Back in the day I worked in a skateshop. It didn’t pay much, but I got a great discount on equipment, which makes it hard getting back into the sport and having to pay full price for everything!
The good news is that retail price for skateboarding equipment hasn’t changed much at all in the last 15 years. A complete skateboard is still around $120 US, kneepads are still around $30, and good shoes still go for around $50. Even better, I’ve begun to discover that all the equipment and gear is way better than what we had in the early 90s. Boards are light, symmetrical, and beautifully concave. Pads are lighter but seem better-padded than before. And from reading some reviews it sounds like shoes have come light years.
I’ll probably make several posts on gear in the coming weeks, but I’m going to start by listing what I’ve got right now and what I think of it all:
Board
I had bought a new board about 7 years ago hoping to get into skating then, but didn’t really put much wear on it. So my deck, an Alien Workshop Rob Dyrdeck from 2000, is a bit old, but not in bad condition. Alien Workshop was a great up-and-coming brand when I was getting out of skating, and so I had to try it. I like the pop on this board, and it just feels good under my feet.
The deck’s pretty narrow, but I chose that on purpose because I used to freestyle a lot, and am used to a tiny board.
Trucks are equally old (or older) Grind Kings, which I like, except for the squeak.
Wheels. Does this matter? Correct me if I’m wrong, but so long as you have medium-size, medium-hardness wheels there’s not much to say about wheels. I remember springing for the good Swiss bearings, but I didn’t obsess over hardness and size like I did when I was a kid (soft for street and hard for vert, isn’t it?)
Pads
The only pads I own are a pair of older Pro-Tec wrist guards. I never wore pads except for wrist guards and shin guards on street, and only ever wore knee pads and a helmet on ramps. Right now I’m fine with just the wrist guards, but when I venture back into a skate park I’ll need some new kneepads and a helmet, so I’ll be looking for reviews and recommendations.
Shoes
Man, I’m wearing Chuck Taylor All-Stars, just the classic black high-tops. I’ve owned a pair of Chucks perpetually since Middle School, and I still love ‘em, especially for lounging around. What I’m finding, though, is that they’re no good for street skating. So I think the first thing I go shopping for will be some new shoes.
