Skateboard decks are now available in a wide range of sizes and forms, making the simple decision of selecting your first board quite difficult. Especially if you don’t live near a skate shop or haven’t mastered the skills needed to choose one on the internet.
Ready to take the plunge into skateboarding but aren’t sure what size deck to get? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about choosing the best skateboard deck size, from our in-depth comprehensive guide.
What Size Skateboard Deck Should I Get?
There are many factors to consider when determining the best skateboard deck size for you. If it’s your first time choosing a board, we recommend focusing on four key aspects.
- The sort of skating you want to do
- The size of your trucks
- Your body type
- Take your shoe size into account
Skateboard Deck Size and Type Of Skating
When selecting a deck, the first thing you should consider is “what do I want to be doing on my skateboard?”
Have you ever imagined attempting 360 flips down stairwells? Do you see yourself soaring over huge ramps in your dreams? Perhaps you wish to attempt it all.
Whether you want to concentrate on street, transition, or freestyle skating, the best size for you will be one that allows you to perform at your best in that area.
The Size of Your Skateboard Trucks
If you want to purchase a whole skateboard, you can disregard this step since the truck automatically matches the deck.
If you already have a pair of trucks and simply want to replace your deck, pick a size that matches. You may find out the best deck size for your trucks at the skateboard deck and truck size section below.
Your Body Type
The size of the deck you choose will be determined by your body type.
If you’re a lightweight, go for thinner-plated decks in your skating type. Heavyweights should use bigger and thicker decks to better support their weight.
Aside from your weight, your height will have a big influence on the size of your skateboard. Smaller skaters will want smaller boards to maintain a responsive setup, while larger skaters will want bigger decks for more stability.
Your Shoe Size
Last but not least, pick a skateboard deck based on your shoe size. It’s not crucial, but if you have really huge feet, you might want something with a little more width.
The majority of the time, you don’t want your feet to protrude from the deck too far because it creates instability. On the other hand, you don’t want to have too much space for your feet since this makes flipping tricks more difficult.
Continue reading to discover the skateboard deck and shoe size chart that we’ve prepared for you at the end.
What Size Skateboard is Best for Beginners?
If you’re thinking about taking up skateboarding but aren’t sure which deck size to pick, a regular deck that allows you to ride over every obstacle without slowing down is a good place to start.
A deck that is between 8.0″ and 8.5″ for adult skaters is ideal. If you want to skate more streets than transitions, start with an 8.0″ to 8.1″. You can’t go wrong with an 8.5″ deck if you like skating ramps.
However, it will also be determined by your morphology, strength, and age. That is precisely why smaller children and small teenagers should use thinner decks (go from 7.5” to 8.0”).
What Is the Standard Size of a Skateboard?
Despite the fact that there are several different sizes accessible, we can see that some deck sizes are far more popular than others:
Standard Skateboard Size for Street Skating :
The most popular deck size for street skaters has increased over time. 10 years ago, a 7.5”-7.75” deck was typical, allowing for precise mobility and control while performing tricks. A transition set-up would have been deemed any board larger than 8.0″.
Today, most technical skaters ride decks that are between 8.0″ and 8.25″. Even the pros believe that this range of deck width provides the optimum balance between reactiveness, balance, and comfort.
Standard Skateboard Size for Transition Skating
Skaters who transition have been skating enormous decks for millennia. The vast majority of the old school boards that used to cruise down hills and skate in backyards were 9 inches and above.
But today, park skating has reversed the street phenomenon. As the number of transition skaters grew, their demands for a setup changed dramatically.
The new 8.5” x 3.4” size provides less resistance and is easier to grind, so it’s ideal for technical air and grinds. The typical size of transition decks ranges from 8.5″ to 9’0″.
Standard Skateboard Size for All Around Skating
The shift in skateboarding’s level played a role in the boards’ popularity—every category together. We also saw the emergence of a new generation of riders as a result of it. Hybrids were born. They are capable and eager to ride on any surface.
At the intersection of street and transition skating, all around skaters ride decks that measure roughly 8.3 inches wide by 63 inches long, usually in the 8.3” – 8.5” range.
What Size do Pro Skateboarders Ride?
Professional skateboarders prefer certain brands and sizes depending on the type of skate they ride. We could make a rough estimate based on the sizes of some pro models in various disciplines if we had to take a guess.
Street Professional Skateboarders: 8.0” – 8.125”
Skateboarding is a broad term that covers a wide range of activities and skills. However, among top skaters, we can clearly see two sizes are more common—nearly all disciplines combined. Here’s a list of some of the greatest professional skaters and their board size.
- Aurélien Giraud and Chris Joslin, known for their ability to throw huge stair sets of tricks down quick 8.0″ Plan B decks, ride 8.0″ decked skates. Dave Bachinski and Tommie Sandoval, two skate legends recognized for taking on the toughest spots, also skate boards with an 8.
- Jamie Foy and Yuto Horigome, two of the best contest handrail skaters, skate 8.0″ decks as well. For the past decade, Nyjah Huston, the world’s number one ranked skater, has used a deck that is 8.125″.
- Slipstreamers: Some skaters appear to be born to skate on their boards, such as Skateboarder Tuck. An unique style that looks effortless yet is extremely elegant. These skaters are able to tackle most obstacles that come their way thanks to their stamina and flexibility. For example, Louie Lopez and Gustav Tonnesen both perform best with decks measuring 8.125”. Mark Suciu prefers to ride about New York City with an 8.0” deck.
- Finally, there are the legendary tech wizards who can perform every trick combination imaginable—sometimes even better than on Skate 3. Paul Rodriguez, Gustavo Ribeiro, and Shane O’Neill all prefer the 8.0 among these technological geniuses. Only Felipe Gustavo appears as an oddity with his 8.25″ deck.
All Around Professional Skateboarders: 8.25” – 8.5”
In the last decade, we’ve witnessed a new generation of skaters develop who can bowl as much skating bowls as they would 10 stairs handrails or ten foot drops.
Among them, Wes Kremer, Skater of the Year 2014, rides boards with 8.25″ wheels. Zion Wright, a park skateboarding hopeful for an Olympic gold medal, rides boards with the same dimensions.
He’s a seasoned skater who can jump down the world’s biggest gaps—but he also has an incredibly smooth transition. Logically, he has a wider set-up pointing at 8.38 inches.
Park Professional Skateboarders: 8.5”+
Skaters adopting a more transition-oriented style will have the broadest range of skateboard sizes and shapes. Some pros ride asymmetrical classic popsicle forms, while others prefer traditional popsicle forms. Some use enormous boards, whereas others skate somewhat wider skateboards than street skaters.
The two most frequent forms of skating transition are listed below. The top professionals in the following sizes:
- Most of the professional contest skaters on the circuit use boards that are approximately 8.5” long. All three riders travel a lot and skate boards with an average length of 8.5″. Ben Raybourn uses a board with an aspect ratio of 1:1 to drop down some of the gnarliest banks around.
- Vert skaters have a different set of demands. It takes an extra-comfortable setup to absorb all the speed you’re blasted with. Tony Hawk now rides surprisingly thin decks, which are only 8.5” in size, but he used to ride pro decks that were 9.0″ in length back in the day. Danny Way and Bob Burnquist are both 8.625” deck riders, while Chris Russell rides a 9.0” deck.
Freestyle Professional Skateboarders: 7.25” – 7.5”
It all began with freestyle skating. Modern skateboarders’ birth certificate is the discipline of Rodney Mullen, who invented it in 1971. Freestyle skaters have always used remarkably tiny boards with distinctively labeled rails on the sides, even if they were riding bigger decks for other reasons.
Freestyle skaters ride decks that are between 7.25″ and 7.5″ today, despite the fact that most of them skate on decks larger than this.
Andy Anderson skates a 7.49″ Powell Peralta deck when he wants to catch a freestyle-heavy session, while Rodney Mullen prefers a 7.375″ pro-model, and Andy has a 7.25″ pro-model.
Is a Bigger Skateboard Better?
When it comes to size, there is truly no best option in skateboarding. Simply different alternatives available. The optimum size is the one that feels most natural to you.
A larger skateboard will have more stability and a wider turning radius than a smaller board. Big decks are frequently the pick if you want to ride pools and transition primarily—or cruise around the city—because they’re ideal for high-speed grinding thick kicks.
A thin deck, on the other hand, will be more responsive and easier to spin around, making them preferable for technical street skating. A slender deck, on the other hand, will be less stable. Landing on precisely requires a lot more control.
How long is an 8.0 skateboard?
The typical length of a skateboard deck is 31.75 inches. Even though there isn’t a specific length for skateboard decks, 8.0″ boards are not uncommon and range from 31.63″ to 31.875″.
Some 8.0″ decks can be significantly longer at 32.35″ long, while others might be considerably shorter at 30.75″.
The reason for the extensive variation in length among decks of comparable width is that this variable is relatively insignificant. “Deck length isn’t important,” as I’ve said many times before. It’s all about the width, as I’ve said a thousand times before.”
Because they do not significantly alter the mechanics of your set-up, deck length variations are rare. When a board is wider or thinner than your regular setup, you can immediately tell.
Skateboard Deck Width & Shoe Size
When selecting a skateboard deck, choose one that is similar to the size of your shoes. If your feet hang over the edge of your board, it’s probably not a good sign. A misaligned deck may prevent you from progressing and even cause harm.
This variable should not be neglected unless you have an uncommon shoe size. If you skate in a man’s size range of 7.5 to 10, you’ll be able to skate in pretty much any other size mentioned throughout this tutorial.
Make sure you have the right gear and that it’s in good working order before you go out riding. If you’re unsure about the best size for your feet, check with your local skate shop to try out different decks. You should be ready to shred as long as most of your foot is on the board.
Skateboard Size & Shoe Size Chart
If you don’t live near a skate shop and can’t test out a deck before buying, here’s a short table that may help you pick between several decks. This is only meant to be a starting point; in particular, street skating is addressed.
Deck Shoe
7.5 inches to 7.75
7.75 inches to 8.1
8.2 inches to 8.5
8.5 inches to 9.0
9.0 inches or more
Size (US men)
6 to 7.5
7.5 to 8.5
9 to 10
10.5 to 12
12 or more
Shoe Size (EU men)
38 to 40
40 to 41.5
41.5 to 43.5
43.5 to 46
46 or more
Trucks & Deck Size
Without a doubt, the truck and deck association is one of, if not the most important aspect to consider when selecting a board.
If your trucks don’t match the width of your deck, you risk a lot of problems, such as wheelbite, nut cracks, and an undesirable turning radius.
To avoid these situations, make sure you use our chart of the best deck and truck sizes combinations.
Deck Size
7.5 to 7.75″
7.75 to 8.25″
8.25 to 8.75″
8.75 to 9.75″
Over 9.75″
Hanger Width
127mm / 5″
137mm/ 5.25″
149mm / 6″
160mm / 6.3″
183mm / 7.2″
Axle Width
193mm / 7.6″
203mm / 8″
215mm / 8.5″
226mm / 8.5″
254mm / 10″
Indy
129
139
149
169
215
Thunder
145
147
149
–
–
Venture
5.0
5.25
–
5.8
–
Conclusion
Whatever size you choose for your initial complete skateboard, don’t stop there. Continue to explore. Before long, you’ll probably change between several different board sizes before settling on a favorite setup.