The 8 Best Longboards to Buy in 2018

The Ten Toes Board Emporium ZED Bamboo Longboard Cruiser is one of the best selling skateboards because of its versatility and quality. The 44-inch board features a tough and lightweight bamboo and maple deck in the easy-to-ride cruiser shape. With a dozen fun and summery colors, you’ll feel like you’re on a southern California boardwalk when you ride this beautiful board.

With hundreds of five-star reviews, ZED owners agree that they love the board for its quality components. When you buy this stylish cruiser, you get lightweight 7-inch aluminum trucks, ABEC-7 bearings, responsive reverse kingpins, great grip tape, and PU-cast black bushings. The “buttery” smooth 70-millimeter wheels are great as well, made of 85a PU with a rock finish. The deck also features a minimal kick tail to let more advanced riders do some tricks as they cruise.

This longboard comes fully assembled and ready to ride. The quality hardware and superb wheels mean that you can cruise, roll, or ride with ease for hours. The board can be used for more advanced tricks or beginner-level travel needs. If you buy the ZED, you’ll simply love riding it.

One of the best ways to ride a longboard is to carve down a well-paved hill. This side to side riding is akin to slalom skiing and creates a beautiful and hypnotic trail in your path. As you ride from one side of the street to the other, cutting across the road, you maximize your momentum and enjoyment. This type of riding can be free riding, actual slaloming, racing, or just having fun with friends. But the best way to carve downhill is with a low and stable board like the Atom Drop Through.

This ultra-low board features a maple drop-through deck with exposed wheels. Without any wheel bite and featuring a deck that maxes out at 9.6 inches of leverage, it’s hard not carve up a roadway on this board. The longboard sports 245-millimeter axles and a reverse kingpin. This 41-inch board is optimal for downhill riding but can quickly be upgraded to a true cruiser with a new set of bearings as well. The Atom Drop Through features a one-year warranty as well.

Why kick and push when you can just hop on and glide? The BLIZART Huracane is an electric longboard that delivers all of the benefits of a great longboard with just about none of the work. Very popular on college campuses and hip urban neighborhoods, the BLIZART Huracane is easy to use and makes travel a breeze.

The 38-inch Huracane runs on a 350-watt brushless hub-motor, which are quieter and more reliable than the belt-motors used by other boards. Like any longboard, the Huracane features a good deck and smooth-rolling wheels. The drop-through six-ply deck is made of maple and bamboo and features a durable grip tape.

To ride the Huracane, make sure the 36-volt lithium-ion battery is fully charged—the battery can run for 10 miles on one charge and only takes 2.5 hours to fully charge. Once your battery is good, hop on the board and control your direction and speed with the “ergonomic” wireless remote. The board has two speeds and directionals, with a maximum speed of 17 miles per hour. The board comes fully assembled and in four colors: black, green, red, and orange.

Like so many sports, it can be expensive to get started. But unlike golf or cycling, you can get a good, fun longboard without paying too much. The MAGIC UNION Drop Down longboard is a budget-friendly 41-inch longboard that is made of quality hardware and perfect for people of various skill levels. This board is ideal for freestyle riding, speed racing and downhill riding. It’s a great gift option as well.

The MAGIC UNION board will first catch your eye with its abstract deck art and stylish two lines in the the grip tape atop the board. However, the concave deck itself is made of a strong and versatile 9-ply Super-Flex maple. This “budget” board sports great 70-millimeter polyurethane wheels, ABEC-11 steel bearings, 7-inch lightweight aluminum trucks and even shock absorption rings. These quality hardware pieces combine for a ride that is smoother, quieter, and faster than many other boards on the market. The board delivers a particularly low center of gravity and allows for wide turns. It's ideal for riding hills and cruising around town.

Being a beginner longboarder may be less daunting than a beginner skateboarder. You won’t have to bang up your shins and hurt your ankles on a million failed ollies before you get the hang. Beginners can quickly pick up the basics of longboarding and have some fun long before they’re ready for advanced moves. If you are a beginner or you’re looking to get someone into the sport of longboarding, the Quest Super Cruiser is an excellent entry point.

The Quest Super Cruiser is a surfboard-shaped cruiser with a long 44-inch deck. Made with bamboo and maple, the longboard has a 7-ply deck and aluminum trucks. These boards are made in the U.S. and are designed for Malibu and San Diego where the sport originated. Quest features several designs that are more stylish and simplistic. Despite its brand name and beginner-friendliness, this board is also reasonably priced.

If you live in any part of the U.S. where it’s cold half of the year, where the pavement isn’t as pristine as the SoCal boardwalks where longboarding began, you may want to try an all-terrain longboard. Perfect for tough concrete, dirt trails, and college campuses, the MBS All-Terrain Longboard gives you a travel option that can handle the realities of skateboarding most places.

This 41-inch board has a super low, drop-down deck made with stiff, 10-ply maple-lam. While many boards have a maple-based deck, what sets the MBS longboard apart is the wheels. These 100-by-65-millimeter, treaded, 78A high-rebound polyurethane wheels can handle it all. MBS explains these wheels as balancing traction and speed to help you get wherever you’re going on time, regardless of the terrain.

The 190-millimeter Navigator Drone trucks and rubber-shielded ABEC-9 bearings also help deliver a board that is tough, rugged, and smooth to ride. The board comes assembled and is the perfect option for anyone who likes to longboard but feels restricted by the borders of the pavement.

Getting around a college campus can be a pain. Cars are often inefficient and parking is difficult. Buses are crammed. Biking can be annoying with pedestrians and locks. That’s why many college students opt for a longboard. Perfect for a small liberal arts school or a mammoth state school, longboards can help you get where you need to go and take up minimal dorm space. The VOLADOR 42-inch longboard is an excellent option for college students across the country.

This drop-through board sports a concave deck ideal for cruising, freeriding, and just getting around. The 8-ply hardrock maple deck is tough enough to put up to the wear and tear of a college student and the one dozen designs allow everyone to choose the board that fits their style.

This longboard boasts an adjustable 7-inch reverse kingpin truck set. You can put them at 45- or 50-degree settings. Additionally, the 70-by-51-millimeter 78A PU wheels and ABEC-9 bearings help turn every push you make into a smooth ride past the quad. This board is designed to be both fast and stable, with easy turns from the concave deck. VOLADOR’s boards are also made with environmentally friendly techniques, such as non-methanal epoxy.

A longboard for kids isn’t the same as one for adults. If your young child wants to try his or her hand at the longboard cruising life, check out the Penny 27-inch Nickel skateboard. This easy-rolling board will help kids experience the benefits of longboarding, but at a more manageable size—one that isn’t longer than they are tall.

The Penny Nickel board includes a cruising deck that is 7.5-inches wide. The board is colorful and available in several designs. Despite the fun designs, this children’s longboard option has good hardware including ABEC-7 bearings and 78A Penny Wheels. Ideal for kids who live near a shallow and traffic-safe hill, this board will allow them to get around and play with friends. Grab your longboard, get your kid the Penny Nickel and hit a paved trail for an afternoon of skating.