Choosing skimboards for beginners is always a challenge. There are tons of brands on the market. They provide numerous boards with a lot of different sizes out there. So, how confusing the mass will be for those who are about the first time with this game!
To make things easy, we are here with our suggested product list. It includes five top-rated skimboards for beginners.
So, you are all ready to explore?
Top 5 Skimboards For Beginners?
The following is the top 5 skimboard for beginners collected according to the advice of experienced users. We will learn one by one to see which the best pick will be.
Fedmax Skimboard
The first idea of our list is a skimboard from the Fedmax brand. It is a bright green board, which is pretty attractive, do you think so?
Fedmax makes this skimboard with the perfect contoured design. At the nose of the board, it is a slight curve. This shape helps the session time last longer and keeps the whole board floating even when on the deep water.
As for materials, this board is a lightweight Poplar wooden one for the high resilience. Plus, to cover the board, there is a layer of IXPE foam joining. In comparison with EVA foam, this one comes with a higher quality to improve the durability for seasons.
Within 90 days, you can return if the board cannot satisfy your requirements. This warranty is not too long or too short; it is acceptable in general for such a skimboard.
Only one drawback that we found with the Fedmax skimboard is its easily-separated layers. The reason could be a strong impact from the outside.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Durability
- High resilience
- Full seal at the edge
- Attractive color
- High-quality IXPE foam
- 90-day warranty
Cons
- Easily-separated layers
In general, a lightweight with high resistance like the Fedmax skimboard is perfect for beginners. It can not only give excellent stability but also help to float longer on the waves.
BeachMall Skimboard
After the Fedmax skimboard, we love to suggest the BeachMall one – a 35-inch laminated wood board for beginners.
The board’s dimension is 8×19.5×35.5×0.40 for tail, width, height, and thickness, respectively. This size is suitable for people whose body weight ranges from 85 to 140 lbs.
We appreciate its lightweight, which can ensure the long-lasting float on the waves. The outside of the wood is a layer of EVA traction pad. Its role is to provide users with a high grip. Thanks to the excellent traction, there will be no wax in need for sure.
However, the EVA quality is not as good as the IXPE foam of the Fedmax board above. And for months of skimboarding, the board shows a problem of wearing out.
Pros
- Lightweight for long-lasting float
- High grip
- Sturdy design
- No wax in need
Cons
- The problem of wearing out for months
This BeachMall is not the best skimboard for beginners. But it somehow can help your very first practicing.
Liquid Shredder Skimboard
Next, we turn to the third recommendation. The Liquid Shredder skimboard comes to the list. The board gets 35 inches in size and allows players with the bodyweight up to 120 lbs.
Like the second product, the Liquid Shredder board has the core of the solid wood for the lightweight. Plus, it is a layer of soft EVA outside the core to make an anti-slip deck. Regular boards made of wood on the market often have to go with wax to prevent the slipping surface. But this one does not.
Furthermore, there is an epoxy coat to strengthen the waterproof feature. So, despite contacting a lot with water, its high durability seems to stay the same.
When receiving this skimboard, you should remember to check the package. In some cases, improper sealing causes the board to fall apart. So, watch out!
Pros
- Lightweight
- Anti-slip deck
- No wax in need
- Waterproof feature
- A 90-day warranty
Cons
- Improper sealing
Some people concern the issue of low durability when the board contacts a lot with water. If you are that kind, choose this skimboard right away!
South Bay Board Co. Skimboard
The longer the skimboard is, the easier the player can maneuver. If you believe this tip, we suggest you choose the South Bay Board Co. skimboard.
With a long deck of 41 inches in length as well as the twin-shaped design, the board can give the top performance. Also, the Nose Roker joins in the game. It keeps the board nose out of the water and let the float last longer. And especially, this skimboard is suitable for the bodyweight, even up to 160 lbs.
Its wooden core is under cover of Epoxy along with the Custom Fingerprint Textured IXPE foam at the deck. The unique texture is to avoid the issue of slipping. It means that no wax is in need.
Despite these advantages, we found a disadvantage. For hours of skimboarding, the foam starts peeling off, which may make you down in the mouth.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Anti-slip deck
- No wax in need
- High weight capacity
Cons
- No durable foam
If you do not mind the problem regarding the easily peeling-off foam, this one is also an ideal option. Especially when you have high body weight, it is worth trying.
Slapfish Skimboards
A Slapfish skimboard will be the last recommendation of the list.
It has the same length as the South Bay Board Co. skimboard above. Hence, you can see that there is plenty of room for you to do skimboarding tricks. Especially, the board gets no weight limited for sure. We extremely appreciate this thing.
Another bonus point of the Slapfish skimboard is its material. The manufacturer uses fiberglass to handicraft this board for perfect precision. Besides, we cannot ignore the Poly PVC foam. It is not only lightweight but also waterproof. So, there will be no fear of layer separation.
And till now, we have not found any drawback with this skimboard yet.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Attractive look
- No limited weight capacity
- Handcrafted product with perfect precision
- Waterproof feature
- No fear of layer separation
Cons
- N/A
The high quality and an impressive look are two main things that we appreciate with the South Bay Board Co. skimboard. We are sure that any skimboard beginners can choose this one.
How To Select Skimboards For Beginners?
When it comes to searching for a skimboard, people have to take many different aspects into consideration. Which brand is the best one? How much does this board cost? And so many more.
However, at first, you should focus on three things as the following. They are undoubtedly the ones affecting your safety as well as experience at most.
See also: Choosing The Right Skimboard
Size
The first thing to think about is the size. This element considerably affects how you will learn with skimboards, and by what way you can do the manoeuvre.
In general, the bigger the board is, the easier a beginner can manoeuvre. On the other hand, for experienced players, they tend to choose smaller skimboards. The main reason is that these boards help them carve the wave greatly.
In this article, we also mention a list of suggested sizes. You can take a look at it as a reference.
- Choosing SMALL (=< 45 inches) for the body weight of 80-140 lbs.
- Choosing MEDIUM (45-47 inches) for the body weight of 120-160 lbs.
- Choosing MEDIUM LARGE (47-49 inches) for the body weight of 140-180 lbs.
- Choosing LARGE (49-51 inches) for the body weight of 160-200 lbs.
- Choosing EXTRA LARGE (>=51 inches) for the body weight of 180-220 lbs.
However, the size charts of some brands may be different. Hence, do not forget to re-check the size! Or in case you have doubts about these charts, our advice is to try the skimboard in person.
Material
In terms of materials, there are three main types, including wood, foam, and carbon fiber. Each of them has different good and bad points.
- Wood
For those who focus much on a budget-friendly skimboard, the one made from wood should be a priority. They are suitable for most light players since wooden boards are often thin and flat. However, these boards are heavy a little bit. - Foam
The lightweight of foam helps you to float easily. Also, thanks to this feature, you can extend the time standing on top of waves.
Only one drawback of foam is its low durability in comparison with other materials. Hence, you had better check the weight capacity of the foam skimboard before buying. - Carbon Fiber
Another option for the lightweight material is carbon fiber. We are sure that its weight is even lighter than the foam’s. Its main advantage is to make your floating much easy, too. Besides, people on a carbon fiber skimboard can reach the higher speed than any other boards.
We appreciate the top performance of carbon fiber skimboards. Not only the strong weight capacity, but they also add more rigidity. Doing tricks as well as super wave riding is not only in dream, then.
Tail
We divide this part of a skimboard into two types. One is the pin-shaped tail and the other is the square-shaped tail.
- Pin-shaped tail
The outstanding performance of the pin-shaped tail is to ensure the high stability.
For those who have never played a skimboard before, it seems to be hard to stay balanced. Then the board with this tail will protect them from falling as much as possible. It is the reason why we highly recommend this type for beginners or kids. - Square-shaped tail
The second type of the skimboard tail is the square-shaped one. Unlike the former, this tail brings an amazing flexibility. After getting more proficient in skimboarding, you can choose this type of tail. The flexibility it gives will support well for doing hard tricks.
FAQs
There are many readers sending questions regarding skimboards and skimboarding. Followings are some of them.
1. Is skimboarding easy?
It seems to be so hard to answer this question.
Undoubtedly, there is a wide range of variables having an impact on the way each player gives their answer. The level of difficulty depends on your learning ability, your passion in sports, the board quality, the weather condition, etc.
In our opinion, we must say that skimboarding is not easy at all. However, it is worth trying. What a great feeling when you can conquer your limits! And how fantastic is it to be relaxed with waves!
2. How to practice skimboarding at home?
There are five steps to practice skimboarding at home.
- Step 1: Choosing a flat area to spread a flawless plastic cover about 100 feet in length and 20 feet in width.
- Step 2: Using pool noodles with the duct tape or sandbag sacks to make a wall around the practicing area.
- Step 3: Filling out the area with full of water.
- Step 4: Choosing suitable skimboards and doing the first try with your “mini-sea”.
- Step 5: Practicing.
3. Can you surf with a skimboard?
Surfing and skimboarding are different. So, it is impossible to surf with a skimboard.
In terms of the board size, a skimboard tends to be smaller than a surfboard. When skimboarding, the person runs towards the wave. He/she drops the board onto the sand and jump when the wave comes.
Unlike skimboarding, surfing is much more dangerous. The person often chooses to surf in deeper water and play with large waves. So, the small size of a skimboard is not safe enough to keep players balanced on the strong large waves.
Conclusion
Ideal skimboards for beginners should satisfy both safety and fun experience for players. So, is there any products of the list above making you fall in love? Well, it does not matter which one you choose, do not forget to consider basing on important elements we listed.
Everyone is welcomed to give us questions of skimboards. If you have some, feel free to share us! See you in next articles!
