Why is everyone skating Wider Shorter Skate decks now? 

this is literally my best setup, I LOOOOVE 8.5 but always hated how long they were. chocolate sells a twin tip 8.5 with a 14 inch wheelbase, it's literally my perfect board, I really hope they keep that shape around, G096!

Leon Paxton was probably the Aussie.

I hated toothpicks, I was stuck riding them for years from 1993 on. I had a bunch of Indy 146/149s. I was riding those on 7.75s and 7.88s, if I found an 8 I was in hog heaven. I was so happy when the board sizes got bigger again.

I think it's also related to the increase in adults returning/starting skating. A wider deck provides more security when getting used to balancing your own body and understanding how it works while riding and, then with confidence, try some tricks, jumps and flips.

Size 15 eS Accels here....the 90s we're rough. I started with late 80s wide boards and I'm so happy to have a bunch of big ol planks options now.

because skateboarding has 2 demographics: children and old men with disposable income who grew up on big boards. apparently adults surpassed children this year in buying & collecting toys as well i.e. consumer demographics reflect old trends & hobbies more than new.

50 year old Bowl skater here (skated for 35+ years) I do ride 9.5s w big noses and good concave…I do notice that a lot of tricks are easier with stubby wheelbase but I stick with 15” for comfort. One thing I do notice about flat ground skating: once you kinda “re” learn Ollie timing on a big board- I LIKE it more (but have to kinda crouch ala “leap of faith” to hop up curbs lol

i ride 10 or bigger with short or medium wheel base.....169's or ace's.. for sure wider boards are easier for nocomplys and shuvits where skinny boards flip easier....but i don't do flip tricks (except finger flips) also wider boards with flatter concave make landing everthing easier for me.

Crazy I've been skating smaller boards again. I've been in the sub 8- 8 sizes again. It feels easier again, I'm also 250 lbs. grant it I don't skate impact but transition and manual pads. Probably also I'm just trying to be a contrarian

I’m scrawny with bird legs, and I can still 360 flip and several others on my 14.25” EggZilla 2. Same on my numerous other 9.5”+ decks. Willpower boys. WILLPOWER! 😂 I skated 7.75” back in the day. Now the one 8.75” popsicle I have feels tiny. 9.5” is pretty much my minimum now.

I’m 5’9’’, 250lbs and I can skate from 8.25 to 9, it my wheelbase must be 14.375 to 14.5. It’s all about the wheelbase! And the deck has to be 32-32.25 inches long. My foot is a 9.5

Wider trucks are easier to lock in with. I skate a 7.75. In the 90s I skated 8 but I went to 9 for a little while aaaaaaaaand I lost all of my flip tricks.

You look like you’re in Lexington. I dunno if you know Bryce B. Or McCartney S. but I grew up in Paducah KY skating with them all the time. I dig your channel 👍

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one left riding 7.75. My local skateshop doesn’t even sell them anymore, I had to order my last deck online.

i started sk9n in 2000 and learned on 7.8s, which was a larger size in CCS @ the time. I moved up gradually over the years and ditched pops around 2009 or so, but it took YEARS of trial & error to see what i liked. I would get wider boards, but couldn't find a consistency until about 5yrs ago when i found out what wheelbase was. I worked @ shops & everything and still had no clue until i heard Prof. Schmitt speak on it. I would get a wider board, but it wasn't working right, and i couldn't put my thumb on it. I'm 6'3, shoe size 15(US) and realized i don't like 15in wb so much for the No Comply/Miniramp sk8n i like to do. I learned the standard flips back in the day, but nvr kept that stuff in my wheelhouse cuz it was more frustrating than fun. And now, with fun being the most dominant part of sk8n for me, i realized my fave kinda board is 9.5-ish up to a 10, but the wb has to be 14.1 - 14.75in for maximum fun. However, for downhill i prefer a longer wb and have a 15.5in Lucero i use for that. Long story long, i need a board wide enough to comfortably stand on, but w/ short enough wb to go thru my legs & flip w/ my No Comply flatground stuff. If i could save anyone the headache of getting boards you're stoked on but don't work 👉🏾👉🏾play around w/ your wheelbase.

I ride 8.5 and 9.5 decks cause it's easier to flip these decks for me. 360 flip, kickflip, heelflip are on lock when I ride wide decks.

I'm big fan of shaped decks. Had the grosso for over and year and loved it. Just recently got turned on to a Blockhead Sam Cunningham. It's a like 9.5 with a 15 Wheelbase and I think I'm sold on this shape going forward. Makes skating transition super fun.

Oh and wheelbase for me depends on trucks. 13.75-14 on Ventures. Slappy, Indy and Ace trucks 14.25-14.5 wheelbase.

PS: tried out a 14.25 WB on a 9.5…longer fs grinds were WAY easier I think due to lightness and whippy turning…but felt like crap…lol so I’m better off with the 15 that feels good and just happy slashing TY for being old and still skating!

I skate a bigger board even though I grew up skating 7.5-7.75 decks. I had stopped skating in 2011-2012 so it was a long hiatus until about 2022 I started skating again and started on an 8.25. I got hurt and tore some ligaments in my ankle. When I was healed enough I had major commitment issues with simple tricks and tried an 8.88 egg to see if maybe it would give me more confidence. I was able to get my flip tricks back and even learned slappy grinds which I used to shy away from. TLDR: I think wider boards add confidence and take away the seriousness in things. You cant be mad at yourself if you arent landing kickflips on a 10 inch board. But you sure as hell can get hyped when you do land a nice one.

can you still skate ok, if your deck is wider than your trucks?

God save chunkie legs,like soccer players.

weight is a big issue as well

Thin board = good for flip tricks. Wide board = good for everything else. Short wheelbase is good for shorter people. The older I get, the less I flip my board...