Penny skateboards have their value right in their names – a penny.
For those who don’t know, Penny skateboards is a company that manufactures retro styled skateboards. They are shaped to resemble 1970 era skateboards that were made of plastic.
The small size of the skateboards make them easy to store and carry. It is also their size that makes them dangerous. There’s barely any room to properly place your feet on the surface. My feet were left hanging off the edges by several inches which made leaning to turn all the more difficult. Penny does sell larger “nickel” series boards which are about 27 inches in length. That’s still not as long as a regular street skateboard but it’s a far cry from the micro boards most students seem to purchase.
The largest safety hazard these boards possess is they are sold assembled without grip tape.
Grip tape is the sandpaper like paper that goes on top of most skateboards on long boards. It’s purpose is very simple: to grip you.
Go to any Walmart or Kmart and look at the section where the pre-built skateboards are. Despite being of an absolutely terrible quality, they all come with grip tape.
To the individual who has just started skateboarding or simply wants to look trendier than an Urban Outfitters summer catalog, a penny board seems like a good idea. They retail for approximately $100 with even cheaper imitations online and are sold both in stores and online pre-built. The average student who purchases one will assume they are good to go and while they will indeed be able to roll around it will by no means be safe.
I’ve seen over a dozen students riding small penny boards, book bags in tow and no grip tape. I’ve even seen people ride them in the rain. You shouldn’t even be riding in the rain with regular skateboards that have good grip tape.
Pennyboards are small fun boards for those who like a challenge, but I do not recommend them for beginner and recreational skateboarders or just about anyone who doesn’t want a challenging experience riding.
Without grip tape they are unstable. Even with grip tape the grooves on the boards upper part make tearing through the tape much easier. If the tape stays on and doesn’t begin to peel or tear the actual board itself is not as responsive as a traditional wooden board or “deck.” The trucks, the aluminum turning mechanism under the board, are engineered off technology that predates the very era the whole skateboard seeks to imitate. They are narrow and don’t provide for much stability, best suited for straight lines or slalom style skating.
If you want to properly get into skateboarding around campus effectively, look into “long boards” or for a more compact option “cruiser skateboards.”
A Penny may cost around $100 and comes in a variety of attractive colors, but for performance and safety my extra $50 to $100 will go to a cruiser or long board with wider trucks, a wooden deck and most importantly of all- some grip.
diego.saldana@fiusm.com
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