Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
Reviews 4 years ago 45,996 views
In this video I break down which surf skate board I prefer for on-land surf training and technique improvement. I compare the two titans in the industry; SmoothStar & Carver. The surf skates really are a fantastic idea to get repetitive on-land training for surfing. One of the biggest challenges with surfing is that, unless you’re in a wave pool, it’s pretty hard to get lots of waves on demand to just try tricks over and over again. By skating, we can line up and repeat our current training at a high frequency leading to faster progression. MY INSTAGRAM - http://bit.ly/kalesbroccoli MY BOOKS - https://kalebrock.com.au/shop SURF WITH ME - https://kalebrock.com.au/surf THE LONGEVITY FILM - http://bit.ly/LongevityFilm THE GUT MOVIE - http://bit.ly/GutMovie SUNBUTTER SUNSCREEN 15% CODE 'BROCCOLI' - https://sunbutteroceans.com.au
Been riding a CX for the past 3 years and have loved it. That said, I just swapped to a Waterborne skate adapter (with regular non-CX trucks) and it is a much closer feel to surfing. The rear rail adapter, in particular, really helps you get a deep lean angle on your back foot if necessary.
Love your videos, keep 'em coming!
10. comment for Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
20. comment for Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
It looks like the geometry of the smoothstar lets you pivot the board sideways more without having to put as much heel or toe into the boards, which seems like it would match how you would turn a surfboard more.
The CX system is carver’s offering meant to provide a surflike feel that is still familiar to skaters.
The C7 system is definitely their more surfskate specific offering.
But, just from the geometry, it looks like the smoothstar is just better for flatland surfing practice.
As always, depends on how you plan to use the boards.
Thanks for your videos. Excellent instruction every time.
@pizzaHunter, I am not sure waterborne saved me a ton of money, however. After enjoying it on a street deck, I got an old school Peralta 10" deck, flat with mild kick tail, new wider trucks and bigger, softer wheels, and I am getting close to smoothstar cost. Now my daughter wants one. So yeah, not saving me any money going with the waterborne ;-)
That said, as a very new surfer with almost no wave access, the waterborne has been an great improving skills that did not work on a regular street deck. Plus it is incredibly fun! Their rear adapter makes huge difference over a hard riser block for getting deep carves and tight turns while keeping my back wheels on the ground.
30. comment for Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
1. You can adjust the cx to be looser than how I believe it was set up in the video
2. You can use looser bushings
Both these two adjustments create a tighter turn than was shown in the rotational aspect of the video
3. In the rotational turning tests I noticed your front foot was a bit too far foward not being behind the front trucks which would have allowed you to get a tighter smoother turn this is probably due to your being used to smoothstar as you said in the video so I would say that makes carver look tighter of a board than it really is a more experienced rider of the carver could push that turn without sliding it. But it would work vice versa and riding the smoothstar would feel foreign for me too. Thank you for doing your best to guve an honest review and judgement for surfing. Your videos are great keep them up would love to see some more higher level video analysis say intermediate to expert video analysis thanks kale your great!
Carver does most of their sponsored surfers on curved driveways aka cali driveaways.
Kales you've been there .. what 's the vibe ?
Driveways carver show are always carved like a wave.
Your using the smoothstar on flat terrain.
Can you you do a demo on carved driveways with the smoothstar.
By the way love your content, vibe and everything you offer.
You share such amazing knowledge and insightfulness.
Can only think of you and Chris Mills working together with Ben Gravy to create the greatest surfing vibe at Canggu beach lol...
Maybe not Canggu and not main beach Byron...
Yew
It’s kinda flimsy and definitely not made to cruise long distances especially up hill. It’s made to pump and train surf manoeuvres. Also there is a little screw to block the swing mechanism to use it as a cruiser which makes it 2 in 1.
With the Smoothstar you can adjust the tension of the spring for a more rigid or more manoeuvrable ride and that is nice too !
Watch some videos on YouTube and make your choice :)
Now i'm feeling limited while riding my Smoothstar after my Swelltech.. the more leaning capability of the board is really important in my opinion that's why i will never buy a Carver.. and will sell my Smoothstar !
50. comment for Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
Something possibly helpful to note, after reading Range by David Epstein, is that "Practice Variability" can play a key role in skill improvement. He uses basketball free throws as one example. It's actually better to practice shooting from slightly different places than the free throw line. He has another example about piano key jumps. It was better to practice a lot of random distance jumps than to practice the same fixed distance jump over and over again. I've taken this to heart and now I cycle through my three Carver boards everyday, constantly challenging myself. I'd love to add a SmoothStar and a Swelltech to my quiver to mix it up even more!
Yow is a more even comparison to smoothstar out the box. I see my carver and Yow as different boards in a quiver.
best
I have three Carvers but now am really interested in trying a Smoothstar.
If you wanna see the full potential of carver c7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYY8A2DD7So&t=7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGn_9igHQLk&t=3s
Never tried a smoothstar and I'd like to, but I own a green room carver since 2012 I guess and tried many other models from my friends. One thing you've gotta know before you buy one: Wheelbase, spring tension and stance will dramatically change your experience! CX is not a proper surfskate truck, but I found it handy in pools and parks, probably better than the c7 which must be set very tight in order to handle slopes. The right choice depends on your body type (mainly leg length) and the feeling you're looking for. More than the board length, carvers compare by wheelbase, with the longest riding like a mini-mal (to me the closest to surf) and the shortest more like a groveler in small surf. The green room was for me the best compromise.
only carver in bowl....(CX is better, i never try C5)
I buy first the mantaray smoothstar, drop a quater is scary (you fell the frontfoot moove even in maximum rigidity )
that's why i buy the CX (drop is scary too but a little less :D and i feel better whit speed)
i use smoothstar for flat and little slope (slow speed, best feeling, shorter curve)
Cx for bowl (more speed)
I'm admittedly a Carver fanboy, but then again I haven't tried a Smoothstar, and I have noticed a limitation to my Carver, which Kale touched on:
On my backhand specifically, I can only turn it so tightly without sliding the back wheels. It's a fairly long-wheelbase C7 model, and other surfers who've tried it say it has a bit of a longboard feel; maybe that's part of it. Anyway, I'm really keen to try out a Smoothstar now and compare!
P.S. Kale, once we're all done being socially distant, what do think about a trip to Perth and a coaching sesh for a small group of followers?!
100. comment for Which Surf Skate Is Better? SMOOTHSTAR V CARVER | Ultimate Test & Review
Kind Regards, Cooper
Please do a video of some advanced surf maneuvers wbich can be trained good with a Smoothstar, like radical topturn or lay back e. g,
Great vids btw, thanks man, always fun and super instructive!
Edit. I thought the cx trucks were tighter radius trucks.
Would like to see his review of Swelltech! ! And you absolutely right ...No Smoothstar 's EXIST in the CA market sadly.
Hope you also get a chance to review waterborne’s surf skate trucks!
Happy surfing from Virginia Beach! :-)
Just a thought.
As a surf training aid its grand but if I was buying again I would go with the 34" model.
1. The carver is new (the trucks hasn't been open enough to ride smooth yet)
2. The smooth star is definitely not new
3. you don't have enough experience with carver as you have with smooth star (you can definitely see it on the comparison at 12:08 all your body movements are not as the smooth star so why you expect to move it the same?)
to make this fair you need to bring someone that know how to ride them both and he have both of them for a while or at least to bring another good carver skater who can show a proper carver riding.
really not a hater just super shock how you made this video
So I bought the CX and I had it nearly over 1 year. It was really fun in the pool on the street. One day I read this article and it said, if you really want a proper surftrainer smoothstar is the right one. I looked around for other articles and all said the same. And I thought,, really are you serious the third surfskateboard? It takes me awhile because I like to travel and save all my money for it. But in the end as you can imagine, I went for it. And I just can say it was the right decision, it's so similar to surfing that I was laughing and giggling the first time I tried it. For me it's really important to have a good surftrainer, because I am from Austria and as you no.... we are f...ing landlocked. Wright now I am in Peru and of course I brought it with me. Because I travel through whole Latin America for an unknown time, to surf all the incredible spots. But as you know cause of the corona virus all the beaches are closed. It's sad of course but luckily I have my smoothstar, so a can train every day. I hope my story helps you to find the right surfskateboard without ending up like me idiot buying three of them. All the best and keep on shredding.
Pura Vida!
All the best y pura vida.
Alex
Plus the aa reading of the wheels help, the softer the wheel the tighter the turns you can make .
Plus :) you are right about the turn angle of the truck makes a big difference but the height makes a differnce as well , more height more turn .
And for the small things, check the bearings to see the make as 10 pound bearings (bones reds) compared to 100 pound ( swiss ceramics) ones make a big differents when you get going .
Hope this helps you all . Btw rubbers are very cheap and bones red bearings with great but by the sea with sand about you will need to clean them just use a soft brush , no oil ! Use a lube and use very little .
The stock CX carvers come with tighter trucks by default to suit riders who may be at a beginner level. I think for a fairer comparison, it might have been better if you had loosened your carver trucks to match how loose your smoothstar trucks were.
Also to consider is whether the boards have the same or very similar wheel bases- a smaller WB will give you a tighter turning radius.
I've personally tried both and feel that once your carver trucks have been set up to your liking, it feels grippier than the smoothstar, allowing you to reeeally use those rails. Overall, from my experience, the carver cx feels like riding a board that needs a bit more drive, whereas the smoothstar is a bit more cruisy and responsive.
Shame skateparks are closed in Oz atm coz apocalypse, but SPOILER alert: one board is better for flat ground surf training, and one board is better for surf training with transitions. ;)
Smoothstar most closely resembles the movements on a surfboard
If you try to do the same stuff in a slope you realized why the other board is not a good choice hahaha
Can you make a video about the Indo board and good exercises to focus on it?
Well done friend good video.
Imagine trying to do a turn off the lip with your foot on the nose of your surf board.
Do you have/can you post a video with training suggestions on the smooth Star and how the form should look through turns etc?
The reason why so many coaches will prefer to use the SmoothStar boards is that our job is to get students to a better surfing level faster and so frequently the surf does not provide us with the environment to work on progression so we will always want to pick the product that will help us do our job better.
Well done mate good video.
This video was exactly how I felt when comparing the ride between Swelltech and Carver. When you said Carver feels locked up, I totally know what you mean. Both the C7 and Cx Carvers feel like a tease. I can't wait to compare my Swelltechs to my en-route Smoothstar. That said I'd love if you tested either the JOB or Hybrid Camo Swelltech model against the Smoothstar and gave your in-depth perspective...PLEASE DO THIS!!! Btw, my Carvers will continue to collect dust hanging pretty on the wall. Cheers.