(Part 3) Best products from r/longboarding

Of course!

Selecting a hydration pack can vary based on what you want to do with it.

The pack I have on in the picture is one that is designed for ultra running and can carry a 3-liter water bladder(I only had a 2 liter one in yesterday) plus 2 water bottles for quick access and its still a full backpack in the back for food med kit etc. Honestly, it's more space than I use but I had it leftover from my days of ultra running so I figured I'd use it.

First, decide how much water you need to carry and how much other stuff. This will help you decide on the bag. The nice thing about Longboarding is you don't have to worry about the constant bounce your body makes from running when it comes to bag fit.

If you want super nice and expensive running bags that fit great google the brands Ultraspire, Ultimate direction, and Nathan Sports. I've used and owned various running packs from these companies and they were all great.

That being said most people don't want to spend $60-150 on a hydration vest or pack. I totally get that. The good news is the knock off market has caught up in the last 7 years so you can get good fitting bags that are similar to those brands but way cheaper.

If I had to buy a new bag right now this is one I would consider:

https://smile.amazon.com/TANLUHU-Breathable-Water-Resistant-Lightweight-Adjustable/dp/B0759Y6TDS/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=hydration+vest&qid=1563820225&s=gateway&sr=8-9

Bag 2:
Here are some other ones that look good as well:
https://smile.amazon.com/IBTXO-Hydration-Outdoors-Backpack-Marathon/dp/B07RFLJN8Y/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=hydration+vest&qid=1563820225&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Bag 3:
https://smile.amazon.com/IBTXO-Hydration-Backpack-Marathoner-Black-Only/dp/B07P8H6RC3/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=hydration+vest&qid=1563820225&s=gateway&sr=8-11

I personally would avoid bags like this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/Hydration-Backpack-Pack-Free-Bladder/dp/B015GONGTG/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=hydration+bag&qid=1563821091&s=gateway&sr=8-10

The reason why is that it has no waist strap so It will flop around a lot more. That and the straps are very skinny and can dig into the skin over a long period.

Use the search term Hydration Vest to find nice fitting ones like the ones I've recommended. And the things I look for with fit are

1. wide shoulder straps
   
2. Pockets in the front shoulder and waist straps
   
3. A chest strap and a waist strap or 2 chest straps on certain vest models.
   
   I hope this helps. If you have questions or need any more help feel free to reach out to me!
   I am happy to share my hands-on experience with hydration packs.

Ordered a 40" pintail off of Amazon. I'm a complete noob, only been riding it for about two weeks.

Decided I wanted to learn, and wanted something cheap, and wanted it NOW.

Ordered the board, and based off of reviews, ordered some Bones Reds to go with it.

Board comes in, seems nice, (haven't ridden skateboard/longboard in like 12 years, I'm 'old' turning 29 next month).

Already had a helmet, (ordered it before the board).

Take the board out in front of the house and hop on....feel retarded, but feelsgoodman.jpg.

Immediately switch bearings just to see what it'll change.....feelsREALgoodman.jpg. Pushing is sooo much easier, but makes the board a little fast for me not being comfortable on it yet. Decide I like it even though it's a little scary.

Ride the board for a week like this, ordered some venom bushings, let's see what that changes......Oh wow! I can really turn a lot better, I can FEEL the "center" of the board, I am not so wobbly now.

I still suck, but I know I'll get better, I'm loving every minute of it.....

Wished I would have thought to read all the great opinions on /r/longboarding before I went through amazon, although I am pretty happy with this board for pushing around and learning. It's pretty good quality (from what I can tell), flexy but rigid, 9 plys canadian maple, everything looked well built, pretty heavy, fun to ride.

Next board will probably be a Churchill LTD or Apple. (Suggestions welcome.)

Either way, I have a board, I ride it, I love it, and I'm learning......I'm happy or as you might say, "Stoked" ;)

I think I'm going to start a thread about "What I'm experiencing/learning as a 29 year old fresh noob trying to learn how to longboard". There are a lot of things you just "pick up" that I haven't read about on reddit or seen on Youtube. It might help somebody someday.

Sorry for responding so late. Here's an album with the bottom of the board.

.

Here's a list of all the items I used:

LED 6.5 ft strip ($17)

10000 mAh external battery ($15)

Gorilla Super Glue ($6)

Scotch Extreme Double Sided Mounting Tape ($7)

.

Some notes:

The LED lights come with a peel and stick bottom, however they will fall off eventually with extensive riding, which is what the gorilla glue is for.

LED lights also change colors!

Double sided tape is for the battery pack. After extensive riding (like 2 months of night time riding), the tape did eventually start to peel off, but it might also be because of the weird shape of the battery pack I bought. Might be better to get a flatter one than the one I got to get more contact on the board. Or mount it with something more permanent.

With the LED strips, it's important not to bend the strips against their natural shape. I bought a 6.5 ft strip, which is long, because I wanted the extra brightness for my board. So to help solve the bending issue, I curved them around to help keep their natural shape as best as possible. You could cut the strips (they are trimmable) and solder them together instead of doing the hokey curve I did. But I'm too lazy.

The battery pack is awesome. I've had it for almost 2 months and still haven't charged it. Make sure when you buy an LED strip that it's powered by USB. Battery packs WILL NOT work. Sidewalks, rough roads, big cracks will make the batteries fall out. You need a power brick.
Make sure the USB stays snug in the battery pack, rough roads were making it pop out of the USB port, so to combat this, I made the USB cable as straight as possible and taped it down close to the connector, so it has to stay straight.
You'll notice that I used the double sided tape as extra for the curved sections of the LED, you could use something else, but I had some to spare so I used it. Stuff is pretty strong. Duct Tape is surprisingly not as good.

Tape off extra straggling wires, or glue them, or do something else. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life.


Do not ride over puddles. The LED lights and battery pack are water proof, but water can make the glue and tape come off.

.

TL;DR

Super glue LED strips to board

Tape battery and loose parts to board

Don't bend LED strips

Water bad

I have gear from Triple Eight and Pro-Tec right now. Not really sure what's good as far as gear but it's definitely protected my knees and elbows. I have the Triple Eight Dual certified helmet, Triple Eight Elbow pads,and Pro-Tec Knee Pads. I personally just needed something quick and convenient so I shopped around on Amazon and got whatever looked decent. They've been working for me so far and saved me in my first major fall going downhill.

For helmets, make sure your helmet is certified. I first bought one that was not certified, and it's basically useless plastic and foam that does NOT protect your head apart from scrapes. You need to make sure any helmet you get has EPS Foam and is certified for what you're doing.

As for wrist protection, I would maybe suggest getting some slide gloves instead. I know you're more interested in cruising, so it might just be fine to have wrist guards, but it's possible you'll want to try out a slide or two in the future and that way you don't need to buy your hand protection twice. I have not yet learned to slide but have some gloves, and they definitely saved my hands when I took a bad spill. They have hard pucks on the palms which are used to support your body when you slide, but they work great to protect your hands as well.

Don't use WLG, I used to use that but there's so much better greases out there.
It became popular because of the easy to use squeeze tube it comes in, and the fact that its cheap.
It is better at protecting bearings than oil, but if you're going to go the grease route there's much much better options.

Schaeffers 274 is my go-to grease lately, works SUPER good. Incredibly smooth, insanely water resistant, and very cheap. Price fluxuates quite a lot, Occasionally the price will go below $8 a tube, which is more than a lifetimes supply for anybody.

3-1 oils is really good, as with any oil it needs to be re-applied frequently.

Alright, thank you for the help, I really appreciate it!

Would I be better off getting a complete kit off of Amazon, or building it as a custom? And with the specifications I provided, would this be a good option to consider or would I get better bang for buck from Muirskate? :

https://www.amazon.com/Sector-dropthrough-Longboard-Skateboard-42-0-Inch/dp/B007SDJJFO/ref=sr_1_8?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1479619542&sr=1-8&keywords=sector+9

If not that, then how about this?

https://www.amazon.com/Sector-Drop-Thru-Skateboard-Complete-Longboard/dp/B00JSNU8D4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8

Thanks so much, you guys are seriously helping me not throw all my money away on generics

Gonna be honest with you, those boards are trash. The trucks on the first two look made of plastic and I didn't even waste my time look at the third one. Longboarding is a hobby where you get what you pay for, if you pay next to nothing it probably is trash.

However, occasionally you'll get lucky with good sales. Rayne currently has a complete Demonseed with Rayne Wheels and Atlas trucks for $127 which is the best entry price for a longboard besides maybe a mini like a Landyachtz Dinghy

Alright friends,
I bought a 8bit board off of amazon before I understood longboards better. I'm looking at getting a new longboard with my graduation money and wanted to know your opinion on what I should get. I want to get into sliding this summer because I have a sweet hill to practice on.

Should I just upgrade the parts on my old board (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011LOZ81Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XVfwxbG8WTJ9W) or should I get a new setup completely?

My budget probably would be 150-250. (Not sure yet because I haven't got my graduation money yet.)

Thinking about picking up freestyle/dance longboarding as a hobbie but money is tight since I'm a teenager with no job yet. But I was wondering if there was a decent board in like the $70 range that I could try out and see if I like it and then I'd buy a quality board. What I found so far was this playshion board for $60 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07443VW75/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V78XCb4K80XFW) if I could get thoughts on this board or recommendations that would be nice thanks.

My go to cheap but good bearings would be these Bones Reds. If you take care not to ride them in the rain, they usually last me about 3-6 months of daily riding.

Ah ok thanks! How will the duct tape help?

Edit: I just looked on Amazon and all the landyatchz gloves are above $60 CAD. I figure if I'm going to destroy my first pair, might as well get a cheaper one first. I found these ones, what do you think?

https://www.amazon.ca/Silfrae-Longboard-Slider-Skating-Protect-Pucks/dp/B078LJ2YL8/ref=pd_gwm_cr_simh_2?pf_rd_s=grid-2&pf_rd_t=Gateway&pf_rd_i=mobile&pf_rd_m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB&pd_rd_wg=jVXN5&pd_rd_r=5BFFWQQC8HX572WB3S5J&pd_rd_w=CAcKB&pf_rd_r=XZGMSKW9BQJS5TY582EQ&pf_rd_p=e1054532-2ec9-4c1d-9dbd-efdcc3f58a96&pd_rd_i=B078LJ2YL8

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Sweet Spot Beluga

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Never forget to smile again | ^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Hey, I just got my Paris v2 180mm and Orangutan Stimulus 83a wheels. I'm now looking for a bearing and this is what I might be getting. Is the size okay for my wheels? Is there any specific things that I will need to take note of? One more thing is that are these bearing pre lubed? Do I need to lube it by myself? This is my first time assembling my board and I just want to make sure I got everything correct.

I just happened to be in the same situation!
Skate tool
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IHJS3XC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are perfect for what you need. The colors have different fluctuating prices, mine came in at 3.75 plus shipping. (Green)

Helmet?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014JKYFM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is certified, blah blah blah, with EPS hard foam, and comes in different colors, but the costs will vary, but still cheap. The white is the cheapest one, but if your willing to spend a few extras you can get a cool design on it.

Hmmm alright, thats awesome to hear, I was leaning towards the carve. On another note, how does the Riviera Cherry Blossom ( https://www.amazon.com/Riviera-Blossom-Complete-Longboard-Skateboard/dp/B009PQAPQ4 ) compare in terms of build/quality/similarity to the Drops'? I very much prefer the graphic of the Cherry Blossom, although it won't be like a huge game changer.

ill be honest im not really into building one ya know.

is this something that would be okay?

or something like this?

Thanks! :D And aren't they only like $15?

Abec 11 Classic Thanes in 81a. So would I want something like this or this?

How about this one? Seems actually pretty good for the price.


Rayne Longboards Demonseed 42" Wave Camo Drop Through Drop Deck Longboard Complete https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KKP575G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_J11RDb4J5S3KV

What do you guys think of this cheap af longboard? My broke friend just got it. He intends to just cruise around. I think it would be fine. May have to replace bearings and wheels eventually.

One my wife picked. It's a Playshion board from Amazon.
She wasn't sure if she would like riding and didn't want to spend too much.

For light cruising it's fine but I don't think I would ever want to do any serious down hill with it

Playshion Bamboo Longboard Skateboard Complete (fruit) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07443VW75/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kOtRAbXK3MYM3

Triple 8 Certified Helmet is only $30 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M569MA6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Opinions on this board? https://www.amazon.com/Riviera-Blossom-Complete-Longboard-Skateboard/dp/B009PQAPQ4/ref=sr_1_1?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1469309700&sr=8-1&keywords=riviera+longboard&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

https://www.amazon.com/Schaeffer-Manufacturing-02742-029S-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B00JF2LBQ6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=02742-029S&qid=1573592106&sr=8-1

Hey I was wondering if this board is good or not. I thought it was but still not sure. Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/EIGHTBIT-Inch-Drop-Complete-Longboard/dp/B011LOZ81Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8