Gear

Back in the day I worked in a skateshop. It didn't really pay much, but I got a great discount on equipment, which makes it hard getting back into the sport and having to pay full price for everything!

The good news is that retail price for skateboarding equipment hasn't changed much at all in the last 15 years. A complete skateboard is still around $120 US, kneepads are still around $30, and good shoes still go for around $50. Even better, I've begun to discover that all the equipment and gear is way better than what we had in the early 90s. Boards are light, symmetrical, and beautifully concave. Pads are lighter but seem better-padded than before. And from reading some reviews it sounds like shoes have come light years.

I'll probably make several posts on gear in the coming weeks, but I'm going to start by listing what I've got right now and what I think of it all:

Board

Like I said earlier, I did buy a new board about 7 years ago hoping to get into skating then, but didn't really put much wear on it. So my deck, an Alien Workshop Rob Drydeck from 2000, is a bit old, but not in bad condition. Alien Workshop was a great up-and-coming brand when I was getting out of skating, and so I had to try it. I really love the pop on this board, and it just feels good under my feet.

The deck's pretty narrow, but I chose that on purpose because I used to freestyle a lot, and actually am used to a tiny board. (Speaking of which, I cut the a strip of tape off the nose for pain-free finger flips, and put a small strip on the underside of the tail for caspers. Old school, right?) Anyway, I think my choice of deck was a good one, as I'm having lots of fun on this so far. Lucky me!

I actually can't say what my trucks are, but I can say what they aren't: they aren't Independent and they aren't Gullwings. I guess Gullwing's not around any more, eh? Anyway my trucks seem alright, but my next deck+trucks will need to match each other exactly in width so I can do my old-school freestyle tricks with a less difficulty.

Wheels. Does this matter? Correct me if I'm wrong, but so long as you have medium-size, medium-hardness wheels there's not much to say about wheels. I remember springing for the good Swiss bearings, but I didn't obsess over hardness and size like I did when I was a kid (soft for street and hard for vert, isn't it?)

Pads

The only pads I own are a pair of older Pro-Tec wrist guards. I never wore pads except for wrist guards and shin guards on street, and only ever wore knee pads and a helmet on ramps. Right now I'm fine with just the wrist guards, but when I venture back into a skate park I'll need some new kneepads and a helmet, so I'll be looking for reviews and recommendations.

Shoes

Man, I'm wearing Chuck Taylor All-Stars. These are just the classic black high-tops. I've owned a pair of Chucks perpetually since Middle School, and I still love 'em, especially for lounging around. What I'm finding, though, is that they're no good for street skating. So I think the first thing I go shopping for will be some new shoes.