Which Carver Skateboard?

[oldenglish]

Cool. To start with, I really want to work on my pumping and smooth sweeping turns, I feel like those are the first things to improve and then move on to sharper turns, cutbacks and so forth. So ideally I'd like a board that excels in all those aspects. I was looking at the various 31" models (Fort Knox, Monsta and Resin). Wasn't really sure of the pros and cons of each of those. But I was also hoping the board would be long enough so that I could maintain the normal width of my surfing stance. I figured maintaining the same width would help the things learned on the street carry over easier to the water. What are your guys thoughts on that? I'm pretty tall, 6' 3", so I probably have a slightly wider stance than average because of the long legs. One of 31 inch boards might be long enough, hard to say, it would be close. It wouldn't be the end of the world to narrow my stance slightly, but I worry if it would have an adverse effect on my surfing? I was looking at the 34 inch Greenroom complete thinking maybe the longer board there would be better for someone taller like myself. Advice?

Edit: I should clarify I'm not interested in bombing hills or anything like that. Parking lots, roads, inclined driveways and stuff. I'm sure I'll have a blast with it but its mostly going to be a surfing crosstrainer for me. I want to take my surfing to the next level

I have the monsta carver. It has definitely helped me improve on linking turns and planning ahead on the wave. The weight distribution seems to mimic the turning of a surfboard pretty well. My only complaint is the pumping really doesn't reflect well on surfboard pumping imo. As of now I pump down the frontside line by unweighting and pressing on my toes a little and then weighting and pressing down on my heels a little. This is very similar to how I pump when skating bowls. Do people really pump down the line just by wiggling their hips back and forth? I am still fairly new to surfing and my shortest board is a 6'6 so maybe it will be different on a shorter less floaty board.

[gallerysurfboards]

Cool. To start with, I really want to work on my pumping and smooth sweeping turns, I feel like those are the first things to improve and then move on to sharper turns, cutbacks and so forth. So ideally I'd like a board that excels in all those aspects. I was looking at the various 31" models (Fort Knox, Monsta and Resin). Wasn't really sure of the pros and cons of each of those. But I was also hoping the board would be long enough so that I could maintain the normal width of my surfing stance. I figured maintaining the same width would help the things learned on the street carry over easier to the water. What are your guys thoughts on that? I'm pretty tall, 6' 3", so I probably have a slightly wider stance than average because of the long legs. One of 31 inch boards might be long enough, hard to say, it would be close. It wouldn't be the end of the world to narrow my stance slightly, but I worry if it would have an adverse effect on my surfing? I was looking at the 34 inch Greenroom complete thinking maybe the longer board there would be better for someone taller like myself. Advice?

Edit: I should clarify I'm not interested in bombing hills or anything like that. Parking lots, roads, inclined driveways and stuff. I'm sure I'll have a blast with it but its mostly going to be a surfing crosstrainer for me. I want to take my surfing to the next level

31 will most definitely be too short for your surfing stance at 6'3". I'm 5'9" and the 38 fits my stance. The 31 will be more playful, but if you want to maintain your surfing stance you will need to go 38 or possibly longer.

[OldSoul]

My primary board is a 5'8 quad fish in the water..i just recently got the carver resin (31") and it is awesome. I noticed a difference in my surfing immediately when I was out for the first time after using the skate board. I am used to riding drop through long boards with conventional trucks, and it was weird to get used to the carver, but its all i ride now. When i ride the carver I have my back foot right where the kick tail starts to rise up and my front foot is generally on top of the front wheels to give an idea of stance... i am 6'0 tall for the record.

[LoHoAloha]

My first Carver was a LOLA (36" deck, 20 1/2" wheelbase). It was fun for carving down small hills or on banks, but it was a bit of an effort for me to pump it on the flats. I'm 5'11" and 180 lbs. Then I got the Fraktal ( (33" deck, 16" wheelbase) and that's perfect. It pumps effortlessly on flat ground and I can do really tight radius turns on it. It feels like a thruster the way it accelerates out of turns when I put pressure on my back foot. I think wheelbase relative to your height and weight is probably the key to getting the performance you want out of one of these boards. The longer wheelbase of the LOLA wasn't quite right for me, but my friend who is 6'2 and 220 lbs could pump it easily. I agree that these are a great training tool and super fun, a lifesaver for an East Coast surfer. Good luck and enjoy!

[GrantLee]

Alright I think I might settle with the 34" Greenroom. It is their biggest surfskate board, and I definitely want a surfskate. I figure the couple extra inches will help a tall guy like me, but it should still be easy enough to skate it aggressively. Anyone ever ridden the Greenroom? OldSoul, is your stance on your Carver narrower than on your fish? And if so, does it feel awkward switching back and forth? I've never skated before so I'm not sure what to expect, hence the noobish questions. I've heard some lifelong skaters turned surfers say that it is initially hard to learn how to stand with a wider stance for surfing.

[SJerzSrfr]

i got a chance to ride the TK carver this weekend and all i gotta say is wow!! so much fun. i skated all throughout high school and early college until i blew out my ankles over and over again and was out of the water more than i was in because of it. so i gave it up. now im 32, and i jump on that thing this weekend and im ready to start skating again. should be a bit easier on the ankles not doing flip tricks and just riding it for surfing. so anyone in the south jersey area have a used one they want to sell. $200+ brand new is a bit steep right now. but anyway, those things are sick.

[tonylamont]

I have two Carvers: the Venice (36") and the Flowmaster (42"). I have also ridden a friend's Monsta (31"). Strangely, I love riding the Flowmaster in pools, it just seems a lot less squirrelly than the shorter models and more like surfing (to me, anyway). Though lots of people think I'm crazy riding one that long.

If you are used to double-kick boards I think the Venice is a good choice, it has a shorter wheelbase than you'd think. The 31" models are too short for my tastes.

[OldSoul]

GrantLee, my stance is about the same on both boards (probably a little wider on the fish) I dont really have a wide stance to begin with though. I think a 34" will be okay for you, these are fun little boards that will help you become more fluent in using your rear leg to pump through sections and develop power out of turns. The wheels they come with are not to bad either, they slide pretty easily when you want them to... fun boards man...

[Captainpanic]

Which truck would everyone recomend? The C7 or the CX?

I'm a new surfer (skated a ton when I was younger, but not recently) and was thinking of either the 34" Greenroom or the 36" Lola. Being new to surfing, I'm only riding long boards.
Any recommendations?

[tonylamont]

Which truck would everyone recomend? The C7 or the CX?

I'm a new surfer (skated a ton when I was younger, but not recently) and was thinking of either the 34" Greenroom or the 36" Lola. Being new to surfing, I'm only riding long boards.
Any recommendations?

I'd go with the C7, it's the original and closer to surfing. I'm a fairly new / lousy surfer and it's helped me a lot - at least with the 10% of surfing that happens after you catch the wave and stand up. The CX is probably closer to a traditional skateboard but that's not why you ride a Carver.