The Salty Shreds Surfskate Guide

All Things Salty Shreds, from the Socks to the Surfskates.

An embodiment of the relationship between surfing and skateboarding, a surfskate is a killer way to pass a flat spell, enhance your surfing, and make memories with your groms. Shred the endless concrete wave as you relish laughter, hoots, and hollers echoing from their stoked-out little souls.

For real, you can carve a surfskate with big pumps and sweet S-turns without touching your foot to the ground, replicating surf maneuvers as you snap, cutback, and layback into the transition of any angled concrete slab or bowl.

These things are sweet, so if you're new to the surf and skate lifestyle and surfskating, if you've never heard of a surfskate before, or if you want to learn more about your next favorite shred stick, here's the total rundown.

Let's keep it simple: a surfskate is a style of skateboard that allows for surfing-like turns and maneuvers on the land.

And here's how that's accomplished:

Surfskate wheels are larger than skateboard wheels but smaller than longboard wheels, giving them a cruiser-like feel while still allowing for sick, progressive turns. They're typically on the softer side to promote grip during these surf-like turns, and if you like to powerslide a bit more, then go for a slightly harder version of a cruiser wheel.

Some surfskate trucks are explicitly altered for this purpose, but you can also purchase a surf adapter to turn any board into a surfskate. Our surfskates feature the Carver C7 truck, the leading surfskate truck to ever see the streets.

What are the differences between surfskating, standard skateboarding, and longboarding? It's good to know, as each is unique, and this will help you learn more about what you can do with this endlessly-fun skateboard style.

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With skateboarding, you can perform flip tricks, drop in quarter pipes, ollie down stairs or up curves, grind rails and ride every obstacle at the skatepark. It's the intensive, classic form of skating where creativity shines in the ability to ride concrete obstacles with style and flair, but it's not for the weak!

Skating is no joke, and learning a new trick is never easy. But that's why we love it, right?

With surfskating, you're not going to ollie your board or frontside boardslide a rail, as the board shape and fat wheels do not allow for pop. You can still rip at the skatepark, but you'll be performing turns that don't require the nose to lift off the ramp. Think pumping a bowl or slashing quarter pipe- you won't be doing much on/off the coping.

Watch the video below and you'll get a better idea of what progressive surfskating looks like.

Although you can add surfskate trucks to a longer deck, there is still a big difference between the two. When longboarding, you're looking to bomb hills, do big turns, and powerslide. Surfskating? Yeah, not so much with the hills …

Surfskating and big hills do not mesh well, as the free movement of the trucks makes them susceptible to speed wobbles. Sure, you can ride a mellow hill when you know what you're doing and can control your speed, but really, surfskates are about creating your own speed via pumping on flatter surfaces.

Longboards are great for turning down hills, but the deck is too long to bank off of any transitions or turn like a surfboard, and that's where a surfskate is a little bit of everything, the best of both worlds brought to life with this killer versatility.

If you do enjoy going down hills, opt for a longer surfskate, as the more extensive deck will increase stability and accommodate a wider surface area for better balance. But be careful and never push your limits. Save bombing a legit hill for the longboards.

Bombing a Hill in Classic Longboard Style.

Many surfers hail surfskating as one of the best out-of-water training exercises, and I'm with them on that. Because surfskating perfectly replicates the motions of surfing, from body movements to board and foot adjustments, it's a beautiful, exciting way to enhance your surfing skill sets further.

If you are teaching a grom how to surf, I highly suggest incorporating a few surfskate sessions into this training. After all, it's my absolute favorite surf accessory.

First and foremost, it will lay the foundation of their sideways-standing board balance on a surface that feels slightly 'rolly' like a surfboard, helping them understand toe/heel rails and how they play a role in turns.

You do not have to skateboard OR surf to start learning how to surfskate! That's the beauty of it, as surfskating brings the feeling of surfing to those without access to the ocean.

Regardless of your skateboarding or surfing experience, even if you have none at all, and irrespective of your age, there is never a bad time to start surfskating!

Surfskating requires a lot of balance, so you'll just have to start slowly and simply. It won't take more than just a few sessions of practice before you are comfortable riding and pushing your board, and you'll learn how to pump your board in no time! I suggest starting with a slightly larger, wider board to help create more stability and provide a larger base as you learn, and don't be mad if you get a scraped knee or two!

With three surf groms and countless hours with my feet on the grip tape, here's a few things I have learned about surfskating to help ya along the way:

Where will Your Surfskate Take you Next?

This can lead to rusty, sticky trucks/bearings and a waterlogged board.

Keep your surfskate out of the weather and properly stored to get the most out of its lifetime, which is practically forever when you care for them right!

If your board gets a little wet and the bearings start to stick, only use a bearing cleaner product made specifically for this purpose and not WD40, as WD40 will dry out the needed lubricant in the bearings and attract dust.

It doesn't take much to totally eat it on a surfskate. Play it safe by wearing pads, and work on passing pad-positivity to your grom!

Skateparks are made primarily for standard skateboards, so we have to practice respect for those skateboarding 'the classic way'. Because a surfskate covers ground so quickly and aims to perform more flowing maneuvers, be mindful of other skaters and always give them the right of way.

A surfskate is one of those things I always bring to the beach. It helps keep energized kids busy, as we often switch off skating sessions for an hour on the sand, and they are the absolute best way to stay satisfied during bummer flat spells.

The best part of a surfskate is the creativity. Look for angled concrete to carve, small hills for big turns, and any other obstacle that looks like a man-made wave ready to rip. Allow your mind to turn the world into your wave park, and have fun drawing new lines down sidewalks and alleys.

Considering we often ride surfskates at the beach, and with dirt getting stuck up in our soles, it's good to give your feet a few solid stomps before stepping on the grip.

Speaking of grip tape, did you know that you can actually clean your grip tape? To keep the grip grippy and looking fresh, give the top of your surfskate a good clean every once in a while. It'll help you get the best out of your stick, just like applying a new layer of surf wax to your board!

Be mindful of surfskate maintenance. After a few sessions, double-check that all bolts are nice and tight in place. If you want to experiment, learn how loosening and tightening your trucks affect performance as you understand what you like best.

And for those who like to show off a touch more art with a bit of old-school kombi nostalgia, you'll love our Salty Shreds Kombi Surfskate as it inspires dreams of travel while you cruise blissfully down winding sideroads. Both are available for pre-order now!

We'd love to hear what you think about them, so please, drop a comment in the comment section with your thoughts/feedback!! Where will you shred your surfskate next? We want to know!