turned pro at 13 years old and despite his young age has already participated in X Games. The American gets on a 7.75 Zoo York deck that has the best sandpaper for any skate. It has not big wheels (50mm) but they are very smart and suitable for Street skate.