A Guide to Carver Skateboards

Carver Skateboards are a leading surf skate manufacturer and have been producing amazing boards and trucks since the mid 1990s.

Here we take a look at the history behind them, then look at the different types of boards available and check out more about this innovative brand.

The history of Carver Skateboards

The origins of Carver skateboards can be traced back to Venice, California in 1995. During a particularly frustrating summer flat spell, surfers Neil Carver and Greg Falk had taken to skating their local neighbourhoods to get some sort of feeling of stoke.

They decided that whilst skating was fun, it was not the same as surfing. There was no snap and drive, as there was on a surfboard, nor could you really pump for speed. Having tried to change things up by loosening the trucks, they came to the conclusion that this was only going to make the boards more unstable and dangerous, especially when going downhill.

The answer they sought was in making a set-up where the front truck would turn more than the back, to replicate the same motion that a shortboard surfboard produced. Also they needed to introduce a certain amount of lateral movement.

Welding up a prototype truck in a garage behind Neil’s house, they then spent many hours testing and refining to try to get things feeling right. As you would expect, they went through lots of wheels and trucks in the process!

After much experimentation, they landed upon a truck that had a double-pivot universal joint. And so the ‘carving truck’ was born.

It was still early days and whilst people started wanting to ride what they were riding when they saw them, it still took more time to perfect a truck they were happy enough to start mass producing - this was named the C1 truck.

This gained popularity quickly and was adopted by the likes of Laird Hamilton, who incorporated riding a board into his big wave training program.

Over the years, Carver developed more and more truck models, plus a range of decks to suit different styles of riders.

Despite other brands trying to imitate their truck designs, Carver still remains the leading surfskate manufacturer nearly 30 years after their experimental beginnings.

Check out more about the history in this great video featuring Neil Carver:

Types of Carver Skateboard

• Mini - 25.5”- 29”. Quicker to turn and easier to pump.
• Short - 30”-33”. Tight turning and easy pushing.
• Medium - 34”-36”. Typically more stable and faster once going.
• Long - 38”-43”. The most stable boards, taking longer to pump but have a higher top speed.

Surfboard shaper crossovers

As well as the classic Carver range of models, they have also produced surf skates with iconic surfboard shaper brands. These include:

• Channel Islands - legendary shaper Al Merrick has designed some of the most popular surfboards. This is reflected in the range of Carver boards.
• Lost - Matt “Mayhem” Biolos shapes boards for many of the world’s best surfers under his …Lost brand. His collaboration range of Carver boards feature a ‘progressive rocker’ concave, for an added performance ‘pump’.
• Bing - this Californian board building brand has been producing surfboards since 1959. One model - the Puck - has now been replicated as a surf skate with Carver.

Carver Skateboards team riders

The current Carver Skateboards Pro Team of riders include some of the most recognisable faces from the world of surfing, including:

• Jamie O’Brien - hailing from the North Shore of Oahu, J.O.B. gained notoriety with his YouTube videos and reputation for charging massive Pipeline waves. He has the ‘Tiger’ range of Carver boards, including the Blue Tiger and the Camo Tiger.
• Kai Lenny - tagged the “ultimate waterman”, Kai goes hard on all types of board, both on and off the water. The Lava and Dragon models reflect his pure stoke levels.
• Taylor Knox - the team veteran is Taylor Knox, who spent 22 years on the World Tour, is still ripping now. He’s got the Phoenix and Quill boards to represent his high-charging energy.
• Yago Dora - current WSL CT surfer Yago has a smooth surfing style and is dubbed the “Skinny Goat”. So Carver decided to reflect this nickname in a pro-model named just that.

Carver Skateboards are not only great fun to ride, they are also a really good way to keep surf fit and practise your carving turns when the surf is flat.

We stock a wide selection of Carver Skateboards, with different models to suit your style.