I went down the rabbit hole a little while ago, largely because of your videos. I am now a giant nuisance at the zumiez in my local mall.

Hi Ben, this whole conversation brings me idea to start a small local skate brand. I am from Czech Republic and we have small woodshop here, which makes skateboards. I want to ask art schools around country and artist to make graphics. So whole board will be local and special. I know it will be barely profitable, because target customers are only from Czech and Slovakia, but I want to do it just for fun.

This video NEEDS to be seen by 95% of all skate kids. I'm really getting tired of kids asking "which company is THE best?" I tell them the low down, " there's a few deck shops making 95% of the worlds decks" ...but they either don't believe me(thanks to consumer indoctrination imo) or just simply don't understand(these kids make me sad...and cause me to fear for our future, lol)

That was really fascinating! I appreciate your honesty about how companies source their boards, and what the model the skateboard industry has looks like. Also, your honesty about your previous review on that one board is impressive! Not a lot of people would admit it that. Looking forward to what’s next!

Schmitt Stix had the craziest shapes back in the 80's. I always wanted a Lucero board.

Man, I'm really enjoying your videos! Straight to the point, which is great. Your videos have substance and aren't just full of minutes of pointless footage. I don't feel like I'm wasting my time waiting for you to get to the point. Keep it up man, you're inspiring!

Very well explained ben, you are the only person in the youtube world to dig and share this deep information about the skatebrands even more the woodshops. Very good.

This is the best review channel for skateboarding products I've seen, and he can skate pretty damn good too. So you know he's letting you know what functions, and he doesn't sugarcoat.

Great video! I learned a lot about what I was curious about regarding the boards. I am 46 and recently got back into skateboards. The last time I rode was in the 80s. It was pretty straight forward with board selection. Powell Peralta or Santa Cruz were the only ones that the shop sold back in the day.

You hit the nail on the head there Ben, "helping you maximizing your time on the skateboard", This is one thing that separates you from the others. Great video.

Im 32 years old and im inspired with your skating videos about you having a family and having needing to go to work and still make time to skate, and even make reviews. You have something that most of us skaters doesnt have, the experience of skating almost all of the woodshop decks. Please if you can still make video about what are the pros and cons of every woodshop decks that youve skated. So that we will have like an ultimate guide on buying what we really like, super thanks in advance theres no one like you on how you review things about skateboards, even on trucks and the wheelbase i learned alot from youre videos im sure not only me. Keep doin it ben. God bless.

Hiya Ben, please let me preface this by saying that I love watching your videos, I find them very informative and entertaining, plus I can relate to the way you dial in your setup, with everything from deck width, concave & tail steepness, truck geometry, wheel diameter & durometer etc. etc. for particular styles of skating. "A deck should last 3 weeks to a month of heavy skating." Mate, I would be completely skint if I went through boards that quickly! I mainly skate bowls, ramps, banks & curbs, but as a 6'4", 217lb guy I find I put my decks through a lot of stress, especially since I like to ride bigger, heavier boards with at least a 15.5" wheelbase due to regular popsicle decks feeling really squirrely & unbalanced because of my body proportions (not to mention my feet sticking out either side of the board!). That being said, my current deck is over a year old (10" Black Label J. Lucero racing stripe) but I generally keep a reserve of several 2 or 3 year old thrashed decks that I'll fix up, re-grip and put a new set of wheels on when I feel like riding something different. By making a paste out of PVA wood glue & sawdust you can repair most any chips and dings and even de-lams by using a knife or something to actually split open the damaged section, filling it with the paste, then pressing it together with a couple of G-clamps and letting it sit for a day or two (then sanding down the excess glue). If I feel really comfortable with a particular shape (or if it was hella expensive to buy like my 10.25" OG 80s wood H-Street R. Allen hell concave reissue or the 11.875" Dogtown bigfoot II I'm setting up at the moment) I will install one of those tail-bones so that the board retains it's pop (I use 60-63mm wheels and 3/4 or 1/2" risers so the difference in tail angle is negligible) and when that gets worn down, I can replace it for £10 and it's as good as new (plus I like the way they affect tailslides, it's like having a rail back there). I used to mount my boardslide / grab rails with cheap countersink scews from a local hardware store (not the ones that come with rib-bones, they are pure gash.) but I've recently figured out how to properly install rails using old-school sex bolts (rat-nuts). You do have to drill through your board, but once the rails are all worn out you can literally just unscrew the bolts and put a new pair in and they're held in there rock solidly. Mainly though, I love riding old beat-up & repaired boards for their mojo. I feel like there's nothing better to get inspired to go out and skate than looking at a deck with loads of scratches, dings & repaired patches on it, each with their own individual stories behind them. Except for the upside-down razor-tail you get from doing casper tricks though... Nothing you can do to fix that haha. Cheers for all the videos! :)

I absolutely love your videos, your reviews are pretty credible and this video especially brought to light what board I should get

The most informative skateboarding channel. You are awesome bro.

I subscribed to your channel because of the rad skate content and reviews you do. Loving it even more after finding out through some of your other videos that you have kids and are a carpenter and in your 30s - just like me! Keep up the rad content 👌👊

Dude now I know I wanna test out some krooked or primitive decks ! Thanks ! Love your channel I’m always looking out for new content. Your really a pleasure to watch !

This video should be seen by all skaters. Its valid, good information, not the same old "all brands have their good points, it's just personal preference" bullshit littered throughout this industry. Thanks for the video bro. Good work.

Another great video Ben! Really like the 'bloopers' at the end

American Brand Canadian Wood Mexican Labor Chinese logistics Internet Joe consuming Designs World Wide !

Crailtap wood has definitely changed in the last 2 years. It’s much stiffer and doesn’t get soggy. I really like that they label the shapes so you can always get the same shape if you like one. Also try some Skate one stuff. A mini logo and a flight deck.

Great info as always! I'm currently riding a Chapman and loving it.

Professor Ben, this video is on a new level...good content, good details, good skating, good stuff!! Looking forward to more! I’ve been motivated to try my own experiments due to all your woodshop discussions. It’s been fun to explore smaller manufacturers. I’m also currently testing my theories and questions on why maple is so popular...ended up ordering about a dozen decks from different companies with bamboo, aspen, birch, carbon etc. It is a fun and interesting process!

Great vid overall. I have been riding Fickle,Shipyard and American Nomad the last couple of years. American brands and smaller batch shops. Fickle by far has been the most impressive. Cost a bit more but is worth it in my case. Keep up the good work.

I’ve always bought crailtap since the late 90s and there was a dip in stiffness but I always loved their shapes too much to stop buying them luckily they are awesome again

Dude thanks for the videos you have educated me so much when it comes to this topic. Great work!

I work at zumiez and im top in sales and i owe a lot of it to this channel bc nobody knows shit like this and what wheelbases are and what trucks pair best with what board. I convinced someone looking for a real to buy an anti-hero because its the same wood

Dude, obsessed with your videos!

Funny, like you I was very dedicated to Crailtap in the mid 2000's but noticed the decks started crapping out on me quickly a few years later , I have skated DLX boards exclusively for almost 10 years, I have only had 2 boards that were duds and the rest were always on point and lasted atleast a month, the low-pro real decks lasted even longer for me till the point I was just ready for a fresh deck and graphic. Great video!

SCUMCO decks straight out of Pittsburgh PA. Pressed in Pittsburgh PA. Best ever.

Great video, man. Essential information about the wood shops and I Iove you skating against switch you. I do that and it helps a lot.

Jesus bro. Your vids and knowledge are top notch. Thanks much for the education and entertainment.

Great review. I am trying the Powell flight deck right now. It's is spendy but so far I like it.

YOU JUST BECAME MY FAVORITE YOUTUBBER iv been trying to sort throw this info for about 3 years

More vids like this Ben. It's good to see what name we're really paying for

Woah nice job on relearning the nose manny nollie flip, wasn't expecting that!

I just got back on my board after a 6 year hiatus, got my current deck in 2015 but it's in nearly new condition. It's a bullet deck lol, back when they made decks. Bullet might not be known for high quality stuff, but it was pressed in the DSM factory same as enjoi, Santa Cruz, Creature etc. Makes sense since bullet is owned by nhs which is the same conglomerate that owns santa Cruz and creature, which are pressed by DSM. Feels like decent wood to me but I'm not exactly experienced so take that with a grain of salt. I guess a good thing is that it sat in my closet for 6 years and still feels like it's brand new. Not bad since I got it on sale for like 25 bucks.

I have always had the best eperience with Deluxe boards. Anti-Hero/Krooked/Real. They last long, good shape and really nice pop when new.

Thanks for dropping some knowledge!👍👍Super interesting!

Congratulations on 6k subs Ben! 👊👏

Hey Ben. You should do a review of a Quincy Woodwrights deck. They press a lot of shop decks including my local shops. I find them interesting because they harvest their wood off their land, so it's the freshest Michigan hard rock maple.

Great information. Knew a lot of it but I'm glad someone agrees with me

Excellent video Ben. Glad to see you're still ripping old pal.

Brand new chocolate pro model deck seems to have good wood to me. Mellow kicks versus my quasi and a wider width so I'm in an adjustment phase.

This park looks incredible!

Im on a Zero deck atm. Was riding an Element deck before. My preference always been Zero, Baker or Flip. But the Element deck wasn't bad. They're lighter in weight.

thanks for the link Ben. This is super helpful!

I chose my deck for the graphic. It's the Enjoi 8 Inch with the Panda. I love the Panda. :D

I like their wood. Its just a nice stiff big piece.. Especially when I'm on my backside is when I definitely notice the strength of their wood.. this was actually pretty cool never knew any of this

Excellent content! As a new skater I am wondering when does a board feel soggy? How do I know that I need a new one to practice on? I skate quite a lot (3-4x a week) and as a beginner I believe that a board has to deal with a lot more impact because of the board flying around all the time haha. Thanks for the great content. A 25 year old beginner from The Netherlands^^

In the future if you could put your list of best to worst in the description thatd be dope. Good video man!

I dig the channel. I have a stack of crail wood like yours. I turned them into shoe racks. Keep rolling👊🏻

When I was a kid I rode one of my friends’ boards that was a birdhouse, and I thought it was one of the most comfortable decks I had tried, until I got a real deck that felt a little similar 👀

I've got a girl carroll right now and it skates really good compare to my anti hero price point I was riding last month. I've had the mike carroll for about 2 weeks and it is comparable to anti hero pride points.

Hey Ben, great videos. Have you tried reviewing some of the cheaper boards? Specifically, wondering what you think of CCS, if you've tried them before?

I’ve been skating girl decks for a good half a year almost a year and being honest it does seem a bit stiff but no creeks or anything that stops me from skating I did have my last one snap on me but that was because of lots of heavy street skating it just kinda wore down easily but didn’t make much of a difference they pretty good to me though my friends said so too :)

You’re getting good!

Great vid Ben.

Also currently riding a welcome deck which i really like. The quasi deck i owned before looked lovely but rode like crap... I think that has to do with shape/wheelbase.

nice informative video as per usual. do you know where are baker decks made?

OH YES!! LoL @ "whatever man".. Great video as always! Thanks

Good channel bro keep up the good content

Super useful review..helped me buy a real bold

I think it would cool to see you colab with Rad Rat. Don't know how or why. But you guys both make interesting informative skate-related content.

Deluxe is also DGK, Organica, and creation skateboards plus I think in the begining they had a deal with LRG briefly

thanks for this one Ben !

Good video! Have you ever tried HLC deck? Thay make decks for jart and some european brands, as well the europen decks for flip, sk8 mafia and may be plan b. Do you have any experience with their boards? Greetings!

What's up with the boards that Supreme puts out, are they low quality? From watching alot of the Supreme Guys skate footage, I've noticed that alot of them tend to break boards in two like they were toothpicks!

Have you tried one of those Powell featherlites, or whatever they're called. Tempted to set up one as a park for the quiver, because I heard they keep pop forever

Thanks for the review Sir.

Dude's got at fillie over his shoulder at 3:25. Reminds me of the nudie calendar in my uncle's garage when I was a kid. Lol

Naw ... Its casuse ur in depth with the skate life...👍👍👍 ( im 36 - and still pushing hard)

Any idea what glues/adhesive the different woodshops are using? Seems like better glue makes a huge difference.

I think 'Chinese' used to synonymous with cheap and low quality, not just w.r.t. skateboards but manufacturing in general, but that this might have changed considerably over recent years. Gone are the days that 'Chinese tech' meant cheap imitations of popular products, and likewise, Chinese wood shops might have started making much better product. I've skated a number of Girl and Enjoi decks in recent years and I absolutely loved them: snappy (but not too stiff) out the box, and with a good amount of pop several weeks in.

Two weeks without skating due to a sprained knee!!! I cannot wait any longer!!! Nice review Ben, what about Skate1, are they any good? I used to ride Powell since ¨89!!

Ben, BBS also press blanks and decks for small shops. Do you think they have the same quality as the "branded" ones?

hey ben! first off..... I really enjoy your videos. doing a great job there man....i recognized that santa cruz deck you held there. i think i had a deck from that series in the past but i cant find any pics or info with google atm. do you by any chance know what that series was called?

How do you check witch wood shop certain skate brands use

Ben, have you ever skated any decks from Control mfg here in Canada? (Quebec).

You said "Girl Wood" 6:34

is it possible to buy blank decks / custom print decks from bareback / generator ?

Hi, great video, what about Santa Cruz skateboards ?

sw tre, steeze back heel and sw back heel.Damn you were feeling good huh.Oh and nice video topic! good job

What is your uppinion on Blind decks?

can you do an update video for these decks a lot of these companies done switched up a bit?

You are right, ASF is pressed in Mexico. There are so many companies that are pressed there; they are the number one wood manufactures that the majority of South American companies and many other countries around the world get their wood from this place. My good friend Julio de la Cruz is one of the best representatives for this company. He is also the founder of Neighborhood Skateboards, that is also pressed at ASF. So, if you know anyone that is looking for a good manufacture look him up.

Where can I get a cheap blank that was pressed by Bareback/Generator? Thanks

Can we get a little nollie pressure flip working here........good video

On a random wheel note, any thoughts on ghettochild?

Nice description as usual :) any chance your going to be reviewing krux 5.0(8.5s)? I've always been curious about those

I need Ben to do decks based on there prices. I wanna know what deck is the worth the price

I'm wanting to find out which of these wood shops obtain sustainably harvested woods, any one know how to find out? For example, are any of them Forest Stewardship Council certified so that they plant back what they harvest.

thank you Ben this is great

So is Powell Peralta kind of company made? couldn't find them in the lists...

Any info on older canadian shops... like Curveply from Ontario?

Dude I miss the $35 shop decks i used to get. Anyone have a link to quality blank wood decks?

No canadian manufacturing love?! Haha, I've been looking at picking up an Olive or Kitsch deck. I'm a bit lost though. My old setup is with a 7.5" minilogo. It's sogging out and too skinny. My partner has a really nice Instant Winner (but also 7.5"). I love the feel of her Instant Winner, but since the company is dead I don't know how to find a similar board in something closer to 8". Anyway, thanks for posting these, making me think more about my setup.

This video completely changed how I shop for decks. Now I'm not wasting my money on shitty wood! BBS wood has lasted me the longest for sure. Honestly $54 is worth it for a quality deck, my shop sells shop-decks for $40 but I snap them in like 2 weeks.

Hey Ben you're really amazing.. Btw watching this video i gotta desperately ask you for one of your any old deck or an skateboard that you no longer use much cause here in India we can never get a real concave deck.. and its just out of my budget to get it imported..m a poor guy with passion for skateboarding...please Ben Help me

I fuck wit bareback primitive and anything from deluxe I fuck wit real krooked anti hero. Back in the day my shit was consolidated skateboard and city skateboards idk where the boards was comin from but I loved there boards. Pop war has some good decks too

About time you did an update of this Ben. You seem to being real chummy with PS Stix of late. Has your mind changed on the diffent wood shops? And one of your latest videos was hating on a board that was way to stiff and they used apoxy instead of a water based glue. 4 years , things may of changed.