best skateboard setup for a 4 year old?

[shpongle]

i want to get my 4 year old nephew into skating. what would be a good setup for him? i havent bought a kid a skateboard ever lol

[OldGrayandMongo]

For my son who is now 4 I just bought him the smallest shop deck Calsk8 had (which wasn't all that small, just under , the trucks to match, and threw on some old wheels/bearings I had.  Prior to that had him on a Winkowski shaped deck that he would lay or sit on and push himself around the house, but when he'd try to stand it was so wide that he couldn't really get the leverage to turn it.

At that age I think it's more important to just get them on something so that they get used to it, but narrower/softer bushings help given they are 25 lbs.

[backinaction]

i want to get my 4 year old nephew into skating. what would be a good setup for him? i havent bought a kid a skateboard ever lol

When my kids were 4 I had them on a 7.5x28 Mini Logo deck.  Short and narrow. They moved up to a 7.5x31 deck (same trucks/wheels) when they were 6 or 7. 

I used 7.63" Mini Logo trucks. They come with 84a bushings which are soft enough for them to turn and they are super low (48mm) helping with stability.

I used 53mm 90a Mini Logo wheels.  They were going to be doing mostly driveway skating, and I wanted better grip at the slippery parks.

Powell is now shipping completes in this size if you can find them. 

https://www.skatewarehouse.com/Powell_Peralta_Ripper_Light_Blue_Complete/descpage-PLROOBCP.html

https://www.skateone.com/powell-peralta-skull-sword-gray-birch-complete-skateboard-7-5-x-28-65

[Lou Strux]

Fairly cheap smaller option is the Tactics shop deck (mini) which checks in @ 6.75” w/ a li’l 12” WB. Might even be BBS wood.
Throw on some Indy 109s w/ the aftermarket super soft bushings so kid can actually turn & grab some sub-50mm wheels so they don’t get going too fast, or have to step down a half mile in order to push. Spitfire makes some OG formula dink-dinks in 48mm & 49mm, there are even the little SML jigs & those Boardy Cakes tiny things, but the Spits are around $20 USD a set.
Here’s a link to that Tactics deck.

https://www.tactics.com/tactics/statesman-skateboard-deck

Generally, as a rule, I try to spend my $ with my local shop, or somebody else’s local, but this is one of the smaller decks around.

[NORTHBYMIDWEST]

I got this for my son who is 2.5

https://www.paradeworld.com/products/santa-cruz-classic-dot-super-micro-complete-725-183-6083079930043/

This board has a super short wheelbase which will help the little dude wayyyyy more than Indys and aftermarket bushings etc. keep it simple and fun and if he wants to skate he'll do it.

[256 Ply]

A micro sized complete from Dwindle (Enjoi/Blind/Darkstar/Almost) or NHS (Creature/Santa Cruz).
It's properly scaled down so he can learn tricks if he wants to, but will still be fun if he just wants to roll around.

[chris.]

When my daughter was five I bought a tiny Mini Logo, cheap Tensors (like $11 a truck or something) and Mini Logo 90a wheels. My only misstep was buying like 54mm wheels which werejust too big/fast. 52mm or under is best.

[arrbee]

Anti Hero Deck
Ace Trucks
Swiss
Spitfire F4 Conicals
Mob grip
Generic hardware

[Mbrimson88]

i want to get my 4 year old nephew into skating. what would be a good setup for him? i havent bought a kid a skateboard ever lol

The two main things I would always ask are 1. Budget and 2. Ability as they were both pretty much combined.

If you don't care how much you spend, then go for whatever you like.

Has he skated at all before, or even just had turns on your board or anything?  If he is a beginner, almost anything would be a good start, even old setups if there are any to be made, but if it is an event like a birthday or something, you kind of want to get something a bit more exciting than a crusty old complete.

Remember though, you would not put a beginner driver in a race car, so you really don't want to get him on a pro setup if he is not there yet.


After seeing what my nephew was interested in and helping him get stand up rides on a few of my boards, I got him a 7.25 complete and put soft wheels on it, so he could go where ever and not really get stuck.  Right now I don't think he actually skates much, but at least he has it to push around on when ever I help him or we see them at family events.

[Mbrimson88]

Anti Hero Deck
Ace Trucks
Swiss
Spitfire F4 Conicals
Mob grip
Generic hardware

You are now officially everyone's favourite uncle, with a setup like that!!

Oh to be four again...

[Frank and Fred]

I just pass on my old stuff to nieces, nephews, friend's little ones but usually try to hook them up with softer wheels. Maybe redrill a wheelbase or reshape an old deck. If they really get into it, then I'll splash out on new equipment.

[jsettle]

I got my daughter a Blind Complete for her 4th bday. Any of the dwindle completes(Blind, Almost,Enjoi) are really good for a 4 yr old. They also make ones with soft top grip but i got her one with regular grip so it felt more real for her. They all come with decent turning price point tensor trucks, and pretty decent bearing/wheels. Highly recommend a dwindle complete for a 4 yr old. They only run about 75 bucks or so online.

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

Those mini logo or big name brand entry level boards are perfect.  The soft wheels are good so you can skate a school yard or driveway.  Those boards are good because if the kid never rides it until he's 7, or sister takes it or whatever, it's a functional board. 

I know the focus is getting a board for the kid to succeed now, but how many stories have we heard about that board just being around the house and the kid picks it up later...

[Ok]

Those mini logo or big name brand entry level boards are perfect.  The soft wheels are good so you can skate a school yard or driveway.  Those boards are good because if the kid never rides it until he's 7, or sister takes it or whatever, it's a functional board. 

I know the focus is getting a board for the kid to succeed now, but how many stories have we heard about that board just being around the house and the kid picks it up later...

This imo.
If you have some child prodigy situations going, then maybe some small, specific sized board is best. When I see little kids skate rarely are they doing more than butt boarding or whatever. And really, why shouldn’t they be kicking/throwing/scooching around? It’s a toy.
Soft wheels and then whatever else, softer bushings help.

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

At the same time the boards are good enough quality that the equipment doesn't hold them back....those price point completes are maybe 75% the same as what we skate...