I may be biased
But hear me out.
If you buy a new snowboard, surfboard or skis, your height will come into the equation.
So why are skateboards all roughly the same length?
Skaters get to choose between a few widths based on whether they want to kickflip, skate a bowl, or stand out from the crowd.
But it doesn't have to be this way! Some of the most influential, innovative and stylish riders ever have taken to longer boards to fully express themselves.
To illustrate - a small selection, because I'm sure you're busier than me.
Brad Edwards - Gravity Skateboards - 2007
This board is 40" long and just look how he lofts it about! Has he had to change his tricks to suit the big board, or has everyone else had to change theirs? Depends what you're looking for, I suppose, but boy do I wish I could skate like this.
Darryl Freeman - 2009
This one focuses on Darryl's insane ability to standup slide soft wheels - and fair enough, as he had been doing it for decades before the rest of us caught on. But check out the ollie at 1:10! It goes fast, it goes sideways, it goes in the air... a big skateboard is as close to a perfect travel board as you'll find anywhere.
Axel Serrat - Arbor Skateboards - 2021
There was a time that I was a little jealous of Axel - I was almost there, down any hill I had his number and my street game was above average for a longboarder...
...but I wasn't Spanish and I wasn't sexy and I certainly couldn't nosegrind a bus stop bench.
But whilst I'm not getting any better looking, I feel very fortunate to live in this timeline where he's brought us two amazing big skateboard options - the Crosscut 34" and the Crosscut 39".
Aside from the obvious differences in length, you'll notice that the shorter one comes with TKP trucks, the longer with RKPs.
This further enhances the differences - the big one has the edge if you want to go faster, slide further yet keep your ability to be creative with street furniture.
The shorter one will allow for a deep bag of tricks, feeling more like your skateboard used to, enhanced with a little extra wheelbase and soft wheels.
And as if those choices weren't good enough, in come Carver with their own take:
Thus bringing us full circle.
You can have a functional, trickable board that rides like a skateboard, like a longboard or like a surfskate, and it doesn't have to be 31.5" long.
For a street skater, they're a longboard. For a longboarder, they're a a skateboard.
For anyone a bit taller, snowboarders, surfers, mums, dads, anyone looking to primarily enjoy the wind in their hair but still gets tempted by an ollie now and then?
They're a godsend.
Enjoy every minute,
Matt @ Vandem