The Strongest Skateboards: Comparison Review of the Best Skate Deck Technology

Here is a comparison review of all of the new carbon fiber skateboard decks. Brands like Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz, Almost, Girl, and Lithe have started to add carbon fiber layers along with the normal maple plys that skateboards are traditionally made with. I bought all of these decks to test them out. If you’re wondering which is the best carbon fiber skate deck, you’re in the right place.

So let’s get right to it.

The Best Carbon Fiber Skateboards Are:

1. The Santa Cruz VX Skateboard Deck: My top choice / Best overall / Nice concave
2. The Powell Flight Skateboard Deck: Best for slide tricks
3. The Almost Impact Light Skateboard Deck: Best on a budget
4. The Girl Pop Secret Skateboard Deck: Best value / Nice pop
5. The Blind R7 Skateboard Deck: Excellent shape / Stayed Strong / Feels exactly like the VX deck and around $20 cheaper
6. The Lithe Slate & Nex Skateboard Decks: Best for reducing razor tail / Keeps its shape

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Santa Cruz VX Deck

Pros:

• The Strongest Skate Deck – 2 Special / Carbon Fiber Layers with 5 Maple Ply Layers
• Excellent shape – Concave is perfection
• It doesn’t get soft or soggy overtime. This feels the same on day one and day fifty one.

Cons:

• It gets razor tail like any other wood deck.
• It is about $15 – $20 more than a seven-ply normal skate deck.

Sizes:

The vx Deck comes in a variety of widths. 7.75″, 8″, 8.25″, 8.38″, 8.5″ and 8.8″

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Powell Flight Deck

Pros:

• One of the strongest skateboard decks you can buy.
• Holds its shape the same on the first and last day you skate it.
• Excellent pop – The carbon in this makes the board retain its shape and it gives it a dream level of pop
• Mellow concave
• Slides well
• Made in America

Cons:

• The maple on the sides of the deck chips easily.
• The shape took some getting used to. It runs a bit wider than advertised right over the trucks.

Sizes:

It is available in 8.0″ x 31.45″, 8.25″ x 31.95″, 8.5″ x 32.08″, 8.75″ x 32.95″, 9.0″ x 32.95″ sizes. It is also available in two concave shapes. One is traditional and there other is symmetrical.

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Girl Pop Secret Skate Deck

Pros:

• One of the strongest maple and carbon fiber skateboard decks you can buy.
• Gets razor tail slower than Santa Cruz VX or Powell Flight – due to their being more maple plys in the deck.
• Doesn’t get that soggy used feeling of a traditional seven-ply deck
• The coating used over the graphic makes it slide nicely and preserves the graphic
• The shape of the deck is awesome.
• It is cheaper than a VX or Flight deck.

Cons:

• It is still prone to chipping
• It is more expensive than a wooden deck by $10 – $15 (and it sells out fast)
• It does get pressure cracks – This didn’t start until around 30 days into the review.
• It still gets razor tail just like the other carbon fiber skate decks.
• It feels heavier than other comparable decks.

Sizes:

The vx Deck comes in a variety of widths. It is available in 8″, 8.25″, 8.375″, 8.5″, and 8.6″ widths.

For this review, I skate the 8″ x 31.83″ G008 shape.

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Blind R7 Skateboard Deck

The Blind R7 Decks feel very similar to the Santa Cruz VX deck. However, they are around $20 less expensive. These decks are guaranteed against breaking for 30 days. They are made with an epoxy based glue that makes them feel stiffer and stronger than a traditional maple skateboard. If you’re looking for one of the strongest skateboards you can get without spending a lot, definitely try a Blind R7 Deck. Check out our Blind R7 Skate deck review.

Pros:

• Strong decks that are made of 7 maple plys reinforced with epoxy resin
• 30 day warranty against breakage
• Medium concave
• A ton of pop / Steeper nose and tail
• Priced the same as a standard skate deck / About $20 cheaper than a carbon fiber skate deck (and skates just as well)

Cons:

• Gets razor tail just like any maple deck

Sizes:

These decks are available in a variety of sizes. Currently you can get 8.0, 8.125, 8.25, or 8.375 R7 decks.

Pro Tip: Use coupon code SHOPTYS10 to get 10% off and free shipping.

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Let’s get into the more in depth information of how each of these actually skate.

The Santa Cruz VX Skateboard Deck

Size I Skated:

8.0″ x 31.67″

Price paid:

$83 shipped with griptape here.

Review:

The Santa Cruz VX Skateboard is a 5 ply Canadian maple deck that has two proprietary layers, which are likely carbon fiber based. I am a 37 year old skateboarder that is not throwing myself down large stair sets. However, I can still understand the appeal of getting this deck as I really wanted a deck that held its rigid pop a little longer than a standard 7 ply maple deck. That is exactly what I got. Reading other reviews online, one said that older skateboarders should avoid this like the plague as it was “unforgiving” due to it holding its shape so well. I don’t necessarily agree, and that unforgiveness is the whole feature I bought this deck around. I wanted a deck that felt the same at week two as it did from the moment I stepped on it.

At the time of writing, I was at week two, and it is still holding its shape other than for the razor tail due to me relearning manuals and setting my tail down way too much. This board is not razor tail resistant. No wooden deck is, so you can follow these steps to prevent razor tail and get a few more weeks out of this deck. I land hard on rails and flat ground tricks. Within the first few minutes of riding a deck, I will flip it over and see pressure cracks. I’ve been this way with every board I have ever ridden. This is the first deck where there is not a single pressure crack. I feel the results of that when I pop off the nose or tail, and it still feels solid. If that sounds appealing to you, that is the real reason you should get this board. I would encourage you to look at the specs and pictures here. If you are still psyched to try it, I would encourage you to get it as its only $20 more than the other deck you would likely buy.

The halfway mark – As I write this paragraph, I am about three weeks into skating this deck and it still has no pressure cracks. From just getting back into skating, I bail a lot, and the toe side of my nose is starting to splinter. I can tell I am going to trade out this board due to razor tail long before it breaks.

How long did it last?

I am now 45 days in, and I am going to move on to another deck. This deck is still skateable, so I will save it and take it out again in a few months.

Reason stopped skating:

The shape of the tail became challenging to continue using. Razor tail that was sharp enough to cut my ankle was ultimately the reason I stopped skating this.

Would I buy another one?

Hell, yes. I actually did. This was a fun deck to ride and helped me rekindle my love for skateboarding.

I look forward to skating more of these. The extra $20 wound up being worth it. It kept the deck strong, and I didn’t ever have a worry of not doing a trick because it would break the board. The way I see it, I paid 50% more for this deck and got more than that out of this deck.

My synopsis:

For a late 30s skater under 145 lbs, I probably didn’t need the vx deck. However, I am glad I got it. For relearning to skate, I felt that having a tail that kept its poppiness the entire time I rode it helped me progress immensely.

Days Skated:

45 days – That is about 15-20 more than a normal deck for me. I am estimating it around 108 hours of skating for me. I am estimating that this deck lasted me 45%-50% longer than a normal 7-ply deck.

Update: I actually wound getting another Santa Cruz VX deck because I enjoyed riding it more than the others, and during this pandemic, it was really challenging to buy boards that would fit this review. I do have some more coming. However, at the moment, I am back on a VX deck.

The Cons:

1. $20 – $30 more than a standard deck.
2. It will get a razor tail just like every other deck that has maple layers. This is the reason I stopped skating it.
3. Splintering on the sides of the nose and tail – Pro tip: Gorilla glue’s gel helps slow this down.

The Pros:

1. It is much stronger than a normal maple deck.
2. No pressure cracks. (Just like the Flight deck.)
3. It keeps its pop longer than the standard deck.
4. It is noticeably stronger, so you will try tricks you were hesitant to try.
5. I was able to skate twice as long as a normal deck.

Here is a picture of the deck at 45 days once I took the trucks off. There were no pressure cracks whatsoever.

Here is a picture of what the splintering looked like at 45 days. Please keep in mind that I am a 37 year old skater just getting back into this. My flip tricks smacked off the ground quite a bit.

Overall Rating of the Santa Cruz VX Skateboard Deck

Considerations	Rating Out 5
Strength of Skate Deck	4.6
Wood Quality (Chips / Splinters / Breaks)	4.3
Pop	4.6
Shape & Feel of the Deck	4.7
Overall Quality	4.6

Editor’s Rating: 4.56 out of 5 stars

I liked this deck so much that I wrote a Full Santa Cruz VX Deck Review too. Read that review to see more info and images.

To Buy a Santa Cruz VX Deck

Or you can sometimes find these at Amazon too.

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The Almost Impact Light Skateboard Deck

Size I Skated:

8.0″ x 31.67″

Price paid:

$59 shipped with griptape here.

Review:

The Almost skateboards Impact Light is a 7-ply American maple deck with a carbon fiber insert added into the top layer. The idea behind the impact light is that it is stronger than a normal 7-ply skate deck while still remaining light with only one carbon fiber insert. Almost have a different line called the Impact plus that has carbon fiber inserts around the truck-mounting holes too. I still have yet to try that one. I chose the impact light because it was cheaper than the VX deck and said to have a 30 day breakage guarantee. I am learning that if these boards last 45 days, that is probably good enough for me as I give up on them due to razor tail more than breakage.

The first thing I noticed about the Almost Impact Light was its shape and overall lightness of this deck. The nose and tail are steep, while the actual concave felt oddly flat to me. Within about two hours of skating, I got used to the shape. Eventually, I grew to enjoy the pop and lightness enough to ignore its more flat shape.

I was really interested to see if the Almost Impact Light deck would hold its shape as well as the other decks with two carbon fiber layers. Since this deck only has a carbon layer as the top sheet, I found that it did start to feel like a normal skate deck that gradually lost its pop. The most notable detail about it being closer to a normal deck was that it started to get pressure cracks by my trucks within an hour of skating it.

It is a light deck and cheaper than some of the other options mentioned in this post.

Reason stopped skating:

I stopped skating this due to its razor tail and gradual loss of shape.

This skateboard deck didn’t break, so I am going to leave it in my car for someone who might want to continue skating it.

Would I buy another one?

I’d probably just buy a standard almost deck without the carbon fiber to save a few bucks.

My synopsis:

This deck is not as strong as some of the other decks I rode for this project. It is less expensive, and its main appeal is its lightness. If you’re looking for a carbon fiber deck specifically for its strength, buy a different deck. If you want a stronger deck that is lighter than a normal deck, then this is the skateboard for you.

Days Skated:

35 days – That is about 5 days more than a normal deck for me. I am estimating it around 85 hours of skating in total. That is 27% less skate time than the Santa Cruz VX deck. That said, it lasted me around 16% longer than a normal skateboard deck.

I don’t anticipate breaking this board with the way that I skate. Lately, I’ve been perfecting a line where I 360 flip and then frontside bluntslide the Element flat bar. I land hard on some 360 flips, so it has been a good test for the board.

The Cons:

1. $5 – $10 more than a standard deck.
2. Razor tail
3. Pressure cracks within the first hour

The Pros:

1. Cheaper than a Santa Cruz VX or Powell Flight deck
2. Lighter than a normal deck
3. Lasted 5% longer than a normal 7-ply deck

Here is a picture of the long pressure crack. This was taken on day 35 when I took my trucks off to set up the next board.

Here is a picture of chip out of my nose looked like at 35 days right before I stopped skating it. This is from learning blunt slides to shuv it. My board kept smacking against the leg of the rail I was trying it on.

Overall Rating of the Almost Impact Light Skateboard Deck

Considerations	Rating Out 5
Strength of Skate Deck	4
Wood Quality (Chips / Splinters / Breaks)	3.9
Pop	4.5
Shape & Feel of the Deck	4.4
Overall Quality	4.5

Editor’s Rating: 4.26 out of 5 stars

To Buy an Almost Impact Light Deck

Also check out our review of the Blind R7 Skate Decks too. They are incredibly strong and less expensive than most of the decks on this list.

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The Powell Flight Skateboard Deck

Size I Skated:

8.0″ x 31.45″
The 242 shape.

Price paid:

$83.95 shipped with grip tape here.

Review:

The first detail I noticed about the Powell Flight deck is that the shape of the board is different than anything I’ve ever skated before. It was more oval shaped than what I am used to. I kept double-checking the Flight Deck size chart to see if I was really sent a 247 shape instead of the more common 242 shape which I ordered.

Here is an image of my deck that was marked with the 242 retail stickers against Powell’s Flight Deck size chart.

Based on the clarity of my tails’ dimension, it looks to really be the 242 that it was marked to be.

The strange part is that the 242’s contact points where the deck meets the nose and tail get wider than they were marked. Some feedback for Powell would be to indicate which is the more common shape and then to note the potential wider size.

I really noticed the wider-oval shape while doing flip tricks. The part of the deck where you will flick your tricks is wider. Mine measured 8.1 inches instead of the 8.0 inches it was marked to be.

So the first takeaway is the Powell flight deck is slightly larger (.1″) than the other comparable decks. Its carbon layers might make you overlook that small detail, though.

I got used to its shape within two hours of skating it. The wider size offers a larger nose and tail. I started to like that because it made tail and bluntslides easier, thanks to having more surface to slide on. It will give you an extra split second to lock your trucks into the trick.

The next detail I noticed about this board was that it chipped more than the other boards I reviewed above. The carbon layers are strong. However, the wood in between those layers seemed weaker than usual (or, in my case, defective). In the first few hours of skating, I got a small chip in my nose that ultimately became this 1.5 inch vertical crack that split through all 5 maple layers of the deck.

Like the other decks I reviewed above, this deck got razor tail quickly.

The wood was weak enough where my razor tail began to get chips in it. With the other skateboard decks, I didn’t get that as much. Here is a picture of the razor tail showing that it started to chip away.

Ultimately, it is a deck that doesn’t get pressure cracks, and it holds its firmness. The drawback is that the wood used in between the carbon fiber layers is weaker than what the other carbon fiber decks use.

Reason stopped skating:

Its razor tail and the giant vertical crack between all of the wood layers. The carbon fiber layers were great. However, the wood used in this deck was brittle. It chipped and flaked away every time it hit the ground. Ultimately, it lost its shape, and I traded it out for another Santa Cruz VX deck.

Would I buy another one?

No.
It is possible the deck I got was defective. However, I enjoyed skating the VX deck more than this one.

My synopsis:

I expected more from the Powell Flight Deck.

It didn’t last me as long as the two-carbon fiber layer Santa Cruz VX deck or even the one-carbon fiber layer Almost Impact Light deck. That said, it did last me about 15% longer than a regular maple skateboard deck would have. It is entirely possible my deck had a defect.

Within the first four hours of skating the Powell Flight deck, my nose chipped. I actually went out to fill it will Gorilla Glue’s Gel to prevent it from chipping more. Ultimately, it didn’t work. That small chip became the large vertical crack that I shared a picture of above. The crack, flakes, and chips became the reasons I stopped skating this deck.

Days Skated:

35 days altogether it was 68.5 hours. I thought this deck would have got me closer to the 45 days or 108 hour mark and compare closer to the Santa Cruz VX deck. It didn’t.

I was able to skate the VX deck 37% longer than the flight deck.
I was even able to skate the Almost Impact light slightly longer than the Powell Flight deck, and it was around $20 cheaper.

The Cons:

1.  The deck is .1 inches wider than how it was marked right over the trucks. I ordered an 8.0″ deck and it is 8.1″ right over the trucks. That makes getting used to flip tricks more challenging.
2. Its tail wears like every other wooden deck. It is eventually going to get razor tail.
3. It is about $25-$30 more expensive than a traditional 7-ply maple deck.
4. The wood in the center between the carbon layers was weak enough to crack vertically.

The Pros:

1. It is much stronger than a normal maple deck.
2. No pressure cracks.
3. It is a strong skateboard deck that will hold its shape for you as long as it doesnt chip or cracks vertically first.

Overall Rating of the Powell Peralta Flight Skateboard Deck

Considerations	Rating Out 5
Strength of Skate Deck	4.4
Wood Quality (Chips / Splinters / Breaks)	3.8
Pop	4.5
Shape & Feel of the Deck	4.6
Overall Quality	4.5

Editor’s Rating: 4.36 out of 5 stars

I wrote a full Powell Flight Deck Review too. If you want to learn more about the deck, I recommend you check that out too.

To Buy a Powell Flight Deck

These are often out of stock, so please make sure the product’s title says the word flight in it. It is easy to wind up on a non-flight deck Powell board’s product page instead.

Or you can also find these at Amazon too.

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The Girl Pop Secret Deck

Size I Skated:

8″ x 31.875″ The Girl G008 shape. “Round nose and tail, straight rail. The go-to 8″ shape since 2000.”

Price paid:

$71 shipped without grip tape here.

Review:

The Girl Pop Secret Deck has one carbon fiber layer with seven thinner plies of North American maple.  

My first impression of the deck was that it was slightly heavier than the Santa Cruz VX deck I skated right before it. This is because of the extra two maple plys the Pop Secret has that the VX does not. The overall feel between the two decks was very similar, though. 

The Girl Pop Secret feels firm while still being forgiving when you stand on it. It feels like a normal skate deck that has that crispy new feeling every time you stand on it. True to its title, this deck has loads of pop. At one point skating this, I popped onto a high picnic table. For a 38-year-old skateboarder who is only 5′ 6″, we will chalk that up to this board gives you a springboard level of additional pop. 

Prior to skating this, I haven’t skated a Girl deck since 1997. This felt excellent underfoot. The shape was the stand-out feature for me. I got an 8.0″ x 31.8″ deck with the G008 shape. It was .2 of an inch longer than what I was used to. The nose and tail feel wider / more rounded. It is perfect for doing nose and tailslides. I enjoy concave in my skate decks. The concave of the Girl Pop Secret felt a little more mellow than the Santa Cruz VX deck.  

With only having one carbon fiber layer, I thought this would have been comparable to the Almost Impact Light Deck, and it wound up lasting me far beyond that deck before I swapped it out. 

This was insanely fun to skate, though. 

If you’re looking for one of the strongest skateboard decks and need a little extra pop, check out the Girl Pop Secret.

It looks like Girl and Chocolate have some Pop Secret skateboard decks back in stock here. These go fast, so scoop one up while they are in stock. From the review so far, I think you’ll like it.

How long did it last?

Forty-two days and it could have kept going. This means I swapped three days before I swapped out my VX deck. The VX lasted only a few hours longer.

Reason stopped skating:

The main reason I stopped skating this was due to a chip on my tail. I got the chip in the first five days of skating the deck. I went to do a frontside bluntslide on my element Flat Bar and must have hit the tail right on the edge of the rail. It was enough to do this to my board.

I managed to use gorilla glue gel to put that chip back together, and I was fine for a few weeks. Then, it fell out again, and I wasn’t able to reattach the chip. The result was that the deck would catch when I tailslide, and the pop felt off for 360 flips. It started to get to me. Other than that, the board has razor tail. The excellent part is that it didn’t razor as fast as the others. The extra wood layers made the razor tail process slower than the other boards on the list.

Would I buy another one?

Absolutely. This wound up being my second favorite deck on the list. The shape of the Girl Pop Secret is awesome, and at some point soon, I’ll get a Chocolate Pop Secret and see if there is any difference. This was a fun one to skate, though.

My synopsis:

The Girl Pop Secret is a composite/carbon fiber skateboard deck that adds more pop and resilience to a traditional 7-ply. This feels like skating the traditional deck with just that little something extra to it. It remains firm and feels the same every time you step on it for about the first month (it doesn’t get soggy or bounce when you stand on it).

Days Skated:

42 days. That makes it the board that lasted me the second-longest right behind the Santa Cruz VX deck. In terms of hours, that is about 52 hours I skated this board. It is still going strong. However, I am just ready to skate a new deck.

The Cons:

• The wood base layer chipped easily.
• It is about $10 – $15 more than a seven-ply normal skate deck. (and often sold out)
• It does get pressure cracks and get the soggy feeling. However, it took over one month of steady skating for that to even begin. This is a firm deck that will feel consistent.
• It does razor tail just like the others.
• The extra plys make this heavier than the others.

The Pros:

• Stronger than a traditional 7 ply maple deck
• The razor tail process was slower than other decks reviewed due to there being more wood layers in this deck
• It stayed firm longer than a traditional board
• The coating they put over the graphic preserves it longer than most other decks. At times it felt like I had a slick.
• The shape felt awesome

Overall Rating of the Girl Pop Secret Skateboard Deck

Considerations	Rating Out 5
Strength of Skate Deck	4
Wood Quality (Chips / Splinters / Breaks)	3.9
Pop	4.8
Shape & Feel of the Deck	4.7
Overall Quality	4.5

Editor’s Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Also check out my full Girl Pop Secret Skate Deck review

To Buy a Girl Pop Secret Deck