Best Longboards For Beginners to Buy in 2023

If you think that selecting a longboard randomly from any reputed brand is the be-all and end-all of buying a longboard, think again.

Mainly if you are a beginner or want to gift a longboard to a beginner, you must think twice.

Don’t be troubled.

You don’t have to sit on the fence as I’m going to review the 10 best longboards for beginners in this guide to make things clear for you.

Not to mention, I will be discussing both their upsides and downsides so that you know which one is the best bang for your bucks.

To prepare this longboards for beginners reviews guide, I focused on several factors like –

• First and foremost, if the longboards are perfect for beginners or not.
• If the deck, trucks, wheels, and bearings ensure maximum stability, control, flexibility, smooth turn, or not.
• Which one is good for tall riders, which one is for short riders, and which is suitable for both.
• Which one is ok for heavy riders and which one is for light riders.
• If they are worth buying for a beginner or not considering the price.
• And some more considerations like that particular longboard’s durability, etc.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get busy.

Best Longboard For Beginners Comparison

Image	Product	Features	Price
	Quest QT-NSC44C Longboard	Load Capacity: About 285 lbs. Sturdy? : Yes Deck: Both flexible and durable Truck: Lively, easy to take a sharp turn Wheel: Rolls smoothly	Check Price on Amazon
	Atom Drop Through 41″ Longboard	Load Capacity: Around 260 lbs. Sturdy? : Yes Deck: Both flexible and durable Truck: Lively, easy to take a turn Wheel: Grippy, stable	Check Price on Amazon
	Magneto 44″ Kicktail Longboard	Load Capacity: About 275 lbs. Sturdy? : Yes Deck: Both flexible and durable Truck: Lively, easy to take a sharp turn Wheel: Grippy as well as rolls smoothly	Check Price on Amazon
	Volador 42″ Longboard	Load Capacity: About 250 lbs. Sturdy? : Yes Deck: Sturdy and durable construction Truck: Highly customizable, turnable, stable. Wheel: Grippy, fast.	Check Price on Amazon
	Playshion 39-inch Drop-through Longboard	Load Capacity: Around 250 lbs. Sturdy? : Yes Deck: Both flexible and durable Truck: Lively, easy to take a sharp turn Wheel: Soft and grippy	Check Price on Amazon

10 Best Longboard For Beginners

Quest is one of the leading longboard manufacturer brands in the longboard industry. This top-mounted Quest QT-NSC44C super cruiser is the best longboard for beginners on my list.

If you want to go from point A to point B without putting too much effort, I believe this one is the best bet for you.

Being said that, if you are looking to perform several tricks, then this is not something you should go for.

Later in this guide, I will review some shorter longboards that are good for performing different tricks.

However, doing tricks is not something mandatory for a beginner, I believe. First, you have to be good at going from point A to point B.

I haven’t found any significant issues regarding the bearings.

However, you always have the option to change the bearings if you want. So, it’s not a big deal whatsoever.

If you find the truck a bit loose, don’t bother to tighten that up. It’s as easy as pie.

All in all, if you are looking for your first longboard to start your longboarding journey ensuring a smooth and pleasant ride, or perhaps you want to gift someone who hasn’t begun yet, go for this one. You won’t regret it. It has all those features to become the number one choice for getting great stability, more fun, more control initially, etc.

While this one is perfect for riding downhill, I still kept it on this beginner’s longboard list. Why?

I know you are not going for downhill longboarding as a beginner. But as a beginner, you want some extra benefits from your board that may keep you from worrying while riding.

This longboard offers such cool features. I’ve discussed some of the benefits above in the ‘pros’ section. Let’s learn more.

Any drop-through deck offers easy pushing and braking. This longboard is not an exception.

That means the drop-through deck having a cutout shape is offering many benefits.

The wheel has a big contact patch and a sharp lip. That, in turn, provides excellent grip hence good stability.

As a beginner, you will want to keep yourself free from worrying about a critical issue like wheel biting.

With this longboard, you don’t have to worry about wheel bite at all. This is something that forced me to put this board on my list.

So, no matter if you are looking for a beginner longboard to start the longboard journey or gifting someone you care about, I recommend you go for this quality Atom longboard.

Magneto is a famous brand in baking quality longboards of all shapes and for all sorts of riders. This board excels in quality as well, and it’s one of the best longboards for beginners.

The wheels have a standard size (70mm) having a 78A durometer which is a perfect softness for getting a good grip on the road.

It can hold up to 275 lbs which is more than so many other options I’ve listed here. If you are something around 260 lbs, the deck dip a little once you ride on it. So, it clearly shows it is genuinely capable of handling weight up to 275 lbs.

As it’s a kick tail board, as a beginner rider, you have the option to perform some basic tricks (not ideal for advanced tricks). However, I don’t recommend a completely new rider performing any tricks. First, learn how to go from point A to point B. Next, get some control over the board, then attempt to perform some basic tricks.

In terms of quality, this Magneto longboard is undoubtedly above par. It offers a fair price as well. Altogether, you won’t get disappointed buying this longboard for beginners.

Volador 42-inch longboard features symmetrical shape having an 8-ply construction of hard rock maple deck, which makes it relatively sturdy and durable as they are glued together with epoxy glue. In addition, both the length (42″) and width (9″) of the deck are ideal for a beginner longboarder to get a comfortable foot placement.

Though this one is one of the effective freeride longboards, it’s equally an effective cruising longboard.

You will be able to adjust the baseplate angle. That means you can easily keep the back truck at 45-degree and the front truck at 50-degree. It will make the board both stable due to the back truck and turnable due to the front truck.

The big contact patch plays a vital role in making the wheel grippy along with the durometer.

Although the price fluctuates, it always offers a fair price. Regarding the overall construction, this particular longboard is made of high-quality materials. Despite having a few easily solvable downsides, you won’t regret buying this board for a beginner rider.

One of the most applauded aspects of this Playshion longboard is it’s so sturdy and doesn’t wobble while riding. This is something any beginner longboarder expects from the board.

Besides its awesome stability, it offers other necessary benefits to make life easier for beginners, like sufficient wheel clearance, a perfect deck width (9.1″) for comfortable foot placement, etc.

The deck length, in this case, is 39″, which is shorter than most other options I’ve listed here. With that said, a shorter board is relatively easy to carry around.

It has a load capacity of 250 lbs, which I believe is pretty ok.

Yes, it doesn’t have any kicktail, but as it’s not too long, it’s easy to reposition yourself.

The PU wheels have a big contact patch; they are soft, having a standard size (70mm). All these make them sufficiently grippy.

If you are looking for a budget option without sacrificing quality, this Plashion longboard is the best bet without any doubt.

I’m not sure how well you know about this brand (i.e., Retrospec). I must say their Zed bamboo cruiser is one board that I had nothing but to include on my list.

This longboard offers one of the most exquisite finishes among the ones that I reviewed in this article.

Both aesthetically and performance-wise, I have to admire this board.

Not only the performance, it cares about your safety too. How?

This longboard offers you anti-bite technology by implementing wheel wells to avoid wheel bite. This is something that you will want from your longboard more than anything else to prevent injuries.

This very longboard is one of the easiest ones to learn longboarding, I believe.

Overall, this is a perfect longboard for roaming around. If you are looking for some quality longboards for beginners without spending much, this is one of the best bets for you.

This is the most useful rough terrain longboard on my list. I thought I must list such a longboard to see if it works well for a beginner.

The main reason behind considering a drop-down longboard is the stability that a drop-down board provides by offering super comfortable foot placement.

For any beginner who wants to have a beautiful blend of speed and control, a drop-down longboard is something that he/she should be searching for.

The wheel of this board is something that I must not forget to mention. Its big size, big contact patch, and sharp lip offer a good grip that increases the control while you ride.

I like the design of this longboard more than any other board on my list. I know it’s a matter of personal preference.

So, if you are looking for a board to move around that offers excellent stability, turn, grip, and control, you won’t regret buying this great longboard from Atom.

Out of several other reasons for including this longboard on my list, portability is the most attractive.

As a beginner rider, you would want to carry the board to your college, park, or some other places.

This is not a mini-cruiser / mini longboard. But as it’s 34″, you can easily carry it anywhere you want without being a burden on your shoulders.

I believe the bearing quality could have been better.

Nonetheless, you can always change the bearing if you find it’s not ok for you.

I found many people buying Quest Rorshack longboard as a birthday gift. You can buy this one too for gifting any novice longboarder without breaking your bank.

This particular longboard is another perfect option for cruising and getting a smooth riding experience. When it’s about learning the basics and getting used to longboard riding, this type of board is quite handy for beginner riders.

The deck is made of natural material like Canadian maple wood to confirm its durability. In addition, it’s a 9-ply construction, which confirms its strength.

This deck length is 42″, and it’s a wide deck too (10″), which means both length and width help to get a comfortable foot placement by providing more deck space than its competitors.

This Seething pintail longboard is another budget option that offers all those essential benefits for beginners. Although the price is low, it performs pretty similarly to the expensive options out there.

This Backfire Discus Fish is a 41-inch longboard, meaning it falls well within the range of beginner-friendly deck length (i.e., 41 “-42”) considering the comfortability of foot placement.

As the deck is made of a combination of both fiberglass material and bamboo, it’s flexible and stiff at the same time. Meaning it gives a wonderful blend of flexibility and stiffness.

According to the company’s claim, it has a load capacity of 265 lbs. Therefore, I believe it’s quite suitable for heavier riders.

The lightweight and the length make this a great versatile option.

This longboard is another affordable option considering the budget a new rider should spend. It offers all those essential features required for new longboarders as well.

Best Beginners Longboard Buying Guide

As a beginner, you will be eyeing getting a comfortable ride right from the word go. To ensure a pleasant ride, you must know the important buying factors then make an educated purchase.

The beginner longboarding market is saturated with different brands and models. To find out the best longboard for beginners, follow the below-mentioned buyers guide.

How to Find the Best longboards for beginners

1. Custom Build or Buy

Since you are a beginner, you will want to buy the best beginner-friendly longboard rather than build it yourself. It’s because initially, you are not too sure about your longboard riding styles; you don’t need anything fancy. All you need is just move from point A to point B and clinch a lively ride.

2. Longboarding Style

Typically, you should choose a quality board that helps you to go from one point to another. Meaning the cruising style is something you will be doing initially.

The other longboarding styles like sliding, freestyle riding/ dancing are something you should try once you learn the basic style of riding and start to have a smooth riding experience already.

Remember, downhill riding is not recommended for entry-level newbies. It’s good only for experienced riders.

3. Construction Type

A longboard is constructed with multiple parts like deck, trucks, wheels, bearings, bushings, etc. Let me guide you on choosing the perfect construction type.

3.1 Choosing Longboard Deck

The deck varies in shape, profile, length, width, concave, mounting style, flexibility, etc. They are longer than regular skateboards and make less sharper turns.

For beginners, it’s highly recommended to choose a multi-ply hardwood maple deck or something that is made of a combination of maple and bamboo to get both flexible and durable board at the same time.

Here are some of my recommendations on different other parameters of a deck –

Length: 41″-42″

Width: 9″

A longer and wider deck give more room for foot placement. However, shorter boards are a lot easier to carry than longer ones.

Shape: Both directional and symmetrical board shapes are good for the learner. Among the different directional shapes, the pintail and mini cruisers, and among the different symmetrical shapes, the cut-out and drop-down are the most suitable ones for newbies.

Profile: Camber profile deck is better than the rocker deck profile. It’s because the former offers a more stable ride than the latter.

Flex: I suggest going for a flexible deck instead of stiff and medium flexible.

Mounting Style: You can go for any mounting style. However, drop-through is the most befitting for the new riders.

Concave: Either flat or radial.

The grip tape on the deck needs to be a quality one as well.

3.2 Choosing Longboard Trucks

A longboard truck has several components like a kingpin, axle & hanger, bushing seat, baseplate, etc.

Kingpin: You won’t see too many standard kingpin trucks these days. The reverse kingpin is easily customizable. It gives way better control and better stability at high speed riding, turning support, responsiveness than the traditional kingpin trucks (standard kingpin trucks). So, reverse kingpin trucks are preferable.

Axle & Hanger: It’s better to keep the axle length close to the deck width or longer than the deck width. However, if the axle length is not longer than the deck width, it won’t cause any major issue.

Bushing Seat and Bushing: Among the different bushing shapes like a cone, barrel, stepped cone, double-stepped, I suggest going for cone or barrel or a combination of both with a tight bushing seat.

Baseplate Angle: Baseplate angle contributes to the carving ability of the entire board. Usually, all the trucks come with a 50-degree baseplate angle. It’s a great option for a new rider. Higher than that would make the board super responsive, and lower than that would make it relatively stiff.

3.3 Choosing Longboard Wheels

The wheels can vary in size, shape, contact patch, wheel durometer, and core.

Size: While longboard wheel size can range from 50mm-100mm, 70mm is considered to be the perfect choice for starters. Larger wheels provide top speed, but they don’t give enough acceleration. Smaller wheels offer high acceleration but low top speed.

Shape: Among sharp lips, beveled lips, and rounded lips, the sharp lip is an excellent choice for new riders. It gives the extra grip for safety, which is essential without any doubt for the best beginners longboards.

Contact Patch: Big contact patch is the ideal choice as it gives more grip than a narrow contact patch. The sharp lip wheels usually have a big contact patch.

Wheel Durometer: The durometer determines whether it’s a soft wheel or a hard wheel. The durometer unit is ‘A,’ Typically, the wheel durometer varies from 1A to 100A. Wheels having 1A is the softest one, and 100A is the hardest one.

Soft wheels offer better grip than harder wheels. But softer wheels run slower than their harder counterpart.

Core: Among the centerset, sideset, and offset, it’s wise to go for the centerset wheels. However, none of them are bad either.

3.4 Choosing Longboard Bearings

The ABEC rating determines the accuracy and preciseness of a wheel. The higher the rating is, the more precise and accurate the bearing is. For example, the ABEC-9 bearings are more accurate and precise than the ABEC-7 bearings. Some manufacturers don’t provide this ABEC rating, though.

4. Price

When buying a beginners longboard, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. However, it should be within a fair price range. I believe anything below $100 is quite an affordable price for beginner longboard.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Best Beginner Longboards

What are the core considerations for buying a beginner longboard?

Well, while choosing a beginner longboard, focus on one riding style, and that is cruising. At first, a beginner should learn to move from point A to point B, right? So, you have to make sure that a) if it’s cruising friendly longboards or not, b) if it provides stability or not, c) if it offers reasonable control and flexibility. d) if it gives a right turn. e) if it costs less. f) if it is a good option based on your weight and height or not.

Q: What is the perfect deck size for a beginner?

I don’t think you have to follow any hard rules here. However, I don’t suggest going for a too-long deck for a beginner longboard. Otherwise, it won’t be easy for them to control the board.

What is the perfect deck width for a beginner longboard?

Again, you don’t have to follow any hard rules here. Any board with a width of 7″ to 9″ is good to go. Wider ones provide more stability than narrower ones.

What is the deck material I should go for?

The combination of maple and bamboo is the best longboard skateboards for beginners option in this case. Because this combination doesn’t require you to spend too much money, on the other hand, it offers both flexibility and durability. However, only maple or only bamboo is also good to go.

Standard kingpin Vs. Reverse kingpin, which truck is suitable for the beginner?

I always prefer the reverse kingpin. Reverse kingpin gives more options to customize, offers more responsiveness and control than a standard kingpin. These are something you need to ensure for the top longboards for beginners.

Which bushing combination is right for beginner longboard?

Cone-cone is ok for a beginner. However, cone-barrel works well too to give both responsiveness and stability. All the beginner longboards that I reviewed here come with a cone-cone combination.

What is the perfect wheel size for a longboard for beginners?

70mm is considered to be the most common size. The bigger the size, the better it is for a beginner. All the longboards on my list have 70mm or more diameter except one.

What the heck is wheel durometer, and what is the best value?

A wheel durometer is a number between 1 to 100, and ‘A’ is used to denote the unit. The bigger the durometer, the harder the wheel is, and the harder the wheel is, the more suitable it is for heavy people.

What is the best price for a beginners longboard?

Anything under $100.

Is a drop-down longboard suitable for beginners?

Yes, drop-down longboards offers proper foot placement and control. So, a beginner will find it easy to move around.

What is the best longboard shape for beginners?

You should mostly look for a directional shape like a pintail or fishtail as a beginner. However, a symmetrical design like cut out or drop-down is also a perfect option.

What is the protective equipment required to prevent possible injuries?

Protective equipments like a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, slide gloves are some of the most used gears for longboarding. Helmet is the most essential gear.

Now, let’s list the top 10 best beginners longboards reviewed in this article.

Final Words

Let’s recap!

In this guide, I reviewed 10 top-quality longboards with their good and evil.

These are all well-accepted longboards by others, as well.

Meaning my review doesn’t reflect only my opinion but also some other real user’s opinion.

I didn’t want to make things too complicated. That’s why I mentioned only those crucial factors that might come in handy for you to decide.

Now it’s your turn! I’m sure finding the right longboard for beginners is not an overwhelming task for you anymore.

If you have anything more to ask to choose the right longboard, please comment below to get in touch. I will be happy to answer.