Damn ! You make me want to get back on a skinny board !
I've been skating 8.00 for 5 years now, I've skated 8.125, 8.25 before, but that was when I was doing a lot of gap ! Now, I skate a lot a lot of flat , Sometimes park, banks, hip transfer, and very rarely ledge.. I think a 7.875 board, even a few centimeters less than an 8, can help me with this style of skating and for certain tricks.. !
I'm 5'8", and 8 shoes size.
Many say you can't have control with a small deck, but when I see PJ ladd or Luan riding 7.8.. ahah