Surf/Skateboard Training (Surfskate vs SmoothStar vs Carver)

[nicktissot]

Hi All.

I've had a read through plenty of interesting topics in relation to surf training and skateboards. From my understanding there's a lot a people who like the SmoothStar boards for their "responsiveness" and loose feeling which replicates the feeling of surfing. There are also a few people people who like the Carver skateboards due to the fact you can also have them as a general skateboard and get places (something you can't really do on the Smoothstar from my reading as the trucks are too loose = speed wobbles!)

What I'm interested to know is has anyone tried out the SurfSkate skateboards?

And, this is probably a long shot... but has anyone tried out all three and has an opinion on which is the best specially for surf training?

Cheers!

[billie_morini]

Sorry, Nick. Have tried none of them. But, here within Surfing Waves forum, there was some discussion about surf training using skate boards. There is at least one mention of Carver. Click this forum link:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=25105

[BoMan]

As a longboarder, I naturally train with a long skateboard. With all the money I spend on surfing, I couldn't justify buying one of the premium boards on your list. Mine is 44" long, 10" wide with 7" trucks, 70 mm wheels and a kicktail. https://rideasf.com/reviews/quest-super-cruiser-longboard-review

I ride on wide streets that have both gentle and steep slopes. At the top, I slalom with kick turns to control the speed and must admit that a lot of work is needed to bring my backside carves up to par with the frontside! Lower on the hill, I switch to rail turns with a lot of crouching, then on the flats I practice a few cross steps. I have a lot of fun and it keeps me stoked between surfs.

[waikikikichan]

I've ridden them all. But one you left out, the one I currently use, is the Carver with the CX trucks. Those don't use a spring like the C7 truck has. I got the Mini-Simmons which is short and yet wide at the front.

As for the Surfskate that looks like a dragster, I didn't like it. The newer Jaime Obrien model is a step in the right direction.

For me, the Carver is the best for surf training or when the waves are flat.

[surfskateuk]

Firstly i own surfskate UK, the UK distributor of surfskate, so i'm going to be a bit biased. Saying that, i have skated all 3, and spent over a year on a carver, before getting into surfskate. All 3 are good, and you will have fun on all 3 of them. i'd say carver slightly edge smoothstar. But for a true "surf feeling" and something that will translate into making you a better surfer, then its surfskate all the way. The other 2 are more user friendly to are not as loose as the surfskate, so the surfskate takes longer to get used to (only about 20 minutes) but gives much greater rewards once you figure out the tolerances. Look at the front truck on a surfskate, it allows full free movement of the front of the board, whilst the back truck acts like fins on a surfboard. You can really work the rail on these boards, just like being on a wave. It genuinely feels like surfing, you have to experience one! Everyone who has tried my demo's all say the same thing "that's so close to surfing!" A lot of these guys have also skated at least 1 of the other 2.

A good friend of mine was well into his carver (like i was), been skating it for a year+ and loves it. He's quite good on it as well. I'd been trying to get him into surfskate for a couple of months when we'd be in the car park pre surf! He's one of those headstrong guys who hates being told what to do, so every time he stood on the surfskate, being used to the carver, he hated it due to how loose it is and wouldn't listen to what i told him about how to ride it. Eventually after seeing a couple of us on them, seeing how we make them look like we are surfing, he caved in and asked for a proper demo. He actually listened to my instructions and started to get it after about 20 minutes, then i couldn't get him off it. He bought one the day after

If you are anywhere near pembrokeshire, you can have a go of any of our demo models, ill also bring a carver and a smoothstar and you can make your own decision.

[pmcaero]

Buy the cheapest ratty old skateboard you can find, then look for an office chair in a dumpster, replace the front truck with a caster wheel, and bingo!

jk

but seriously, you can actually buy something like that

[DreamSurf]

Buy the cheapest ratty old skateboard you can find, then look for an office chair in a dumpster, replace the front truck with a caster wheel, and bingo!

jk

but seriously, you can actually buy something like that

for sure. u could easily buy a reprint of an 80's skateboard like santa cruz or varoflex and use the trucks on that.

[Hydromann7]

Not sure if any are still looking but in case someone else trips over this message board just make your own surf skate trainer.

I have ridden and owned the following surf skates:

Smoothstar Thruster / Carver C7
Slide
Surfskate

And listed them in order of performance.

Smoothstar and Carver C7 essentially can perform very close to each other depending on how you tune your ride in between the swing mechanism and the pivot tension on the hanger. Personally I thing the smoothstar has a slight performance edge here but the Carver is a much nicer looking machine and a bit lighter.

Slide and similar are good for pumping but not great for carving.

Surfskate I would seriously recommend try before you buy for this one as for me it sucked but for others it rocks.

I wanted something that carved amazingly, pumped well and was much lighter in the front end than a Carver or Smoothstar or YOW so I made my own using an Avenue Suspension truck as per the linked video.

In summary to me it feels like a Ferrari vs. a WV (Carver and Sstar) vs. a Moped (Sskate).

Lighter, lower to the ground, no wheel bite, carves and pumps amazingly, excellent all rounder for cruising, pumping, carving, bowls, skate park transitions and snake runs. Not a trick board but you can ollie etc. if that's your thing. May not suit dances and will feel very loose in the front for them.

Hope that helps someone out there.

[ahgar]

I tried Carver Smoothstar and Surfskate.

Carver and Smoothstar like the same, you can use tiny movement to make it pump, so it is easy for beginner but after you get used to it, it limited truck movement make it hard to really push and apply pressure to the edge.

After I tried the Surfskate, I never go back because it is really a training machine for Surfing an Snowboarding too. If you know how to ride it correctly, you have tune of fun and good practise. One of the reason behinds is because of the free movement of the front truck where it allow your board have a very big tilt angle , so your body position will be similar when you edge your board hardly.

[Big H]

I have two carvers, one with cx trucks and one with c7's.....skated a lot when I was a kid and I love these two boards and have found that things I practice on them translate to how I surf meaning I can practice things on dry land over and over and fall into the same grooves when out in the water. I don't feel I need to look any further other than trying different lengths for S&G's.

[dtc]

was listening to an interview with Barton Lynch about skateboards for surf training. Now he has his own like of skateboards so obviously there is some (a lot?) of self interest in the following comment. But what he said is that boards with swivel front trucks taught people to wiggle their front foot to generate speed and turns, which is the opposite of what you want on a surfboard.

Now I'm not a skater so NFI whether he is right or not. But might be something to keep in the back of your mind.

[waikikikichan]

But what he (Barton Lynch) said is that boards with swivel front trucks taught people to wiggle their front foot to generate speed and turns, which is the opposite of what you want on a surfboard.

I don't sense any "wiggle" in Filipe's front foot. Not sure what Barton was eluding too ? ( :23 )

But Barton sure likes Filipe's Full Rail Drive. ( :37 ) I wonder what Felipe uses to hone his carves when he's not on his surfboard ?

Barton owns part of Streetboardz ( which was owned formerly by Brad Gerlach's dad under the name Carve board ) Barton views are biased as he owns a competing company to Carver and Smoothstar.

[oldmansurfer]

I bet you Felipe doesn't need to hone his skills when he is not surfing

[surf patrol]

Hey, tried a bunch of surf skates and surf adapters, I ended up going for a regular longboard and replacing the front truck with a C7. Works quite well for me since I don't just want to ride in driveways doing sharp carves pretending I'm on a wave, also want to be able to go some distance on my board. Before making my choice I did a lot of research and ended up writing a long post on my longboarding site, in which I try to explain what surf skate is, who it's for, what are the brands and what each board does. I've had some good feedback from the brands - although not everyone agrees with my opinion on each board. Hope that's useful to everyone

[Big H]

Why only a c7 in the front? Why not front and back?

[steveylang]

The Carver boards have a regular truck in the back, and only one of their special trucks up front. So turning a regular skateboard into. Carver by swapping front truck is possible, if physical parameters are compatible (truck height, wheel base, etc.)

[Big H]

The Carver boards have a regular truck in the back, and only one of their special trucks up front. So turning a regular skateboard into. Carver by swapping front truck is possible, if physical parameters are compatible (truck height, wheel base, etc.)

Both my carvers have the same special truck (c7 x 2 on one, cx x2 on the other) front and back. Don't know where you got this Stevey.

[steveylang]

I have a Venice Blue Carver, the front truck is a C7 with the double pivot. The rear I believe is a Carver C2 or maybe C2.4, it definitely doesn’t have the 2nd pivot point and seems like a regular kingpin type truck?

https://shop.carverskateboards.com/prod ... -c2-trucks

Are your boards custom, or off the rack from Carver?

[Big H]

Are your boards custom, or off the rack from Carver?

Just the standard boards.....mail order not off the rack but the only options were the type of wheels and the truck choice, c7 or cx. It's true that the front and back are different from each other, but neither are like a "standard" gullwing or indy truck.....they sell sets like this.

https://www.xtremeinn.com/extreme_sport ... wE&gclsrc=

https://www.xtremeinn.com/extreme_sport ... lsrc=aw.ds

Could you get away with only a front carver truck? Probably. For me I'd spring for the extra cheese and have a matching set that performs as the designers imagined including the higher truck clearances and heights, widths and bushings that match each other. Wheels are unreal too; I tried two sets of aftermarket wheels on one board and the new concaves that they have out now blow them away as they grip better and you can get more out of a pump as well as push harder on more polished surfaces.

[steveylang]

I completely agree-I don’t know enough about skateboards to try to put together different parts. About the only thing I might ever consider is swapping a different top deck for fun.

Can you give me a link to those wheels-I’d love to check them out. Thanks!