Boards and scooters, priced for Ireland
9 written up
Every board here is one an Irish shop had in stock when we checked, priced in euro, with the delivery cost worked in. We say what each one is good at and who should buy something else instead. Nobody pays us to be on this page.
from €110
Birdhouse
The most sensible first proper skateboard sold in Ireland right now, once you accept it needs different wheels.
from €155
Madrid
A €155 cruiser on genuine Canadian maple from a company making boards since 1976, though the trucks are the same generic castings as on €120 boards.
from €130
Creature
The only kids' complete under €150 in Ireland with wheels soft enough for cracked footpaths, built around a short 13" wheelbase for six to ten year olds.
from €40
Rocket
The cheapest full-size maple complete in Ireland at €40, with unusually sensible 92a wheels and trucks you should expect to replace.
from €80
Verb
A €79.99 double-kick complete from Globe's entry line, the cheapest board on this site that can actually do skateboarding properly.
from €50
Tony Hawk
A 7.25" child's board with real maple and aluminium trucks for €50, let down by hard 99A wheels that a light rider cannot push through.
from €120
Ocean Pacific
A €120 cruiser with 59mm 83A wheels and wheel wells, the most practical board here for getting across an Irish town on rough road surfaces.
from €40
Tony Hawk
A €39.99 single-kick board from Smyths with no nose, which rules out most of the tricks a child will want to learn.
from €150
Hydroponic
Reduced from €239 to €150, a drop-through longboard with 180mm reverse-kingpin trucks and bearing spacers, hardware most completes at this price omit.
Most completes under €150 ship with wheels rated 95A to 100A. Those are skatepark wheels: small, hard and fast on smooth concrete. Put them on a footpath in Limerick and they stop dead on grit, rattle your feet, and let go without warning as soon as the ground is damp.
If the board is going to live on the street rather than in a park, either buy a cruiser with soft wheels or budget about €35 to change them. It is the single cheapest thing you can do to make a beginner enjoy skating.