The 4 Main Longboard Deck Materials

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The 4 Main Longboard Deck Materials
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• Longboards are layers of thin wooden material,
  whether it be maple, bamboo, birch, etc, that
  have been glued and pressed together in a mold to
  give the board it's desired shape. The amount of
  actual layers of wood that is used during a board
  pressing is referred to as the number of 'plys'.
  Just like plywood consists of multiple layers or
  'plys', so does  a longboard. Boards can simply
  be one solid piece of wood, but typically boards
  range from 3 up to 12 plys.

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1. Bamboo 

• Usually 5ply to 8ply , which is the amount of
  layers pressed together to form board. If 5ply or
  close to,  bamboo boards are fairly light
  compared to other board that are comprised of
  denser, heavier materials with additional layers.
  Bamboo boards offer a ton of flex and spring,
  which is good for beginners because the board
  offers "forgiveness" to riders.

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• Good at absorbing bumps and cracks without
  throwing rider off (also depends on the
  durometer, hardness, of wheels). This flex allows
  riders to lean deeper and harder into their board
  and let the board absorb the weight transfer in
  order to make sharper more crisp turns (also
  depends on how lose rider sets their trucks at).
  Flexible boards such as bamboo, are usually meant
  for cruising and carving at lower speeds since
  the "springiness" of the board can potentially
  contribute to riders getting the "DEATH WOBBLES"
  while straight lining at high speeds.

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• Also, while bamboo boards can definitely be used
  for casual sliding, if the desired riding style
  is mainly big hill sliding,  a bamboo
  board is not recommended. The aforementioned sprin
  giness of  a bamboo board causes some 'chatter'
  or reverberation through the board while in a
  slide and would cause an uneasy downhill mountain
  ride.

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          Recommended  Riding Styles and Setups

• Cruiser Setup 
• Freestyle Setup
• Dancing Setup

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2. Maple 

• Usually anywhere between 5ply and 8ply, or
  layered in an alternating pattern with bamboo,
  since maple is such a hard, sturdy wood. If 5ply
  or close to, than boards are pretty heavy
  similar to birch but maybe a bit on the heavier
  side. Maple Boards are usually made for downhill
  style boards and going fast! Maple boards,
  depending on style/ shape of board usually allow
  for sliding.

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         Recommended  Riding Styles and Setups

• Downhill Setup 
• Free-ride Setup
• Technical Street Setup

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3. Birch 

• Usually 9 to 12ply, creating a significantly
  heavier board than bamboo but not quite as heavy
  as maple 5 - 8 ply boards. Birch is unique in the
  sense that it is almost a happy medium between
  bamboo and maple. Birch boards are stiff but
  offer a little flex which makes them versatile
  and capable of achieving both maple and bamboo
  board abilities (if the rest of rider's setup is
  correct, trucks and wheels). Usually cheaper than
  both maple or bamboo boards and can even be made
  by anyone who has a few tools.

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 Recommended  Riding Styles and Setups

• Downhill Setup 
• Free-ride Setup
• Cruiser Setup
• Freestyle Setup
• Dancing Setup

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4. HYBRID, COMPOSITE 

• Usually interwoven with fiberglass and another
  material such as maple or bamboo. Boards layered
  with fiberglass offer more of a 'pop' and
  'springiness' to the board, similar to bamboo
  boards. However boards hybrid composite boards
  are pretty much in constant flex while being
  ridden, which allows for more weight transfer
  into turns as well as offering the rider to
  compress the board for early grabs or load up the
  pop and springiness for pop-shuvits.

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• Since hybrid boards compress they usually are
  more forgiving than boards constructed of one
  type of wood and can withstand more pressure on
  them at once without simply breaking in half (be
  aware that the flex in the board can cause them
  to bottom out). Depending on which company is
  making the particular hybrid board (Loaded,
  Original, Bustin, NeverSummer, etc.) will depend
  on the flexes that each company offers. Example,
  Loaded and their flex chart is as follows Flex
  1- up to 270 lb. rider, Flex 2- 130 lb. - 210 lb.
  rider, and Flex 3- 80 lb- 170 lb rider. 

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Recommended  Riding Styles and SetupsCruiser

• Setup 
• Freestyle Setup
• Dancing Setup

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