Carver Vs Smoothstar skateboards

[drowningbitbybit]

I've been looking at getting a carver, and then a couple of days ago by chance, I met a guy with a Smoothstar board. So there's two old blokes who should know better standing in a car park discussing skateboards...

Anyway, had a go, and it was as wobbly and loose as you'd imagine for someone used to a longer stiffer board, but because it was so different to what I'm used to (and I was only on it for 30 seconds), I couldn't really judge it in terms of a comparison with surfing shortboards or with the carver.

Anyone got a smoothstar? Have an opinion on why the carver/smoothstar is better? Waikikichan? Big H?
I'm most interested in the skateboards from a surf training point of view, and not the better skateboard - I already have a board for going to the bottle shop

[waikikikichan]

I think Smoothstar is available outside of the U.S. to go around Carver's patent. You can find Smoothstar here in Japan. Also Gravity here sells their version of a rotating truck, but not in the U.S.

One of the negatives/positives I see is the Smoothstar adapter plate which allows you to use a regular truck. But that also raises the center of gravity much higher. I like the feel of the Carver since you are lower to the ground. The CX is even lower than the C7 version and a little cheaper.

[Big H]

i can see I need to expand my quiver....

[drowningbitbybit]

So I got the Smoothstar in the end. The transition from a normal longboard was... "intense"... but after a wobbly session or two, it's a whole heap of fun, and way way closer to surfing than a normal skateboard. I'm sure in the long run that it'll benefit my surfing, or at the very least will keep me in the game during flat spells.

One thing that was interesting was that the change in craft but with the same motion immediately identified some bad habits that I didn't know I had - for example, I didn't realise I straighten my back leg too much when I weight the front for speed. Easy error to fix

There'll be a carver vs. smoothflow comparison at some point when me and a mate swap boards for a session*



* A pair of middle-aged men comparing skateboards... good grief...

[LouiArmstrong]

Hello bud, How are you?..

I'm in the same dilemma you were before.. Carver or SmoothStar?

What are the differences? I'm wanting one I can improve my surfing with the most. I will be mainly surfing on a flat sea front and practicing pumping, bottom turns etc.

So torn between the two..

Any help would be appreciated.

Loui

[drowningbitbybit]

I'm in the same dilemma you were before.. Carver or SmoothStar?

What are the differences? I'm wanting one I can improve my surfing with the most. I will be mainly surfing on a flat sea front and practicing pumping, bottom turns etc.

So torn between the two..

I was PM'd the same question the other day, and here's the same reply...

Yeah, I've got a smoothstar and one of my surf buddies has a carver, so I've got a lot of experience on the smoothstar but I've seen and had a go on the carver quite a lot.

The smoothstar is definitely more surfy feeling - the front truck is much looser with a larger range of movement. In a way, the carver is a better skateboard, but the smoothstar is a better surf trainer - you can skate a carver like a normal skateboard, but the smoothstar is quite extreme and you need to "surf" it.

Neither of them are gonna be great in bowls (unless you're a lot better than I am) because that front truck is just too mobile at speed with your weight on the front foot, but they're a lot of fun in the gentler bits of the skatepark.
Similarly, downhill speed is out... speed wobble of death!

So the choice is down to whether you want a skateboard that's like a surfboard (carver) or something to improve your surfing (smoothstar). Both are great - I really like the smoothstar and it has definitely improved my surfing

[Big H]

Btw, trucks can be loosened....I loosened up the front truck on my carver until it is so loose that riding straight is difficult, have to keep turning.

[Brian]

I've had a carver for about 5 years after transitioning from a short sector 9. It is a very loose board and a great surf trainer. It is also a great low impact cardio workout if used correctly. That being said, it definitely can still handle hills and ride in bowls like a more traditional board, you just need to keep it on edge and not weigh down the front too much. I originally bought it to keep my surfing skills intact as I lived in Chicago for the past 5 years. After moving back towards consistent waves, it is obvious that it was a great purchase. I love my carver!

[LouiArmstrong]

Awesome cheers guys! I went for the SmoothStar Holy Toledo in the end. Definitely fancy getting a Carver at a later date though. For now my main focus is to improve my surfing so I hope I went for the right choice!

I'm actually waiting for the post man at present to drop it off!.

Thanks, Loui

[drowningbitbybit]

I went for the SmoothStar Holy Toledo in the end

Same one I've got

Enjoy!

[Art]

Anyone had any experience with the adrenalin self propelled boards? Front truck looks a bit like smoothstar but not as polished or refined but it does the same sort of turning movement.

Reason I ask is that they are heaps cheaper than smoothstar and carver - and with cheaper it can sometimes mean they are cr*p(but not always though). Just after a cheap surfskate and don't want to blow the cash it they're useless. Not a lot of reviews online either.

Anyone have one or have hear of them?

[nicktissot]

Hi Guys,

Read through the previous conversations above and it seems like the Smoothstar is a favourite of everyones.

I'm interested to know if anyone has had any experience with a SurfSkate board or currently owns one?

Cheers!

[Big H]

I like carver....have one and love it...never tried smoothstar or surf skate...compounds your decision.....

[DreamSurf]

technically

carver for sure. there are fish surf shaped ones as well. but the flat tail makes it possible to ollie on flat. you can stil standard air(without ollie) if yu consider that. landing with a c7 from air is very wobbly. so instead of giving your whole weight in the board is to land gently. no smack . with a normal board you can rely on the wheels grip. on the c7 truck its basically a loose truck. so when you land from air make sure you slightly gently make a carefull fall)

on flat the nice thing s you can keep going forward by moving left right(carving). with a standard board if it really loose you can as well but you can feel the comparison. also because c7 is loose to ride stable forward is not just standing on the board. it means balance at all times even when riding.

tried some known flips. and wobbled sloppy landing. ofcourse its a carvingboard. but i felt the need to try it.

Grinding

i discourage grinding on ledges and trottoirs cause they were intended for surfing. and c 7 to me is expensive.
if you have the need to grind then grind on a coping on a miniramp cause it does waaaaaaaay less damage to your carverboard and also it mimmicks the floater when your surfing. so that counts.

Stalls

axle stall nose stall. depending on which carver you have the nose is really small. i only did tail and regret it cause the tail looks like i tail slided it. if your wallet make it possible then do it. here goes the same rule miniramp. with coping and wood. ofcourse when you snap on a surfing board it leads to tail driving. hmmm. your choice. stalls and slides are board breakers. and im still hoping that the carverboard stays existed.

there were some previous carverboards who failed attempts and now you cant rebuy those boards and trucks.

the brand carver does it the best to me. thats my opinion. rode others as well. but carver does it

[Apolx]

That's funny - I've got a Smoothstar. I've also got a BIC surfboard. I can't possibly say anything as detailed as the above but my experience is this, for what it's worth. I got the Smoothstar thruster thing and put it on a longish board - about 40 inches I think. I put on some really wide indies and that was about it. It was meant to just be a bit of rehab after I broke my leg but I really liked it so I just kept going.
I use it in bowls and parks mainly. Snake runs are fun on it too. I'm pretty big (like about 6'5" - that's why I got the supa magnum) so I definitely feel better with a longer board under my feet.
Some of the local surfers absolutely rip on their Smoothstars. Personally not sure about the carver - I probably just didn't want to spend the money.

[H2OMANN]

Anyone had any experience with the adrenalin self propelled boards? Front truck looks a bit like smoothstar but not as polished or refined but it does the same sort of turning movement.

Reason I ask is that they are heaps cheaper than smoothstar and carver - and with cheaper it can sometimes mean they are cr*p(but not always though). Just after a cheap surfskate and don't want to blow the cash it they're useless. Not a lot of reviews online either.

Anyone have one or have hear of them?

Hi, Yeah i've got a Karvstix which is almost the same as the one you are looking at. Same front truck system with slight differences. Also have a smoothstar. I run the KS Truck on a 39" x 8" deck and have modified it.

But first things first... The KS truck is way looser than the SS truck. The SS truck has a much better turn radius though. So I modified the KS truck by filing out some aluminium that was restricting the range of rotation and also dropping out the tension spring and replacing it with rubber fuel tube. I put a 6mm piece behind the main pivot clamp and a 25mm piece in front, by doing these simple mods I gave the KS truck the same range of rotation as the SS truck and with a smooth progression.

So if you are on a tight budget buy the cheap board with the simple swivel truck, make some simple mods and it will perform like a SS truck. If you want an even better turning circle then use offset wheels and reverse fit them so that the wheel base at the front is narrower than the back, (this is why the surfskate design works well).

So in essence you should end up with a surfskate that has the same truck rotation as the Smoothstar and has a narrower front wheel width which improves further the turning and reduces wheelbite.

If you want to make it even better then toss the rear truck and fit an Avenue Suspension truck to the rear. I have these fitted to both my swivel truck boards and they give a big thrust advantage when fitted with high duro bushes and a tapered spacer.

So now my 39" cruiser has a bigger thrust arc which means it goes faster but can also pull as tight a turning radius as my 34" park board fitted with the Smoothstar. Completely blows people away at the park when they see a longboard performing like a short board.

Hope this helps..

H2O

[Hydromann7]

Guys, make your own:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N3I8LO6qmc

Works a treat.

[Suvvenup]

If you want to make it even better then toss the rear truck and fit an Avenue Suspension truck to the rear. I have these fitted to both my swivel truck boards and they give a big thrust advantage when fitted with high duro bushes and a tapered spacer.

H2O

I'm very interested in trying this out on my carver setup.
For which size hanger in the avenue suspension truck should I go for?