This video discusses where your skateboard comes from. Below are some links that show how skateboards are made. www.slapmagazine.com/index.php... • Video • BBS MFG Woodshop
This video NEEDS to be seen by 95% of all skate kids. I'm really getting tired of kids asking "which company is THE best?" I tell them the low down, " there's a few deck shops making 95% of the worlds decks" ...but they either don't believe me(thanks to consumer indoctrination imo) or just simply don't understand(these kids make me sad...and cause me to fear for our future, lol)
Hi Ben, this whole conversation brings me idea to start a small local skate brand. I am from Czech Republic and we have small woodshop here, which makes skateboards. I want to ask art schools around country and artist to make graphics. So whole board will be local and special. I know it will be barely profitable, because target customers are only from Czech and Slovakia, but I want to do it just for fun.
if you do decide to do it, I think that would be really special, it's always awesome when locals embark on endeavour like that and including some locals for design is pretty amazing for the young people involved, it is inspirational and something to be proud of. I remember when people around us did stuff like that, 20 years on we still talk about it.
That was really fascinating! I appreciate your honesty about how companies source their boards, and what the model the skateboard industry has looks like. Also, your honesty about your previous review on that one board is impressive! Not a lot of people would admit it that. Looking forward to what’s next!
You hit the nail on the head there Ben, "helping you maximizing your time on the skateboard", This is one thing that separates you from the others. Great video.
Man, I'm really enjoying your videos! Straight to the point, which is great. Your videos have substance and aren't just full of minutes of pointless footage. I don't feel like I'm wasting my time waiting for you to get to the point. Keep it up man, you're inspiring!
This is the best review channel for skateboarding products I've seen, and he can skate pretty damn good too. So you know he's letting you know what functions, and he doesn't sugarcoat.
Very well explained ben, you are the only person in the youtube world to dig and share this deep information about the skatebrands even more the woodshops. Very good.
Great video! I learned a lot about what I was curious about regarding the boards. I am 46 and recently got back into skateboards. The last time I rode was in the 80s. It was pretty straight forward with board selection. Powell Peralta or Santa Cruz were the only ones that the shop sold back in the day.
Dude now I know I wanna test out some krooked or primitive decks ! Thanks ! Love your channel I’m always looking out for new content. Your really a pleasure to watch !
Im 32 years old and im inspired with your skating videos about you having a family and having needing to go to work and still make time to skate, and even make reviews. You have something that most of us skaters doesnt have, the experience of skating almost all of the woodshop decks. Please if you can still make video about what are the pros and cons of every woodshop decks that youve skated. So that we will have like an ultimate guide on buying what we really like, super thanks in advance theres no one like you on how you review things about skateboards, even on trucks and the wheelbase i learned alot from youre videos im sure not only me. Keep doin it ben. God bless.
I subscribed to your channel because of the rad skate content and reviews you do. Loving it even more after finding out through some of your other videos that you have kids and are a carpenter and in your 30s - just like me! Keep up the rad content 👌👊
Hiya Ben, please let me preface this by saying that I love watching your videos, I find them very informative and entertaining, plus I can relate to the way you dial in your setup, with everything from deck width, concave & tail steepness, truck geometry, wheel diameter & durometer etc. etc. for particular styles of skating. "A deck should last 3 weeks to a month of heavy skating." Mate, I would be completely skint if I went through boards that quickly! I mainly skate bowls, ramps, banks & curbs, but as a 6'4", 217lb guy I find I put my decks through a lot of stress, especially since I like to ride bigger, heavier boards with at least a 15.5" wheelbase due to regular popsicle decks feeling really squirrely & unbalanced because of my body proportions (not to mention my feet sticking out either side of the board!). That being said, my current deck is over a year old (10" Black Label J. Lucero racing stripe) but I generally keep a reserve of several 2 or 3 year old thrashed decks that I'll fix up, re-grip and put a new set of wheels on when I feel like riding something different. By making a paste out of PVA wood glue & sawdust you can repair most any chips and dings and even de-lams by using a knife or something to actually split open the damaged section, filling it with the paste, then pressing it together with a couple of G-clamps and letting it sit for a day or two (then sanding down the excess glue). If I feel really comfortable with a particular shape (or if it was hella expensive to buy like my 10.25" OG 80s wood H-Street R. Allen hell concave reissue or the 11.875" Dogtown bigfoot II I'm setting up at the moment) I will install one of those tail-bones so that the board retains it's pop (I use 60-63mm wheels and 3/4 or 1/2" risers so the difference in tail angle is negligible) and when that gets worn down, I can replace it for £10 and it's as good as new (plus I like the way they affect tailslides, it's like having a rail back there). I used to mount my boardslide / grab rails with cheap countersink scews from a local hardware store (not the ones that come with rib-bones, they are pure gash.) but I've recently figured out how to properly install rails using old-school sex bolts (rat-nuts). You do have to drill through your board, but once the rails are all worn out you can literally just unscrew the bolts and put a new pair in and they're held in there rock solidly. Mainly though, I love riding old beat-up & repaired boards for their mojo. I feel like there's nothing better to get inspired to go out and skate than looking at a deck with loads of scratches, dings & repaired patches on it, each with their own individual stories behind them. Except for the upside-down razor-tail you get from doing casper tricks though... Nothing you can do to fix that haha. Cheers for all the videos! :)
Crailtap wood has definitely changed in the last 2 years. It’s much stiffer and doesn’t get soggy. I really like that they label the shapes so you can always get the same shape if you like one. Also try some Skate one stuff. A mini logo and a flight deck.
I work at zumiez and im top in sales and i owe a lot of it to this channel bc nobody knows shit like this and what wheelbases are and what trucks pair best with what board. I convinced someone looking for a real to buy an anti-hero because its the same wood
I’ve always bought crailtap since the late 90s and there was a dip in stiffness but I always loved their shapes too much to stop buying them luckily they are awesome again
Professor Ben, this video is on a new level...good content, good details, good skating, good stuff!! Looking forward to more! I’ve been motivated to try my own experiments due to all your woodshop discussions. It’s been fun to explore smaller manufacturers. I’m also currently testing my theories and questions on why maple is so popular...ended up ordering about a dozen decks from different companies with bamboo, aspen, birch, carbon etc. It is a fun and interesting process!
Ben Degros - sounds good. It is a slow process but I will share something if I learn something. I really like the idea of sustainability. Do you email? I am still holding out on instagram and haven’t figured out how to message through RU-vid either.
Emmanuel - one thing I have learned thus far is the majority of concepts out there still use a maple core. As far as I can tell, for their thickness and weight, the maple veneers excel at holding the contours and concave without warping. The other woods or materials seem to be incorporated into the design to complement the maple core by adding long term rigidity or abrasion resistance. All in all, it does seem to make for a more sustainable setup by extending the life of the maple while at the same time reducing the amount of veneers needed per deck.
Maple is probably the best combination of price /performance. Redwood would likely be soft. There are probably harder woods out there but they might be heavier or too expensive.
I was trying to figure out the youtube message thing too. You might need to have a youtube account. I should probably start another email account for the channel.
This video should be seen by all skaters. Its valid, good information, not the same old "all brands have their good points, it's just personal preference" bullshit littered throughout this industry. Thanks for the video bro. Good work.
Great vid overall. I have been riding Fickle,Shipyard and American Nomad the last couple of years. American brands and smaller batch shops. Fickle by far has been the most impressive. Cost a bit more but is worth it in my case. Keep up the good work.
I just got back on my board after a 6 year hiatus, got my current deck in 2015 but it's in nearly new condition. It's a bullet deck lol, back when they made decks. Bullet might not be known for high quality stuff, but it was pressed in the DSM factory same as enjoi, Santa Cruz, Creature etc. Makes sense since bullet is owned by nhs which is the same conglomerate that owns santa Cruz and creature, which are pressed by DSM. Feels like decent wood to me but I'm not exactly experienced so take that with a grain of salt. I guess a good thing is that it sat in my closet for 6 years and still feels like it's brand new. Not bad since I got it on sale for like 25 bucks.
Funny, like you I was very dedicated to Crailtap in the mid 2000's but noticed the decks started crapping out on me quickly a few years later , I have skated DLX boards exclusively for almost 10 years, I have only had 2 boards that were duds and the rest were always on point and lasted atleast a month, the low-pro real decks lasted even longer for me till the point I was just ready for a fresh deck and graphic. Great video!
Hey Ben. You should do a review of a Quincy Woodwrights deck. They press a lot of shop decks including my local shops. I find them interesting because they harvest their wood off their land, so it's the freshest Michigan hard rock maple.
I like their wood. Its just a nice stiff big piece.. Especially when I'm on my backside is when I definitely notice the strength of their wood.. this was actually pretty cool never knew any of this
When I was a kid I rode one of my friends’ boards that was a birdhouse, and I thought it was one of the most comfortable decks I had tried, until I got a real deck that felt a little similar 👀
Excellent content! As a new skater I am wondering when does a board feel soggy? How do I know that I need a new one to practice on? I skate quite a lot (3-4x a week) and as a beginner I believe that a board has to deal with a lot more impact because of the board flying around all the time haha. Thanks for the great content. A 25 year old beginner from The Netherlands^^
Im on a Zero deck atm. Was riding an Element deck before. My preference always been Zero, Baker or Flip. But the Element deck wasn't bad. They're lighter in weight.
Hey Ben, great videos. Have you tried reviewing some of the cheaper boards? Specifically, wondering what you think of CCS, if you've tried them before?
I’ve been skating girl decks for a good half a year almost a year and being honest it does seem a bit stiff but no creeks or anything that stops me from skating I did have my last one snap on me but that was because of lots of heavy street skating it just kinda wore down easily but didn’t make much of a difference they pretty good to me though my friends said so too :)
I've got a girl carroll right now and it skates really good compare to my anti hero price point I was riding last month. I've had the mike carroll for about 2 weeks and it is comparable to anti hero pride points.
I think 'Chinese' used to synonymous with cheap and low quality, not just w.r.t. skateboards but manufacturing in general, but that this might have changed considerably over recent years. Gone are the days that 'Chinese tech' meant cheap imitations of popular products, and likewise, Chinese wood shops might have started making much better product. I've skated a number of Girl and Enjoi decks in recent years and I absolutely loved them: snappy (but not too stiff) out the box, and with a good amount of pop several weeks in.
You are right, ASF is pressed in Mexico. There are so many companies that are pressed there; they are the number one wood manufactures that the majority of South American companies and many other countries around the world get their wood from this place. My good friend Julio de la Cruz is one of the best representatives for this company. He is also the founder of Neighborhood Skateboards, that is also pressed at ASF. So, if you know anyone that is looking for a good manufacture look him up.
Two weeks without skating due to a sprained knee!!! I cannot wait any longer!!! Nice review Ben, what about Skate1, are they any good? I used to ride Powell since ¨89!!
Also currently riding a welcome deck which i really like. The quasi deck i owned before looked lovely but rode like crap... I think that has to do with shape/wheelbase.
Have you tried one of those Powell featherlites, or whatever they're called. Tempted to set up one as a park for the quiver, because I heard they keep pop forever
Good vid, Ben. Keep ripping, it's really showing how much you've been skating. You mentioned you're on a 14" wheelbase at the moment, just wondering how tall are you? I'm 6' and I've been looking to go down to a 14" wheelbase but it trips me out because I'm worried the board will feel too cramped. Funny you mentioned the girl/choco boards being new wood too, that's part of the reason I'm looking at the 14" wheelbase... 8.125 x 31.625 shape sounds fun and I've always been a fan of girl/choco, just not the wood.
Hi worstse :) The 14" wheelbase is actually feeling better than I thought. It did feel really short on the first session or two. My last 2 decks were 14.25". In the past a lot of the decks I rode were 14" wheelbase without me even knowing it. It's also pretty short at 31.5 but that's not bugging me either. It just took a bit to get used to.
What's up with the boards that Supreme puts out, are they low quality? From watching alot of the Supreme Guys skate footage, I've noticed that alot of them tend to break boards in two like they were toothpicks!
No canadian manufacturing love?! Haha, I've been looking at picking up an Olive or Kitsch deck. I'm a bit lost though. My old setup is with a 7.5" minilogo. It's sogging out and too skinny. My partner has a really nice Instant Winner (but also 7.5"). I love the feel of her Instant Winner, but since the company is dead I don't know how to find a similar board in something closer to 8". Anyway, thanks for posting these, making me think more about my setup.
@@bendegros ah didnt realize about kitsch. Olive seems to do their own manufacturing in alberta. I haven't found any studio or other control decks around me, but im determined to get a canadian deck haha.
Love this ch. Bro been sk8n since 7th grade and no matter what sk8n has always been their for me rather good r bad with life sk8n saved my life 2 b honest.
Good video! Have you ever tried HLC deck? Thay make decks for jart and some european brands, as well the europen decks for flip, sk8 mafia and may be plan b. Do you have any experience with their boards? Greetings!
Girl and Chocolate decks losing their pop and getting mushy after a couple of weeks, hasn’t been my experience at all. I haven’t ridden a lot of crailtap decks, though. The mini logo decks that powell presses in China are incredible decks. Try to focus one, you will likely lose. The blanket assertion predominant on the slap threads about all China wood being inferior (although the ml decks are Canadian maple) isn't the gospel truth anymore. Some really good decks are coming out of some of the mfgs over there. Another good one Ben!
Generally, across many industries, the stuff coming from China is of incredibly high-end quality. Obviously not all the time, but the assertion that 'China is cheap' should only refer to the price not the quality.
They are made in China but with Canadian hard rock maple in skate one factories with the same process and presses that the Powell decks here are made with.
Recently brought a Powell deck cause I couldn't find what I normally buy, and have been blown away by the quality, feel like I was getting ripped off for a while buying same brands and decks giving up too quick. Powell is actually hanging in there with decent pop for couple of months.
I fuck wit bareback primitive and anything from deluxe I fuck wit real krooked anti hero. Back in the day my shit was consolidated skateboard and city skateboards idk where the boards was comin from but I loved there boards. Pop war has some good decks too
This video completely changed how I shop for decks. Now I'm not wasting my money on shitty wood! BBS wood has lasted me the longest for sure. Honestly $54 is worth it for a quality deck, my shop sells shop-decks for $40 but I snap them in like 2 weeks.
hey ben! first off..... I really enjoy your videos. doing a great job there man....i recognized that santa cruz deck you held there. i think i had a deck from that series in the past but i cant find any pics or info with google atm. do you by any chance know what that series was called?
Mini Log is made in the Powell shop. They make their boards exclusively. Not sure where the shop is though likely Mexico, I’ve seen a few YouTunes touring it and they’re all speaking Mexican. Try on BBS Deck and see what you think, but the Mini Logos are high quality for the price.
I rode a friends for a day and it was good. Felt like any other generator deck, light and snappy although it was a 7.8" and I normally ride 8.25 or 8.38 so that might have had something to do with it.
Hey Ben you're really amazing.. Btw watching this video i gotta desperately ask you for one of your any old deck or an skateboard that you no longer use much cause here in India we can never get a real concave deck.. and its just out of my budget to get it imported..m a poor guy with passion for skateboarding...please Ben Help me
I remember when all boards were pressed in the U.S. and mostly skaters worked at the factories (wood shops). The big brands had their own shop and did their own art work. It was a time to be proud of the industry. Now, even though very good boards are being made, it's a little girl in China or Mexico making most of them. But hey - Little girls have to eat too.
I think this is why I have so much respect for Welcome. Sure Jason didn't come from skateboarding, but he saw where skateboarding was and wanted to change it.
About time you did an update of this Ben. You seem to being real chummy with PS Stix of late. Has your mind changed on the diffent wood shops? And one of your latest videos was hating on a board that was way to stiff and they used apoxy instead of a water based glue. 4 years , things may of changed.
Hey not sure if you’ve answered this already but how do you feel about smaller wood shops like pennswoods manufacturers personally I love the boards that come out of the shop but would love to see a video of the smaller wood shops out there like controlmfg and others of the sort. Again awesome video got yourself a new sub
I'd like to just point out, for what it's worth, regarding the point Ben makes at 4:11.. this is not the case for Real Skateboards (bareback). According to them their price point decks are the same quality and origin as their pro stuff. Not taking away from Ben's point, just pointing out that Real is a cool company.
