Skateboards - Worth the weight?

[Vodage]

Transport. Cart. Bench. Table. Shield. Weapon. These are only a few of the uses of skateboards.
A device which wouldn't exist without urban environments, the skateboard can provide enough usefulness to be worth its weight in an urban BOB.

Legally considered a toy, not a vehicle, yet capable of reaching speeds of over 70 hm/h. (official world record: 130 Km/h or 80mph for stand-up positon [not luge])

Note: This is not a video of the record setting run. The rider here reaches a top speed of about 78 hm/h.

Made of plywood, they are quite strong, and could theoretically be used as a weapon or a shield, especially against a knife or hammer.
From Wikipedia:

Most decks are constructed with a six to seven-ply cross-laminated maple wood. Some of them have special materials that help to keep the deck from breaking: such as fiberglass, bamboo, resin, Kevlar, carbon fiber, aluminum, and plastic. Some decks made from maple ply are dyed to create various different coloured ply. Modern decks vary in size, but most are 7 to 10.5 inches (17.78 to 26.67 centimeters) wide.

(the skateboard action begins at about 1:30 in this video)

Disclaimer: Assault is illegal. Only use a skateboard as a weapon as a last resort in a self defense situation.
Using one as a weapon during a petty fight over the last beer could get you into a lot of trouble.
Mods: checked the rules and the "weapon" information seems to be alright.
Feels more fitting to put the thread here though, instead of in "other weapons", since ideally this is NOT your primary use for a skateboard.

[Cart]
Once, my girlfriend at the time and I were living on the street. I was carrying around a heavy duffel bag and a skateboard. She instructed me to put the skateboard on the duffel bag and drag it. (so much for men having better spatial recognition) It worked so well that the skateboard cart became my standard method of loadbearing.

Unfortunately I can't find a video of this, only of idiots riding around in shopping carts ><
However, the only other tool you need for a good skateboard cart is
A: A way of securing the contents to the skateboard. Don't go overboard with this, remember you're working with grip tape.
B: A leash. Somehow attached to the front axle, the skateboard cart can be dragged, and with proper weight distribution, easily lifted and turned.
Note that wider axles mean increased stability for both the cart user and the rider.

Personally I'm very interested in integrating a skateboard into my BOB.
Any skateboarders here on ZS? Don't tell me I'm the first Californian to have brought this up.

[the_alias]

Longboards maybe - you might have seen the Longboard long trek series. Three guys longboard all through Peru and Bolivia. Pretty impressive. Takes skill to be able to go that fast safely and you don't want injuries.
Also you have to consider the state of the roads in your emergency of choice and if your wheels and bearings will be able to cope.

Do an MBO with one and let us know how it goes! I'm tempted myself to try that.

[Vodage]

Longboards maybe - you might have seen the Longboard long trek series. Three guys longboard all through Peru and Bolivia. Pretty impressive. Takes skill to be able to go that fast safely and you don't want injuries.
Also you have to consider the state of the roads in your emergency of choice and if your wheels and bearings will be able to cope.

Do an MBO with one and let us know how it goes! I'm tempted myself to try that.

Injuries - yeah definitely. Skateboarding with a backpack on is a whole different story from skateboarding without one. Pads are generally very light to carry, but bulky.
Most of the pros use pro-tec brand (heh) pads. I've owned a pair of their kneepads myself; they're just plain magic.

Roads - I agree wholeheartedly there. However, I've seen some solutions for this.
Beyond the standard 'tire' styled oversize skateboard wheels, even larger options exist, though they might make cart functionality more challenging.
I once knew a guy who put actual tires (with air inside) onto his skateboard. They were so big that it continued to roll properly when flipped over.

MBO - Well considering I'm formerly homeless I already have, but It's worth trying again with my current board. It's a standard, double-tailed shortboard.

I'm interested in trying to use it as a tent pole. Slam the tail into the ground all the way down to the axle, and angle it so there's some resistance.
You could use it to make a "cone" frame out of a tarp I suppose, though you'd want at least one stake for the other end as well.

[the_alias]

Trailer for what I was talking about:


Tire wise you could go mountain board:


I see you are quite new - have you done a writeup on being homeless? I think it would be interesting to read.

[Electricity]

When I was a little kid I used to sit down on my skateboard and ride it down hills.
One time I fell and scraped off both my arms, and most of my torso. Fortunately, because I was young, they grew back.

My point is, in an everyday world, skateboards are dangerous. In a disaster environment without emergency medical services, they can be deadly.

[Grimstad]

My best friend and I hitch hiked from Seattle to San Diego when we were about 18. I strapped my skateboard to the back of my backpack and any time we hit a downhill, I was sitting and he was walking. It worked very well.

And now for a moment of bragging. On a standard pool riding board I have gone over 55 mph. A friend and I spent 7 hrs. one night walking up this hill and skating back down. There was a light mist falling all night so any time the board started to get away from you, you could throw it into a slide before it tossed you off. In the morning a guy came by on his paper route in a little pick up and gave us a couple rides to the top. It was one of those trips that he paced me going over 55. I'll see if I can pull a picture of the hill off of google earth.

ETA: Oh well, the picture didn't really do it justice. The hill is about 1 1/2 miles long and drops about 280 feet in a straight line. If you're familiar with the Riverton Heights area near Sea Tac, it's 42nd street where it goes under SR 518 up the hill to McMicken Heights.

[v3rs3]

Any skateboarders here on ZS?

I've been skating for about 18 years. I don't skate nearly as much as I used to as I'm getting older and slams hurt a lot more the older I get. My best friend owned a skateshop in town for 9 years and closed it up b/c he wanted to go back to school. I worked there for about 4-5 years, it was a lot of fun.

The only thing I'd say about those speeds is that you need some pretty good gear made to go those kinds of speeds. You couldn't just hop of my board right now and go down some huge hill. You'd get so much speed wobble that you'd wreck and probably have some gnarly scraps. There is an old soap box derby hill in town and we used to hop on some long boards and just fly down it. Good times, good times.

[JohnnyMayhem]

I got rid of my skateboard last year. (36 inch single kicktail with no concave, Independent 215 trucks, and Xtreme dirt wheels (100 mm treaded)) now I'm just kicking myself for getting rid of it.

Kind of thinking about getting another one (I'm thinking sector 9 or Powell)

[Vodage]

the_alias: No, haven't done a writeup yet. I've got some writing on it that I did for another website, but I would need to do some heavy editing to weed out all the illegal stuff.

Not sure about how telling a story of past illegal activity would jive with the rules. Probably better to just edit that stuff out.
Anyone who's been homeless can tell you that the deck is pretty heavily stacked against you when it comes to the law.

Electricity: Yeah they can definitely be very dangerous.
In a SHTF situation, I'd definitely want to send someone out on a bicycle, and not a skateboard, if they had to run some sort of errand.

The idea here is that assuming you're not having any delusions that you're Tony Hawk, you *can* safely use a skateboard to transport yourself or your gear.

[Grimstad]

I would suggest that if you are not real at home on a skateboard that something like a Razor skooter would be a much better choice. While either would help you to make better speed and conserve energy, on a skateborad all it takes is one little rock to ruin your day, AND your getaway.

[dukman]

If you are proficient in the art of skateboarding I say go for it. For people like me with two left feet and no sense of balance I would advise against it. I would rock one of those ol' skool big wheeled scooters tho not a razor, they suck Either way I would recommend a heavy jacket to project you from road rash as if you are on small wheels it is a matter of when not if.

[Vodage]

I would suggest that if you are not real at home on a skateboard that something like a Razor skooter would be a much better choice. While either would help you to make better speed and conserve energy, on a skateborad all it takes is one little rock to ruin your day, AND your getaway.

Funny you mention this. I actually constructed a skateboard using scooter wheels and over-wide axles. The end result was a board that required a lot more skill to ride, and was in general too fast for downhill. An odd side effect was that I could rub my shoe against one wheel, giving me a sort of brake. However, the rubber in my shoes was apparently harder than the rubber on the wheels because I had to start rotating them as they wore down from my new braking method.

The skateboard was a project for riding on flat ground, specifically on Market St., which (for those unfamiliar) is covered in bricks which really slow down standard size skateboard wheels.

[Dawgboy]

In my younger days I always had a kick tail i my plumbing truck for moving water heaters. Extremely useful as a dolly. I could see use for one if you are proficient. We also used to "catamaran hills and parking garages. That's some good fun...

[Tribunal Power]

Depends a lot on skill and experience, but maybe even more on the size and weight of your BOB. I don't care of you're Tony Hawk, you're not skateboarding down Cicero Ave with a 40lb ruck on your back. But if you have a small/light pack and can adjust to the change in balance, then yeah I could see a skateboard being quite useful.

I wanted to skate as a kid. Honestly, my board got more use helping my dad move shit out of the garage than it ever did during my Bart Simpson days. I won't be adding one to my kit any time soon.

[Vodage]

Depends a lot on skill and experience, but maybe even more on the size and weight of your BOB. I don't care of you're Tony Hawk, you're not skateboarding down Cicero Ave with a 40lb ruck on your back. But if you have a small/light pack and can adjust to the change in balance, then yeah I could see a skateboard being quite useful.

I wanted to skate as a kid. Honestly, my board got more use helping my dad move shit out of the garage than it ever did during my Bart Simpson days. I won't be adding one to my kit any time soon.

Yeah, as you add weight and hill grade, you eventually want to sit on the board instead of stand, and use your shoes as brakes. This, of course, wears down the tread on your shoes, which is just about the worst idea for any sort of bugout situation.

In my experience owning one while homeless, I tried to either
A) take my pack with me and use the board as a cart/dolly for it
B) stash my pack and use the board as a vehicle.

[urban-survivalist]

I like your style Vodage.

San Diego local, and big skateboarder. Way to see the value. I agree with most of the other comments about safety, but also agree with you about mitigating some injuries by being smart about what it is that you're trying to do. I've mostly skated street, but also some park and bombed a few hills. Much of it I've done without any injury, but the times I was injured was when I was going really fast or trying to ollie over something crazy (obviously).

Also great in a fight though (Too good almost). Seen some scary aftermath.

@Grimstad-Nice idea about the razor scooter. I saw some kid on one of those a couple months ago and was wondering the same thing. Looks like they could probably fold easily and fit into a backpack.

[KentsOkay]

Meh skateboards, I always preferred scooters and rollerblades. I'd rock a burly scooter.

[Barr]

Even though the write up about being homeless is on another site and you plan on editing it for a posting here can you provide us with the link to the other site in the meantime, I'm sure more people than myself are curious as to the particulars.

[connecticut_yankee]

It may well be worth it if you know how to skateboard (I've never touched one). I think a bicycle with a basket is probably the best human powered transportation you can get.

[Glennbo]

No a skateboard is not worth the weight or trouble to carry or try to use in any disaster/emergency situation.

Skateboards were not in evident use during any hurricaines, earthquakes, war, or riots for example. Probably with good reason?

Sounds like a good way to be an easy target and die to me.

They're freakin' toys that are for fun during normal life for cryin' out loud! You need smooth, uninterupted pavement...hello? I hate to rain on your skateboard/rollerblade fantasies, but the whole idea is silly. Right up there with a machine gun mounted on handlebars. You'd be better off with a "dog sled-wagon".

Still, any thread is better than none as pure amusement.

[Ableto]

When I was a little kid I used to sit down on my skateboard and ride it down hills.
One time I fell and scraped off both my arms, and most of my torso. Fortunately, because I was young, they grew back.

My point is, in an everyday world, skateboards are dangerous. In a disaster environment without emergency medical services, they can be deadly.

When i was a kid i went down hill sitting on a Metal Tonka dump truck. To steer i would just use my feet for turning and breaking. Never had an accident.

Skate boards are ok for who knows how to use them, its just going at very fast speeds with them is the dangerious part. Having a good eye on the road ahead is a must. Also not having the right gear can hurt in more ways then one.

The same can be said for any form of transpertation from cars, to bikes, to gliders, to simple paddle boats.

[RapturesVictor]

A bicycle seems a bit more practical.

Skateboards can become water logged when in a wet environment and that brings extra weight and also moisture can ruin your bearings so you won't coast as long as you may have when they were new. Also, I imagine PAW leaving an abundance of stalled vehicles in the roadway, and zero road sweepers to clean debris from storms. With all of your gear, this could be very difficult to travel, especially if your trip is uphill. And lastly, if you have the traditional wheels, it may bring more noise than you may wish to make. It can be heard at a distance and could attract walkers, runners, predators, or other hostiles.

A bike on the other hand is much more common; you can easily find spare parts if need be. A mountain bike will help you get to your destination by using your energy the most efficiently through the use of gears. You could salvage said gears to make a wind turbine or the bike itself to make an easier wheat grinder. Correct me if I'm wrong but you can get to higher speeds on a bike, and since you have brakes, you can do so safely. A bike is much more quiet also and if you needed to, you could hitch a ride on someones back bolts/pegs/handbars down a hill. I feel like you could carry more gear safely and quietly than you could on a skateboard.

[Jeriah]

This thread makes me think of YT, or more specifically, her namesake.

[Rugger]

When I was a kid (guessing '88-90'?) I had a scooter that was styled like a bmx bike. Similar type of handlebars and forks, dirt tires, hard plastic mag wheels, wide/long sturdy deck, and front/rear hand brakes. You could get up some pretty good speed on a dirt road, and really fast on pavement. It was big, sturdy, and heavy. Lime green and it even had a kickstand. Thinking back on it, I bet it would work pretty well.

ETA - pic, just like this, but lime green and without the pegs.