Deck shelf life

[brownjenkin]

How much does an unskated board's quality degrade over time? I have a friend who's unloading some boards that have been hanging around his place for about 3-5 years. I'm interested in buying a few, but don't want to bother if the quality will have noticeably gone down.

I've always had it in my mind that old boards get brittle, and that the glue goes to shit.

[popsiclesandskatin]

i had a complete zero that sat on my shelf for a few months maybe a year and it didnt last a week.
snapped it on a heel flip, back foot was just a little bit off of the bolts on the tail.
if you get a deal off it then go it.

[bumpnrun]

It really is hit or miss.  I just set up a new deck this week but the one I skated before was a Dill ps stix usa and it was solid... it was probably pressed in 2008.  Didn't break it either and I break the majority of the boards I skate.

[daniel]

i've always wondered about this.
on average, how long it takes for a board to be pressed/screened & in a shop.

i know that a board that sits around over winter is usually quickly snapped in the spring.

[lem]

If it's sitting under a shitload of other boards it'll probably get warped. I'd eye them down to check for any distortedness.

[brownjenkin]

^^Yup, he's got some boxes. Good call. I remember buying a deck from the sale stack back in the day without having a good look...

[Chizepe]

I have heard some differing opinions on storing multiple decks. There was a little blurb in the new SBC mag, but I couldn't find it online anywhere. Would be stoked for someone to give some solid info on this.

[Tony]

A board can last for years, as long as it doesn't deal with extreme temperature.

if you leave it in a cold/hot garage, car trunk, or a humid basement. its going to warp or get brittle.

if it sits in a closet or under a bed at normal room temperature. It should be fine.

Once skated a 9 year old, never ridden board. it lasted as long as most boards last for me.

[FrenchFriedClownFingers]

Really good question. I've always treated my boards well. It depends on what you skate too. I am light footed, I try to only skate good smooth stuff. I hate when the edges of my deck get all chewed up on rocky concrete, it seems to lead to cracks and breakage. I used to wax the sides of the board so that when I landed primo It would shoot out. I bought this zoo york aaron suski model on my birthday in june. It hasnt cracked or chipped yet and I skate avidly. I do not stomp my tricks hard either.

You always want to get a board that just comes in, skate it lightly a couple days and let the wood stiffen up a bit, DO NOT leave your boards in a truck or hot garage, keep them somewhere where it is always a moderate temperature, and never let it hit a fence, run for your life to catch it. I would rather hit the fence than have my board chip.

I remember on my 18th bday I had to go to court at 6 am for a skating infraction, after that staleness was over. My pops took me to the only shop around here which is zumiez and it is hardly a shop. They keep their boards in there for years. I wanted that tom penny's friends deck, I had always wanted it as a child ever since I had seen it in CCS. I bought it and was stoked, I got to the park and I slipped out first trick, it hit the fence and chipped so bad. then a month later it broke on a half ass tre.