Awesome Skateboards

Burls Art has built some really interesting and unusual guitars over the years. His latest design features a body made by laminating together used skateboard decks, then assembling sections into a batwing design. The colorful cross-sections remind us of his jawbreaker guitar.

Stop your cat from clawing up your couch, and train them to do a 360 Varial Kickflip instead. While we’re not certain that SuckUK’s skateboard cat scratcher will turn your kitty into the next Tony Hawk or Bob Burnquist, it should keep their claws trimmed and their desire to destroy your furniture to a minimum.

The guys from Braille Skateboarding love to test out unusual skateboards. In this clip, they show off an insane custom board with 10 trucks and 20 wheels. You might think that would make it faster, but all of those wheels increase friction and also mess with its maneuverability. Still, it’s fun to watch them attempt to ride this mutant.

A few years back, Lexus created a working prototype of a Hoverboard. But it required a special supercooled track. Hacksmith Industries worked with engineer Jimmy Zhou to create a version that uses rapidly-spinning magnets. Plus it looks like the board that Marty McFly rode in the movie. Check out part one of the build here.

“Surf your skate” is Bureo and Carver Skateboards’ motto for The Ahi, a performance board made from recycled fishing nets. Combining Carver’s tech with Bureo’s NetPlus materials, it’s a 27”x 9” concave-deck, double-kicktail cruiser. Made in Cali with a reverse king-pinned truck system and roundhouse wheels.

Maker Ivan Miranda’s electric off-road vehicle is built more like a tank than a skateboard, riding on motorized, 3D-printed tracks instead of wheels. The drivetrain engineering is impressive, but is it powerful enough to climb a hill while he’s riding on it?

Inspired by the gigantic skateboard that Rob Dyrdek used to show off on, metalsmith Paul Pinto set out to build one that’s not as fancy, but still ridiculously long. The finished metal and wood skateboard measures 25 ft. long. It turns out that Dyrdek’s ride was over 36 ft. long, so it still holds the world record.

With its short, wide stance, and built-in handle cutouts the elos skateboard is designed for easy carrying, and offers smooth, stable riding even for beginners. It’s got large, soft 72mm wheels, adjustable steering tension, and can make sharp turns.

Urban Rover’s stubby electric skateboard is great for weaving in and out of tight places. At just 17″ long, it’s small enough to toss in your backpack, and this premium model features a 250W motor that can hit speeds up to 15mph. It’s controlled by a wireless remote that offers three different speed settings. Save big in The Awesomer Shop.

We’ve seen lots of nifty objects made from old skateboard decks, but what Woby Designs is showing off here is something different. By laminating together 20 wood decks, he was able to create a usable lumber with a colorful pattern running through its center. The prep work looks like the most time-consuming part.

This rugged electric skateboard is built for all-terrain riding. It features 4-wheel independent suspension and an impressive 6.1″ ground clearance to take you over the roughest surfaces. It comes in 2WD or 4WD configs, with 2000W or 4000W of power, respectively. Top speed for both boards is 27 mph.

Traqpod’s unique skateboard features a flexible, concave deck, and front and rear trucks that pivot, enabling tight turns and a stable, controlled ride. It has a high grip rubber surface, its trucks fold up for storage, and includes a matching wall hanger.

Usually, you want the deck of a skateboard to be made from wood, fiberglass, or maybe a durable composite. But maker James Bruton wanted to see if he could build one using cardboard. His design takes advantage of the structural rigidity of poster tubes, stacked and glued together to help distribute weight.

Skate4create makes all kinds of nifty items from recycled skateboard decks. One of our faves is this unique Qi wireless charger. It’s one of the few we’ve seen that doesn’t just look like a hunk of plastic, and we’d be happy to display it on our desk, with or without a phone sitting on it.

Electric skateboard maker Onewheel hacked a Yeti cooler on top of of one of their self-balancing boards, letting its rider carry around chilled drinks without dragging around a separate cooler. They built this one-off prototype on a whim, but we kind of dig the idea.

Engineer Kim Pimmel decided that his cat MIDI needed a new mode of transportation, so he built him an electric skateboard. What makes this board unique is the throttle control that holds a treat, incenting kitty to bat at it and make the board move.

Maker James Bruton is a big fan of 3D printing. In this video, he uses his Lulzbot HS+1.2 heavy duty print head to output carbon fiber reinforced plastic filament to create a skateboard with a unique structure. He then takes it for a spin to see just how strong it is.

Kousheek Chakraborty and Satya Schiavina of Technovation show off a nifty design for a longboard with an quarter iso-grid cardboard center sandwiched between two layers of acrylic. While it looks reasonably stable for slow cruising, we’re not sure you’d want to do tricks on it. Check out the full build log on Instructables.

Industrial designer Chia-Wei shows off a slick prototype for a mini-cruiser skateboard that can be collapsed down into a circular shape when not in use. It uses a series of hinged braces that unfold into a familiar oval skateboard shape with enough strength to be ridden on.

While the only moving parts on most skateboards are the trucks and wheels, Matt Tomasello wanted something more complex. So he set about building some wacky skateboards which can change form as he jumps off and back onto them. Matt shows off his wares and his trick skills in this compilation video from JENKEM.

Jackman Works loves to make things by recycling old wooden shipping pallets. In this video, he takes a bunch of the beat up old wood, slices it into sheets, laminates them, and trims them into some sweet looking, street-style skateboards. It’s interesting to see how he shapes the wood with the vacuum bag.

Reminisce about the days of OG skate videos with these sweet skateboard decks. New York-based skateboard maker 5BORO adds to its limited-edition VHS collection with four sick new designs. Each board comes in two sizes.

Aluminati Boards makes skateboard decks out of recycled aircraft aluminum. Aside from a wide variety of original designs, it also offers officially-licensed decks and cruisers that rock NBA and NHL team logos in both modern and vintage styles.

Riptide worked with Waterborne Skateboards to create the Riptide R1 Black, an electric skateboard made for aggressive carving. It has a rear adapter that ensures stability even when torquing at 18mph. It also has a kick tail, soft urethane wheels, and built-in handles.

Exway’s new X1 Pro is rated one of the best electric skateboards you can get for under $1000. It has an unlockable top speed of 29 mph, 16 mi range, 85 mm wheels and dust- and water-resistance. Its app lets you adjust the board’s acceleration and speed.

Onewheel’s entry-level single-wheel skateboard is lighter, smaller, and more nimble than the standard OneWheel XR. It has a built-in handle, LED lights and an easy dismount mode. It goes up to 16 mph and lasts up to 8 mi per charge.