Unpopular Gear Opinion Thread 2025

[minilogoflow]

Got inspired by the unpopular opinion thread on UWTB and thought a Shoe's and Gear version would be interesting.


-Powell/Bones put out way too many variations of the Dragon/X Formulas, just makes it confusing for consumers unless you're a gear nerd. It should have just been X99, X96 and Dragon 93. Having two medium hard options (X97+X95) is redundant and could have been reformulated to meet in the middle. Dragon 88's should have been in the ATF/cruiser wheel line.

-I like the crispy, extra stiff boards from China except they all seem to have dog shit concaves/molds. Too flat across the middle and way too many fingers of flat from my experience with DSM and crailtap. I'd really like to try one of the Chinese DLX decks but I'm in the US.

-NB# makes the best skate shoes right now but their marketing is the definition of soulless corpo slop.

[back smith]

Kinda wanna try the NHS birch construction decks, "7 ply northern birch hardwood deck pressed using specially designed crosslinked glue - creating a responsive and durable deck at an affordable price".

[munchbox]

any time someone asks about nb# clothing
a little part of me dies inside

trucks wider than deck is visually appealing
ie. 8.38 with 8.75 axles

[lamfordie]

I hate seeing set ups with wheels bigger than 54. Theres no need for that your just following the hype.

[Pastasash]

Ventures DO turn

[SupremePizza]

Not sure if it's an unpopular opinion but I prefer the feel of a heavier board, no lights, flite decks etc... some of the people i skate with are obsessed with trying to shave a few grams off their setup and everytime i try their board it feels so off

[j....soy.....]

See…that’s actually at least a semi unpopular take….

Here’s another: Wheelbase: it’s you…not the board…

[Sloppy Krooks]

Ace are not ‘squirrely’ at all. The have a stable center and a predictable, progressive turn.

If you get them loose enough to turn, Indys feel way more squirrely. They feel like you are just teetering on the kingpin and pivot cup, and just dive, no smooth transition into the turn.

[JM]

Hooray!

Thunders turn almost as well as Indy’s.

[TwisT]

The industry is gaslighting you into thinking you need inverted kingpins

[big_kev_215]

As wheels seem to be trending towards all these types of specialized softer wheels, I find myself feeling harder wheels these days.  Picked up some Spitfire 53mm conical 101s a couple months ago and I’ve been loving them.  I basically only skate street and DIY spots in Philly and don’t have any issues with the harder wheels on crust.

[biaherl]

Anything below 99a is a cruiser wheel

[kitcatski]

Wheelbase is not nearly as important as people make it out to be

[propaganda]

No need to flush your nuts, show some threads for once

[Too Frank To Fred]

Short wheelbases can ruin your kick flips.

[hayduke lives]

the swoosh, especially the chubby one on blazers is just as ugly if not worse than the N on nb's. generally, shoes without big logo's always look better to me.

[Unkle Fleak]

The industry is gaslighting you into thinking you need inverted kingpins

I couldn’t agree more. Shit was only an improvement before baby boards dropped

[BeachChicken]

Gear and measurements don't matter all that much and there's no magic combo.

On paper I'm spost to dislike a lot about my setup, but when I get caught in numbers madness it never works out. Doesn't matter if I ride Venture on 14.25 and it's the same wb as Indy on 14.38, the latter always works better even tho I would think I'd hate 55mm tall trucks.

At the end of the day what mattered more than this was raising my baseline up enough to just be slightly less bad than I was before. I regret all the time and mental energy worrying about those finite details.

[moonordie]

I hate seeing set ups with wheels bigger than 54. Theres no need for that your just following the hype.

+1

[rikki]

Ventures work well for bowl skating.

Would never wear NB# clothing although I love their shoes.

China-made DLX decks are great.

[roba]

I hate seeing set ups with wheels bigger than 54. Theres no need for that your just following the hype.

southern california ass take

[Tomek]

I hate that I love my new balance’s

[ferguu]

This is a good thread...

Indys are sooooo boring.

People that complain about ripping shoelaces are weird.

People that only skate one brand of hardware are weird.

Board dimensions do matter, but not much. You could easily skate a 2x4 if you always skated a 2x4. Does that make sense?

Flatspots aren't real.

2 bolts for each truck is fine.

Most insoles that come in shoes are absolutely terrible. Vans pop cush might be the only exception.

Griptape brand is actually really important.

There should be more coloured wheels, not just white and occasionally black.

Any carbon fiber gimmick (VX, Flight, DBX, Impact etc.) is a straight up lie. The only one that is true is the one for Girl boards I forget what it's called. (Pop Secret?)

Similarly, dragon wheels and the like are a scam. They figured out a way to sell cruiser board wheels to street skaters at a higher markup.

The new Andrew Reynolds shoe for NB is HIDEOUS! WTF are those colourways?! NB shoes in general have got to be the ugliest skate shoe brand out there. IDK why but the idea of having 1 letter on the side of a shoe is so dumb to me. My brain says 'At least finish the sentence'.

The NHS board brands are the worst decks I have ever had the misfortune of skating. IDK what woodshop they are but goddamn they suck. Santa Cruz especially.

Amongst many, many others...

[back smith]

People that only skate one brand of hardware are weird.

Some are definitely better than others. Problem is, by the time you've figured out they're the good ones, you forgot what they were.

[roba]

This is a good thread...

Indys are sooooo boring.

People that complain about ripping shoelaces are weird.

People that only skate one brand of hardware are weird.

Board dimensions do matter, but not much. You could easily skate a 2x4 if you always skated a 2x4. Does that make sense?

Flatspots aren't real.

2 bolts for each truck is fine.

Most insoles that come in shoes are absolutely terrible. Vans pop cush might be the only exception.

Griptape brand is actually really important.

There should be more coloured wheels, not just white and occasionally black.

Any carbon fiber gimmick (VX, Flight, DBX, Impact etc.) is a straight up lie. The only one that is true is the one for Girl boards I forget what it's called. (Pop Secret?)

Similarly, dragon wheels and the like are a scam. They figured out a way to sell cruiser board wheels to street skaters at a higher markup.

Amongst many, many others...

no way you've been skating for longer than 6 months lol

[ferguu]

Expand Quote

People that only skate one brand of hardware are weird.

[close]

Some are definitely better than others. Problem is, by the time you've figured out they're the good ones, you forgot what they were.

Ahahaha. IDK man, as long as you're not just buying any old bolts they're totally fine for me.

no way you've been skating for longer than 6 months lol

I don't wanna come across as insanely defensive, but I have been skatin a lil while now, I started in Covid. I guess compared to some of the fogeys on here I am like a baby haha. I've always thought I might be the youngest here.

What makes you say that tho? I didn't even know what flatspots or board dimensions were in my first six months lmao.

Also, of course I can kickflip you sneaky editor!

[rocklobster]

Radial slims should still exist over most other Spitfire shapes.

Hardly an unpopular opinion, especially on Slap

[Jacorpes]

Canvas vulcanised shoes are better than suede if you're willing to do a bit of DIY. They're lighter, more breathable, keep their shape better, dry quicker, are cheaper, better for the environement and look better. The only downside is that you need to add shoe goo to the ollie area once every few sessions.

Edit: Putting thick aftermarket insoles in thin shoes is stupid. Just wear more supportive shoes.

[Rick Trapasso]

.25" of WB matters more than .25" of deck width.

All these street dudes riding wheels 58mm+ are lying to themselves.

Same with dudes riding those early style shaped decks with no concave, also lying to themselves.

I feel like most people need to tie their shoes tighter

[scab]

All these street dudes riding wheels 58mm+ are lying to themselves.

This gets brought up quite often, so let's talk about it. Why are you so confident that you know better what guys and gals like Jeff Carlyle, T-Funk, and Nelly should skate than they themselves do?