shop decks vs. pro decks

[anklebuster]

is there usually a difference in terms of quality?

[TwisT]

is there usually a difference in terms of quality?

No there's no diffrence. They usually come from the same woodshops as pro deck brands. They may not have access to some of the same shapes and molds, but the wood is the and production quality is the same.

[Noble Experiment]

Possibly.
I don’t know if it was a big thing anywhere else but here a lot of shops and local companies were so secretive about where they got their boards made.
“Sorry, gotta keep it low key, it’s a secret, just know these are top quality tho”.
Anytime any shop or local company says that I just assume it’s shitty soggy cheap wood from overseas. If you were using generator/BBS or a well known reputable woodshop I doubt you’d wanna keep it a secret.
Shops and local companies here don’t really do it as much these days but you’ll still get a company that’ll try to hide it.

At least with pro boards 95% of the time you know what you’re getting in terms of quality and what to expect just cuz it’s so well known (all you gotta do is browse the shoes and gear thread for like ten minutes and you’ll pretty much know everything you need to know about what boards to stay away from and what boards are good quality lol)

[Firebert]

Yeah, the source of the manufacturer is key. If they say it's a secret, I would bet it isn't good quality.

[rocklobster]

Yeah, the source of the manufacturer is key. If they say it's a secret, I would bet it isn't good quality.

BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

[Firebert]

BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

Kayfabe runs deep in this industry

[Noble Experiment]

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BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

[close]

Kayfabe runs deep in this industry

“Generator/BBS didn’t screw Ben, no; Ben screwed Ben.”

[rocklobster]

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BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

[close]

Kayfabe runs deep in this industry

[close]

“Generator/BBS didn’t screw Ben, no; Ben screwed Ben.”

Love the wrestling reference. Watched a Mankind / Undertaker retrospective on the Hell in the Cell match, christ Mick Foley is a beast.

[IUTSM]

Possibly.
I don’t know if it was a big thing anywhere else but here a lot of shops and local companies were so secretive about where they got their boards made.
“Sorry, gotta keep it low key, it’s a secret, just know these are top quality tho”.
Anytime any shop or local company says that I just assume it’s shitty soggy cheap wood from overseas. If you were using generator/BBS or a well known reputable woodshop I doubt you’d wanna keep it a secret.
Shops and local companies here don’t really do it as much these days but you’ll still get a company that’ll try to hide it.

At least with pro boards 95% of the time you know what you’re getting in terms of quality and what to expect just cuz it’s so well known (all you gotta do is browse the shoes and gear thread for like ten minutes and you’ll pretty much know everything you need to know about what boards to stay away from and what boards are good quality lol)

when I started skating again homie at the local was proud to say "our shop decks are BBS/Generator. same shape as anti-hero. you'll get the same thing every time." I'll give it to them because since the disruption of supply lines, their BBS wait time was too long so they had to go to a new woodshop and he said "dude, the boards aren't going to be the same and I don't know if they'll be as good... and the cost me more money too, but it's what we got right now."

[Mr. Stinky]

If they're from the same woodshop, it's pretty much the same quality as a general rule.  However, there are occasionally individual boards that just feel different somehow, in a good way, like they are livelier/springier under your feet and just have a certain something about them that makes skating them feel so nice, even compared to other boards on the same exact shape.  They're lighter, flip better, have more pop, don't warp even after a few weeks, etc.  Could have something to do with the quality of the veneers, but I honestly don't know how to explain it.  I only rarely get one, and they almost always seem to be pro boards and not shop boards (I've only had one "special" shop board in my recollection), so there's that.

[TwisT]

Yeah, the source of the manufacturer is key. If they say it's a secret, I would bet it isn't good quality.

on this note, some distributors cant tell you who their wood is from. Like I don't think Chapman can say that they use clutch. So like if you get. Same with Eastern. In the turn, the shops also either can't say or just don't know.

[phlap]

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Yeah, the source of the manufacturer is key. If they say it's a secret, I would bet it isn't good quality.

[close]

BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

Yeah, he broke omertŕ big time on that one. IDK where Canada Skateshop is sourcing their decks from now though.

[manysnakes]

Manufacturers produce objects of varying quality in the same factory all the time, so just because it comes out of the factory does not mean that it's identical. It stands to reason that big players like DLX or FA can request higher quality wood, especially as inner plies, than your local ordering shop decks.

I was told that this wasn't the case by one local shop, but another local shop was basically like "Yeah, they give us the cheaper wood." Anecdotally, I think we've probably all experienced that a lower priced deck didn't keep it's pop as long as something that came from the big guys. Certainly I have, where I has a Polar that lasted me longer than several shop decks.

[Firebert]

It stands to reason

In other words: "I made this shit up"

[manysnakes]

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It stands to reason

[close]

In other words: "I made this shit up"

I mean, I worked in the manufacturing end of durable goods for ten years but sure.

[Firebert]

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It stands to reason

[close]

In other words: "I made this shit up"

[close]

durable goods

So, pretty much the opposite of a skateboard deck? Durable goods would make sense to have a premium version if you are expecting it to last 3+ years. I'm not trying to be rude at all, I just want to keep speculation and misinformation to a minimum.

[manysnakes]

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It stands to reason

[close]

In other words: "I made this shit up"

[close]

durable goods

[close]

I'm not trying to be rude at all

Obviously not true

[43]

Was feeling cheap and bought a Krooked price point so I could have extra Philly change and more cash for dank weed but it has a natural top and like one layer of paint on the bottom so I'm kind of bummed.

[TheBoognish]

Expand Quote

BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

[close]

Kayfabe runs deep in this industry

Jim Cornette, is that you ?


My local has had a few runs with BBS, but is usually Control.

[Esmith5488]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

BBS/Generator still haven't forgiven Ben Degros for spilling the beans last year.

[close]

Kayfabe runs deep in this industry

[close]

“Generator/BBS didn’t screw Ben, no; Ben screwed Ben.”

With Ben it’s the Vancouver screw job

[Sativa Lung]

Yes and no. It's gotten a lot harder and more expensive for shops and smaller companies to get boards from the big woodshops (PS, bbs, even PGI etc.. ) in the pandemic age, and as more companies have started using clutch it seems like I'm seeing less shop boards from them which used to be a big part of the clutch decks on the market. I think there's probably more mystery China wood shop boards out right now than there has been in some time.

There's also the question of preferential treatment... The very first thing that happens to veneer when it goes to a woodshop is grading. I know BBS has like 10 different grades they separate wood into which determines what becomes a face layer, what's a cross band, what gets dyed etc. There's long been something of a conspiracy theory that the big boys like dlx, baker, and Tumyeto who are running 25k boards at a time get the best grades of wood and with how production was prioritized during the pandemic, I'm probably more inclined to believe it now than I was beforehand.

All that being said, buying a dlx deck doesn't guarantee its going to be great and buying a mystery China shop deck doesn't guarantee its going to be bad. There's always variation and quality is pretty subjective anyways. Someone like me who sets up a new deck every few weeks doesn't care that much about durability and placed an emphasis on shape and pop, while a 16 year old with no disposable income jumping down sets every day will consider anything that lasts a month and doesn't break to be "high quality."

I realize this is ironic coming from me but skate what you like and don't worry about where it came from.