Steeper concave boards seem to affect the way I pop. Tricks get harder. It took me YEARS to realize this. The more mellow, the better for me. Throw in a smaller wheelbase and my tricks come easier. When I was younger I was able to power through board differences, but as I’ve gotten older, the slight differences have become so apparent.

i really like mellow concave (girl, toy machine, zero have been my favorites since like forever ago) i really like vans style shoes for everything, including my friend's wedding, and walking 20 miles.

Steeper concave hurt my feet and I like the feel of mellow kicks, flat feet flat everything lol

You’re definitely my fav KZfaqr my last 3 decks have been based on your reviews and I’ve loved them all thank you for being so helpful please keep making these in depth reviews you have a ton of awesome knowledge and it helps out a ton. Thank you and have a great day

As a skater who dabbled into longboarding, I think it'd be very wise for companies to experiment with tub concave which is where the middle is flat but the sides flare up. This is in contrast to radial concave where the concave flares up consistently from the y-axis towards the sides. The advantage of tub concave is a comfortable feeling deck for landings that still has sufficient concave.

Favorite skate channel for sure! Keep it up Ben, I love trying out new boards and seeing the differences as you are showcasing. Your review of a flatter deck in the past talking about back foot placement for easier pop was a revelation! Especially since I started skating again at age 36.

Really crazy to see how far you've come with fs tail flip out. I remember the video where you were getting them on the "curb" and now you've had one in most videos on legit high ledges. Bravo

the format of this video - info, YOUR preference, then skating, & what pro skaters prefer - is great. wish more videos were formatted like this

another splendid video content old chap.totally enjoyed it, especially on how you measure the steepness of the concave. i always luv riding a fairly steep concave, even till now that i'm 40. but my board size has gone up from a 7.75 to a 8.25/8.38..now i'm gonna go measure all my decks. and its sunday 8.30 in the morning here in Borneo, Asia.

Great video! when I was younger and a lot smaller, I always went for boards with the most concave because they were easier to flip and were the most responsive. Now that I'm older taller and stronger I prefer bakers mellow concave decks because I find I get more control and better style with flip tricks because I can really control the speed of the flip and rotation. Also I go for emerica shoes with the G6 insole because they're super comfortable and still get great board feel, plus they last a long time. The Reynolds 3 G6 has been my favorite as of late.

Great insights Ben, and you're absolutely ripping. Started watching your channel about a year ago and it's crazy how much you've progressed. I was feeling old and washed up, but your videos are proof that if you put in the time and effort you can still skate great. P.s. if you ever get the chance I wanna see you review Footprint insoles!

Interesting video, thanks Ben! I’m currently riding an Ishod Wair 8.25 twin tail, Indy 144 Standard, 53mm F4 lock-ins, Bronson G3 and Indy hardware. For shoes I’m rocking the Emerica Provider (Provost pro model). Nerding out about skate equipment is super fun! but I’ve found that the absolute best setup is the one you are skating when you are skating with your friends. Bonus points if you are supporting your local shop and favorite skater 😎👍

You got me dying with “dad” final because I’m skater and dad and sure it’s pretty rad. Love your videos and how you share your thoughts and opinions on the skate industry. Another subscriber from Spain! 🙌

I skated from the mid to late 80’s, but I do remember getting on a board in the early/mid 90’s, and it seemed SO flat compared to what I remember boards being. In the “pocket” or bolts area as you called it. I like that area with a lot of concave. Your reviews are so in depth and are a real help for me now that I want to get back into skating as an old man now. LOL. Thanks as always Ben!

so funny, ive thinking about this subject for about four days now, and then you post a video that answered my question...BOOM Thanks ben love you man

I honestly didn't know shit about this and been skating 22 years. Thanks again. Tre flips are better with flat decks in my personal opinion and manuals.

Love your videos! Nice to get unbiased reviews on skate products!

Birdhouse is mellow! Your like a skateboard professor. I love the art and style of vans but they fall apart quickly.

Anderson 8.5 Powell Peralta deck. The deck features identical nose and tail.Mob Grip. B.Westgates 913 new balance. Bronson G3 bearrings( actually made for Skateboards real rpm's) thunder titanium hollow lights 151's. There's a snake run & bowel combo right there 🙌 Overtime was needed for this sled. Cheers Ben, as per usual i loved the details. Good video

Honestly never thought about shoe construction to concave relationship until you posted this video! I'm usually a cupsole person and leaned towards more concave than less over my 14 years of skating Now I know why. There was some subconscious connection my feet to board were making that just worked for me. Hate flat boards since they don't flick consistently and feel weak/soft, in my opinion. Mellow to steep concave, you can at least feel when to release your foot as you flick.

- Local shop blank deck, 8.25, with a good amount of concave. - The new Independent 144s for 8.25s they made recently - great step up from 139s, which I have been used to forever. The 144s feel perfect on transition paired with the 8.25 deck. - Bones STF v5, 56mm - Bones Swiss - Shorty's hardware - Mob grip - Fallen (RIP, but still got a couple pairs left) or Emerica or Supra vulc shoes with good toe padding. I do way too many kickflip tricks. I've been skating for more than 20 years so my setup tends to be pretty constant these days as I skate for exercise and enjoyment and age into doing less risky things.

I love flatter decks with a pair of vans pro shoes and being a dad all day to my two girls.

Just rewatching some older videos, never thought about shoes/concave combinations, but vulc shoes with mellower concaves just makes sense when I think about it

I like mellow concave. I'm currently skating a steep concave Polar Board Co. & it's been a battle on Rails & Flip Tricks. I skate more rails & feel that a flatter board helps with my balance. The upside about a steep concaved board is the Polar Board's pop is still holding up after a month of skating.

absolutely agree, skating vans slip pros and a chocolate and everything you say is accurate.thank you for doing the concave measurements!fantastic visual

Zoo York deck 8.0, Silver Trucks, OJ Wheels. The Zoo York shape and build is just perfect. OG shape, and super thin which I love.

I see you with the ventures on the girl deck. Old school set up. I'm on venture high og 5.8s with an 8.5 quasi. The shape is crazy. It's got the really blunt nose and tail.

great video ben thank you for all your work

When you say Canadian and pop tricks from that ramp to flat, you remind me of Chris Haslam and his days in Almost Round 3 😁 great style Ben

Another good video Ben. Your trick bag is huge, props bro.

Back in 2001 I had a black label "black" concave deck that had deep concave on the nose and tail. I can remember it working pretty well, and I thought that the less surface quality on the ledges made it slide better, maybe it was just that your foot was in a pocket during slide tricks.

Yo man your so good! I just recently went back to a mellow concave and it feels so much better.

thanks for making videos like this with specs facts and opinions about many facets that I assume a good number of casual skaters don't consider, as well as brand information as it may save some people time and trouble if they have preferences that are more akin to one brand then another and are forced to purchase something online. Fortunately I have a skateboard shop I can go 2 in my hometown to get something of a feel of how the board is under my feet but of course not many people are going to be able to try all the different combinations of high trucks low trucks medium concave mellow concave different wheelbase Etc when they first start skating especially if they're not trying to spend a fortune. I try to think of them something like an instrument in that if Taylor or Gibson mix5 of the same model guitar you can order it out of a catalog but if you go to a store and play two guitars of the same make and the same model you're going to have a preference to one of them and it seems to me many of those nuances transfer to skating whether it's wheel size wheel base text Saad etcetera much like, string tension volume control ,string gauge, string spacing, but with skateboards not as many people are approaching it with hard numbers so much as their opinions, videos like this add a very useful Dimension in that people(especially those less versed in making purchases) can still go by their personal preference, feeling and experience but apply to that information they may not have had and numbers that are easily transferable to their next setup.

I've been using a thank you deck, it's super mellow and square, currently figuring out how to adjust my feet. Overall I think it gives me more control skating obstacles and flip trick finally aren't overflipped, nice one.

Sweet vid Ben! It be sick if you put together something on the different board shapes Girl makes! Keep killing it 👊🏻

ive only skated medium concave so far. nice pop and just the right amount of curve in the pockets. gonna get a high concave board next, see how that goes

I had the Gordon&Smith Nicky Guerrero cyclops board in the 80's and that board had great concave shape.I wish I still had it.....

Girls in the 90s were flat? Lol

I like really steep concaves on shoes with a long toe box for kickflips, steep nose for heelflips

I always skate a g028 deck from crailtap with vans (half cabs) and I love it

I m 47 and believe it or not a small change makes a great difference. My mellow PP board is a Haven to me because it feels easier to pop because of the longer tail, and what u mention on the Milder curve is true. I feel My back foot kinda trapoed on a steep one and I also feel it harder to pop and less comfortable. Very good videos!

About 10 years ago I had a DGK deck with the most insane concave I ever skated. Super steep. Haven't found a similar shape since, which is a shame, because although you had to put a little more effort into popping it off the ground, it paid off with how easily it flipped.

I love the baker og shape!

one of the best feelings is when you struggle to learn a trick and then try it one day and land it first try!! sw front 180 5-0 was one of those for me for sure!!

I have a friend who had a toy machine and i hated, was so flat and heavy. Now im skating an Alien 7.6 steep concave with some thunders and busenitz adv. Light and poppy

Haha funny how the 2 flat deck skaters you name are like the hardest flicking feet out there

I love light and mellow decks! I have fairly flat feet though, and I wear leather vans old skools. Boards with more concave don't feel nearly as comfortable.

6:36 Dude that front salad was so good

I keep changing what I use. I'm thinking I'm liking a mellow concave. For a while I stuck with 1 deck brand and kept getting it. Only until recently I've been changing things to see what I like since I go through decks at about 1 ever 4 months. I've tried larger wheels, smaller wheels, different trucks, different bushings, tried loose vs tight however I'm staying with tight. I have a retro style board and I'm liking the mellow concave on it. I feel like I'm more consistent with it. Also it's a wide board so it took some time getting used to flicking the shit out of it but I feel more comfortable with the wide landing space I have. Honestly I'm not too surprised since my first board was an 80s board that I got from a flea market when I was younger before getting a world industries 7.75 deck from a friend one year because I never had money for new stuff so all my stuff was second hand or thrown in the trash lol. I was so sad the day I snapped that old deck. I will always remember my first board. That was about 15 years ago and I wish I kept the broken halves.

I had a baker mellow concave and loved the way it skated , I got another different baker deck in the same size and couldnt get use to it and didnt love it as much as the last one even though it was the same brand deck , on the mellow deck my tres were on lock and everything just felt better on it

I remember a few years ago my friend had a girl deck and I tried it out and I had the nicest kickflips I want to buy my self one. I also remember the deck being flatter compared to my delux

I love the Van's TNT advanced pro model shoes you should get them and review them if you haven't already. I was skating these shoes for like 4 months before the rubber wore down but now its been 7 months since I've had them thanks to shoe goo and they still haven't gotten a hole in them the rubber just wears down

I've found that my almost boards have had my preferred type of concaves. Mellow and full concave. I'm fine with either.

Concave in skateboarding was a design answer to the problem of flat boards. Flat boards: -Lose pop -Lose shape -Snap easier -Less springy Because of these issues, skateboards were made with concave and that’s why mellower boards are generally inferior. However, flat boards still have some advantages so medium concave is better.

as always awesome video dude. 👍 came across your carpentry channel the other too. 🔨

Thanks for sharing Ben.

i always love to watch your vids no matter what is there. and i hate that here is only 19k subs -_-.

Awesome as always

Enjoyed seeing you put carpentry/geometry to use here.

"One dude's opinion" ......One dudes highly specific well explained minutia mapping opinion, thank god you do such detailed work. I watched a few other reviewers and I'll be just listening to "one dudes opinion" from now on thank you very much. Great work as usual.

Still a fairly new skater,started on a Blind deck and grabbed some Sk8 Hi's from Vans. I'm enjoying it,I want to try a mellow concave to see the difference and find what's best for me.

Yo I live in Tsawwassen. Dope to see that park and the Ladner park in ur videos

cool breakdown

nice informative video. chill as always thanks for not being a sellout

damn your flatgame so clean!

Really enjoyed the transition skating. That bowl looks really fun. Would love to see you transfer some of your flat ground flip tricks to transition. Just don't ask me how.

I like mellow or flat concave and have always liked it to be stepped concave aposed to rounded. I think its got part to do with me being flat footed. A 14" wheel base is about perfect for me as long as the nose and tail are mellow or medium ish. I like some leverage but not too much. I prefer a looser rocker and i skate independent standard height and ace works pretty well for me too. I cant skate thunder unless the deck has a rocker that is stupidly loose. I have a bit of trouble at times pushing the tail down all the way after skating for a couple hours when my knee starts to bother me. I skate 48-50mm wheels too. And skate éS accel og. Only shoe i can really skate. Everything else is too thin. But that shoe is very much a happy medium for me. Padded tongue and collar with a flexible cupsole gives plenty boardfeel without hurting my feet. Boardfeel from a shoe doesn't have as much to do with the thickness of the shoe but the flexibility of the sole.

DLXSF regular concave and Vans Eras= best board feel ever and lifted 360 Flips

I feel like i should like steeper concave decks, because theoretically it makes flip tricks easier, but I don’t know if I actually do. I need to start studying my decks more instead of just buying for the graphic. Great content!

Middle of the road Concave and Vulcs or moulded cups for me. I remember in my younger days I skated Etnies Sheckler 2s. First vulcs. And feeling of much closer to the board. Sadly they lost their grip way too fast. And also wore them in 10.5 and 10, rather than 9.5 or 10 which now I know are my correct-er sizes. I definitely don’t like super high off the ground shoes. And love some cushion under my feet and on the tongues of the shoes. So thinking about some Emerica Reynolds 3 G6s and NB 379s

Amazing skating as always. 👌 You can make a point of buying a deck with a little more concave and nose/tail steepness than you're used to so you can skate it for longer, same as buying a wheel an extra 1mm bigger, if you're a cheap ass like me. 😅

I like steep kicks with low trucks ....for example Santa Cruz’s taper shapes with venture lows = perfect Primitive with thunder highs = perfect lol

Love your channel bro

so glad to hear someone else say they can't skate Vans. I've been jealous of my friends who can for 30 years - cheap, stylish, and CHEAP they used to be like $20

also with indy 159 makes it feel like a magic carpet ride

Since we are talking about mellow decks, review baker (or deathwish)!!

the DOA "Flat As Fuck" 90's mold is amazing. It's not actually "flat" but just mellow concave with mellow kicks. Tons of board feel and control. Works amazing with Thunders and Ventures

I have two Skateone deck's with the k15 & k20 concaves. The k15 is a little to steep for me & the k20 is really flat & not as mellow as they claim IMO. After that I got a Primitive deck & the concave is perfect!!

Back in the day late 80's. vision street wear had the best skate shoes. they had a rubber pad where you foot rubs on flip tricks.

You are making _skateboarding_ l👀k mighty fun!

My setup right now is: Shoes: Nike dunk OG, Board: Nomad Skateboard 7.858 (medium concave), Wheels: Bones 51mm V5 (but will change to Orbs 52mm), Bearings: G2 Brones, Hardware: Diamonds, Trucks: Thunder light(top) and thunder hollow (baseplate)... I find this setup pretty okay since im a short (158cm) 3X age dude.

Love your end of video blabbing and 😂 Would you consider reviewing the etnies marana??

I’m riding a mike caroll 7.6x31.5 deck from 2008 I had refurbished and it’s sick! It’s a very mellow concave which I like since I skate a pair of globe fusions which are rather bulky shoes but give me more stability and I don’t have to worry catching shove it’s in the pocket with mellow I can catch them anywhere and still have enough shoe on the board to control myself if that makes sense

Liked, subscribed. Thanks man

I've always preferred a steeper concave. Personal preference but ever since I was a kid its helped with my flip tricks and locking in on grinds. Mellow is cool but for me its always been so much harder to get a consistent flick. Just my personal opinion.

You should try the Baker O.G. shape with Indys #bakerforlife

Girl boards are so dope. I love skatin’ them

Nice one Ben. There and there.

Love this guy! So good at skating! Are you sponsored?

I skate on Decathlon skateboard shoes. My setup: Girl Skateboard deck, Venture trucks, Ricta super crystal wheels, Reds bearings, Jessup Griptape, Diamond hardware.

Terrific content as usual, my dude, keep it coming! Long time subscriber here, but haven’t commented in a minute. I’m curious to your take on something I’ve been considering. I’ve been skating Crailtap for a couple years running now, mostly straight 8 versus a 14 inch wheelbase and been loving it. Also, I’ve been ride-or-die Indy’s for roughly 13 years. Now, about to turn 30, my confidence and muscle memory are coming back to me in great strides, so I’m entertaining the idea of jumping back up to 8.25 but with the same length and wheelbase dimensions (Crailtap are great, by the way). So, after this too long of a message, my question to you is... 144 or 149?! Haha

Luv ur videos fam

always felt like the more concave the smaller a deck feels. With high/steep concave I like 8.5s, with mellower concave 8.2 feels better. And I always thought OG means original graphic 😅

mellow concave decks are cool since like i get more pop and the control in the pockets and converse shoes since their thin and good flick with concave

I know i'm super late to this one but your thumbnail made me hope some great woodworkers out there have made high-quality fingerboards. I want a swimming pool fingerboard deck (concave, not usage)!

Ace 44s (height 53mm) have been a great combo for my Creature (8.25) especially how they shorten the wheelbase. Does a lower truck work better in combo with a mellow deck? My Krux hollow downlow kingpin (height of 55mm) feels terrible on my Mini Logo deck when compared to my Tensor alloys (51mm)

Girl/chocolate 8” with some Lakai Sheffield’s. Niiice combo. Long tail and 14.25 wheelbase. Feels comfortable like a bigger deck but it’s still skinny which makes it nice for tech still. Recommend.

I REALLY want to see you skate some street spots the way you skate park!!

Like a lot of concave and skate mostly Nike blazers new subscriber

I like the new girl/chocolate boards usually with some vulc nikes. Im gonna go skate