5. Slicks
I know they are practically gone nowadays but seriously Slick decks were awesome! Pre waxed boards? No sticking? Smooth slides? Boardslides all day everyday with ease. Not to mention you could use them to wax up ledges for some truck grinds as well. There were always limited amounts of Slick decks which made it even doper to have one. I remember a brand called Shuv-it that had a ton of slick decks. World Industries marketed them for a while as well. Someone should seriously bring a few models back. It gave you more confidence knowing you were not going to stick and eat shit off the local ten stair rail as well. Slick decks were awesome and should make a come back for sure!
4. Custom Cuts
Super hot right now and as always are custom cut shapes. Would you consider it a type of deck technology? I would, because if you think about it cutting shapes gives you different additives to your terrain of skateboarding. Such as fatter shapes which go hand in hand with pool skateboarding. Or all the longboard decks you see out on the market. Some are super long and perfect for cruising. From full on surfboard shapes to some radical just for fun styles like the Santa Cruz Guzman “Sword board” which is shaped like what you would think it would be. A SWORD! Pretty radical. So radical I want to try one and you know you would like to try one out yourself. If you love skateboarding then you love skateboards. And that means having a liking for all the shapes out there. Some of us even collect all the different types of skateboard shapes we can find. And the most amazing part about all of this is that the possibilities of skateboard shapes are endless.
3. Carbon Fiber Composite Decks
Carbon Fiber composites in skateboard decks are super in right now. Some of the top skateboard companies in the industry are basing the majority of their entire lines off of this stuff. From skateboard decks to longboards Carbon Fiber is being used as a whole for construction and as inserts within boards as well. We all know the strength of Carbon Fiber and the guarantee that the companies make against breakage of their decks is appealing to the buyer as well. I truly think their are pros and cons to using carbon fiber for skateboards though. Yes it makes the board stronger somewhat but at the same time for the decks with inserts you still get the chipped tails. Or worse razor tail on a carbon fiber board after tremendous abuse? Sharp Carbon fiber plus your delicate flesh does not exactly equal a pretty turnout. Let alone having that same board come up and slice your hand or face. Its strong but unnatural in so many ways for a skateboarder.
2. Bamboo
Bamboo is highly used in both skateboard and longboards and to me is pretty awesome. 100% natural and its one of the fastest growing trees on the planet. Which makes it even easier to grow back and produce. Bamboo is also ridiculously strong and amazingly light. Bamboo has a higher weight-to-strength ratio than maple — it takes 1639 pounds of pressure to bend bamboo versus 1450 pounds for hard maple. If ever there was a board to compliment the original 7 ply it would have to be the Bamboo deck. As an added bonus Bamboo smells pretty damn good to and the patterns produced when cut in to the plys look amazing as well.
1. Standard 7-Ply Canadian Maple
I dont care what anyone says I would take a standard 7 ply over any deck technology any day. There is nothing like the good old feeling of being on a 7 ply deck. They may not be the most technologically advanced piece of work on earth but they hold their ground for sure. Canadian maple would be my best bet when it comes to a standard 7 ply. And nothing else gives you that same feeling and pop sound as the original. Almost every skateboard brand in the world has their 7 ply deck and wether you ride a 7.75 , 8.0 , or 8.25 you can always count on the same old standard deck to get you through some good old skateboarding times.
