Are you on the hunt for the best skateboard brand? Do you love that skateboard, but not too sure about the credibility of the brand?
It can be frustrating to choose the top skateboard brand for your needs with so many brands bubbling up in the market. How do you separate the top brands from the average ones? How does a customer know which skateboard brand will give them their money’s worth? Just to help you guys answer all those questions in one place, we came up with the easiest solution.
Below we illustrate how each skateboard brand ranks on different factors like ease of use, aesthetics, portability, wheels, trucks, deck, and bearings.
Best Skateboard Brands 2020
With this best skateboard brands 2020 ratings table below, you will have a fair idea of how the famous brands stack up against each other.
Penny Skateboards – Best Skateboard Brand for Beginners
Curious about the Penny story? The brainchild of a skateboarding enthusiast, Penny Skateboards (sometimes also called ‘Penny Australia’) was made to bring the vintage, plastic skateboards back in the market and back for good.
Using 12 years of experience in manufacturing skateboards, Penny Skateboards was created to offer the skateboarding community high performance and high-quality plastic skateboards. The brand focuses on creating each Penny skateboard with attention to detail and with the best raw materials. Not only are they meant to look good, but are meant to work just as good if not better.
Penny Skateboards have a reputation of exceeding customer expectations and have a growing fan base. People love their aesthetically pleasing, good functioning plastic skateboards which are also, by the way, best skateboards for beginners. Their plastic formula for skateboard decks makes their decks stronger and more flexible than all other plastic skateboards. Its lightweight and small size makes it easier to use for beginners and kids alike. Moreover, Penny is also famous for the variety of skateboards that it provides ranging from their classic skateboards to their glow series, graphic and metallic fade skateboards. We saved the best for the last; you can even design your own Penny skateboard!
Our only issue with Penny skateboards is that they are sold without grip tape. Though not necessary, it can make the ride a lot safer with grip tape. All in all, Penny is one of the top skateboard brands out there. Let us now look at a succinct brand scorecard of Penny Skateboards and see how it scores in various factors that we have considered while ranking the best skateboard brands.
Now let us talk about some of the classic and the best skateboards that this top skateboard brand has released in the market.
Our personal favorite is the Penny Australia Classic Complete Skateboard and trusts me when I tell you this, it is the best skateboard for beginners. Hands down, we love how it is amazing to look at, very portable, excellent speed and has the greatest parts like hard wheels, 7 ABEC bearings, and high tensile bolts. We love this board so much that it forms part of our best skateboards 2020 list as well.
This skateboard is within the 22-inch category, (there are other categories according to size ranging from 22 inch to 36-inch longboards) and the Jet Black Lilac is our personal favorite. We love the twist of the color which is for people who want to keep it simple with just a dash of color. It also has some other amazing specifications like classic waffle top non-slip deck, 3-inch aluminum trucks with powder-coated finish, and 59mm, 83A wheels for a smooth ride.
Presenting to you, the next in line for top skateboard brands; Powell Peralta. Established back in 1978, Powell Peralta is perhaps one of the most well-known names in the skateboarding world. It was launched at a time when skateboarding was gaining traction and Powell Peralta rose to prominence. Powell Peralta is also known for featuring the Bones Brigade, which was a team featuring the top players of that time. Peralta left the company in between but both the partners reunited to create magic in the skateboarding community. We love Powell Peralta for a number of reasons as do all its customers but the foremost reason being its variety in terms of the skateboards that it manufactures. It has a collection of 30 different skateboard models, with a fusion of unique graphics and colors. They offer different skateboards that you can choose from, depending on your riding style, budget, body fitness, and riding style. Even in their amazing collection of skateboards, extensive research helped us uncover the best skateboard of Powell Peralta for you guys. It is the top skateboard of Powell Peralta in terms of the amazing value it offers to its customers. With that said, we present to you the Powell Golden Dragon Flying Dragon. Let me tell you this, the users of this product are in LOVE with it. Now let us have a look at the features of the Powell Golden Dragon Flying Dragon which make it such an amazing buy. Firstly, it is affordable and works great for both, skateboard beginners and intermediate riders. We love its high rebound wheels; the hand-cast polyurethane wheels roll perfectly and have a good grip too. We also love how the aesthetically pleasing graphics bottom is paired with a top that measures 7.625 inches in width and 31.625 inches in length. The board has easy control and glides smoothly. And guess what? You get all of this at an amazing price. But we have to say, as much as we love the Powell Golden Flying Dragon, it is not that good for cruising. But looking from a vantage point, it is definitely one of the best skateboards on the market. The first thought that came to my mind when I looked at a Santa Cruz skateboard was, boy, do they have some amazing graphics! Over four decades of experience of making skateboards under their belt and they just keep getting better and better. Ever since Santa Cruz was made, it has been dominating the skateboard industry with an iron fist. Santa Cruz is your one-stop-shop for everything related to skateboarding; skateboards, apparel, hard goods, and accessories, making it one of the best skateboard brands out there. You can find some amazing, high-quality parts for customizing your skateboards and a variety of complete skateboards too. Moreover, their complete skateboards line is filled with iconic graphics and high-quality skateboards. Their complete skateboards are equipped with the deck, trucks, wheels, bearings, and grip tape so you can take a ride right when you get your perfect Santa Cruz skateboard. Let us now look at the brand score of Santa Cruz skateboards and how it scores in various factors that we have considered while ranking the best skateboard brands. Let me tell you this, Santa Cruz has a huge variety of high-quality everything-skateboard so naturally picking out the best skateboard of the best was a hard task. But as usual, we have a clear winner; the Santa Cruz Youth Land Shark Cruzer, Rasta. If you are a part of the skateboarding community, there is a high chance that you might have heard about this skateboard. Intricately crafted with the best quality materials, it is one of the best skateboards in town. Moreover, we love how this cruiser skateboard is a beautiful concave shape with stunning graphics. We love its 7 ply deck with its 65mm Road Rider 78a wheels that are perfect for a quick ride out of your door. Its cruiser shape is excellent for pulling off tricks and also downhill riding. It has one of the best trucks around bullet B137 blue and white trucks and also comes with grip tape, Sand spray grip; measures 27.7 x 8.8 inches. Although the skateboard is pretty cool for its price, it can use an upgrade for its bearings. Do you know what makes Punisher stand out in this list of best skateboard brands? Punisher has the vision to make artistic graphics that the skateboarder can identify with. Punisher has commissioned well-known artists from all over the world to create the art that is featured on their skateboards. Punisher skateboards have an extensive range of best skateboards and skateboard accessories ranging from pro series decks, pro series helmets, complete skateboards, and longboards. Let us now see the brand score of Punisher Skateboards and how it scores in various factors that we have considered while ranking the best skateboard brands. Let’s now move on to our top pick from the Punisher line, the Punisher Cherry Blossom Complete skateboard (31 inches). Hands down, the Punisher Cherry Blossom skateboard is the best skateboard for girls. And I am not just saying this because the cherry design would look best for girls, it has some incredible features and specifications. We love the 9-ply stiff maple deck with beautiful cherry design. The deck is also covered with coarse grip tape which gives the skateboard excellent grip and it makes it a good ride for girls too. Since it has a double concave deck, it is easier to pull off tricks with it. It has heavy-duty red-colored 5-inch metal alloy trucks and also, comes with 54×36 mm PU white ivory wheels. The wheels contain ABEC-5 bearings. The good quality and durability of the board make the Punisher Cherry Blossom one of the best skateboards for beginner girls. Approximately two decades ago, a group of friends who were well versed in the world of skateboarding, set up their own brand; Plan B. Their knowledge and expertise helped them in setting up one of the best skateboard brands in the market with incredible gear. Not only does this Californian style skateboard company have the best-assembled skateboards, but it is also quite famous for its amazing decks. The customers of Plan B are literally head over heels for its amazing and durable decks. Plan B decks are made from thick 7 ply maple that gives it extra strength and minimal flexing. Moreover, we love the amazing variety of skateboards that Plan B has. Plan B’s team consists of some of the most famous professionals out there like Ryan Sheckler, Torey Pudwill, and Chris Cole, and all of their pro boards are available. Ranging from small skateboards (like Team Tripper mini) that are best skateboards for kids to their full-size deck range that starts at 7.6 with the Felipe Flashback deck, Plan B has covered it all. Might I add that their full-size skateboards are ideal for a smooth ride in the park and carve out all the turns perfectly? Most of the Plan B skateboards are around the 8 inches to 8.25-inch size which is the most popular size of the skateboard at the moment. You guys must have noticed that we have an absolute adoration for boards that not only ride smooth but are also easy on the eyes. Plan B covers the graphics of skateboards quite well, with its own unique style and color schemes. Some of the examples of their visual masterpieces are the Riot Cole (with the Plan B logo embedded in different art schemes) and the Anatomy Cole 8 (with individualistic graphics). We would also like to point out one amazing detail about Plan B that makes it stand out from the other top skateboard brands, the deck technology that it uses. I already talked about how their decks are pretty strong and have minimal flex. But its other products like Plan B BLK ICE decks with wax used on their standard build decks to increase the speed and smoothness of skating a rail and the Flashback Series that uses prospect skateboard deck technology to make the boards thinner, lighter and stronger, are amazing! Moving on to our favorite pick from the Plan B series, Plan B Skateboard Complete Felipe Victory 7.6″ Tensor Assembled, suitable for all kinds of riders, but is an ideal skateboard for intermediate skateboard riders. The deck is made from 100% North American maple and measures 7,6 inches. Its wheels are 52mm TGM wheels which means it is excellent for both street and park skating. We also love its lightweight trucks and heavy-duty aluminum with grade 8 steel kingpins and axles plus the bushings (USA made) and pivot cups. The bearings are rated 5 on the ABEC scale. The only downside to the Plan B skateboard is that it comes unassembled. But for us, it is not much of an issue since all of the high-quality materials are there and you can quickly assemble your amazing Plan B skateboard. Looking at the bright side, it is good in the sense that it allows customization. With that, we round-up our best skateboard brands list and hope we have brought you one step closer in picking your best skateboard.Powell Peralta Skateboards – Skateboard Brand for Beginner Adults/Intermediates
Santa Cruz Skateboards – Best Skateboard Brand for Tricks
Punisher Skateboards – Best Skateboard Brand for Girls/Novice Skaters
Plan B skateboards – Best Skateboard Brand for Intermediates
