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Skateboarding Gift Ideas

by Samuel Wayne in Legacy Articles

Shopping for a teenage guy? As you’ve probably realized by now, teenage boys are hard to shop for. The changing trends make it hard to choose something they will love. Most teenage boys today love to skateboard. So do girls, in fact, and many people who have passed their teenage years. This very popular sport is growing each and every year, and more and more companies are producing skate gear. If you’re looking for a great gift for a skateboarder, consider the following options:

1) Skateboarding clothes. Many skateboarders wear skateboard shoes and other apparel from popular skate brands every day, even when they aren’t skating. A backpack or beanie hat with skateboarding company logos also makes a great gift. Skateboarding clothes can be found in skate shops, sporting goods stores, and even some department stores. This look is very popular, even for those who don’t skate at all.

2) A skateboard. If you do know what kind of skateboard the recipient wants, buying a new skateboard is probably the best gift you can give. However, be sure you know exactly what you’re looking for. The brand and size of the board makes a big difference to skateboarders. If in doubt, choose a gift certificate, or place a picture of a skateboard in a box and tell them you’ll purchase the board of their choice.

3) Skateboarding equipment or gift certificates. Though you may feel that you don’t know enough about the sport to buy a complete skateboard for a gift, there are plenty of skateboard accessories that every skater needs, like grip tape. Worried about the skateboarder’s safety? Select a helmet and a set of pads. This may not be the coolest gift, but at least it will keep your skateboarder safe. You could even pick up a gift certificate to a local skate shop so that they can find their own equipment if you feel bewildered by the choices that you see.

4) Magazine subscriptions. Popular skateboarding magazines profile pro skateboarders, demonstrate new tricks, and review the latest skateboarding equipment. A subscription to one of these magazines is sure to be enjoyed all year round; the magazine will probably even get passed around to all of the recipient’s skateboarding friends. This is a great choice if you’re not sure what equipment they already have for skateboarding.

5) A skateboard rack. Are you tired of tripping over your kid’s skateboard every time you enter their room? Keep it off the floor by giving a skateboard rack for the next gift-giving occasion. Skateboard racks are a perfect choice for most skateboarders, as it’s something they will rarely buy themselves, but something that every skateboarder can use. Skateboards left on the ground may get tripped over or even broken. Skateboards cost a lot of money; riders should protect them by keeping them off the ground using a skateboard rack.

Since skateboarding has become more popular, there is a good chance that someone you know would love a gift of skateboarding accessories. Show the recipient that you support their favorite hobby by picking out one of these must-have skateboarding items. From skateboarding clothes to a rack to hold their new skateboard, these skateboarding accessories are sure to please.

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Because of the different roof racks, each will be attached differently, but it’s important that no matter what rack you have, you take care in installing it properly. For rack pads, velcro them on your roof rack bars tightly. For straps, clamp them down tightly and check them for any worn or weak spots. For more specialty paddleboard racks, follow the instructions and make sure they fit properly with your car. After you’ve installed the rack, do a quick post-inspection so you really know that everything is snug and secure. You don’t want to lose a paddleboard because you were in a rush and forgot to attach a part of your rack. For cars with roof rack bars, the standard setup is roof rack pads that fasten to your bars and act as a cushion between the bars and your paddleboard, and a strap system to secure your paddleboard to the rack pads. The pads fit around the roof rack bars and secure typically with velcro. Secure the two pads, one on the front rack bar and one on the back rack bar, and make sure that they’re straight, so when you set your paddleboard on them, it won’t be rubbing up against the roof rack bars at all. For cars without roof rack bars, the focus while using the one piece rack system is on securing it to your car. Set the pads out in the general area on your roof where they need to end up, One towards the front, and one towards the back. Straps will be protruding on each side of the pads. Run the straps underneath your car’s roof so that they meet in the middle, than clamp the front 2 straps together and the back 2 straps together. You’re free to clamp the straps as tightly as possibly because they secure against your metal car (different when strapping down your paddleboard). Double check that your paddleboard is resting fully on the pads and is straight (parallel with your car). If you have a small car, there are other things to consider. Paddleboards come in different sizes, but they’re all pretty big, and if you have a small car, the straps on your roof rack setup may not be wide enough apart to adequately secure your paddleboard. For example, if you’re trying to strap a rack to a car without roof rack bars, it secures underneath the roof via the inside of the car. Generally, the front strap runs through the open space created by the front door and the back strap runs through the open space created by the back door. If you have a coupe, you only have a front door. So both your front and back straps will have to be secured via that space. The distance then between your front and back roof rack pads and straps will not be that great. If you strap in your paddleboard the straps may only be 3 or so feet apart. On a 12 foot paddleboard, that leaves almost 5 feet in the front and back of the board without any support. A potential solution is to take a page from the transport of other large equipment, like canoes and kayaks, and to get additional tie downs straps that secure the front and back of the paddleboard to the bumper and trunk of your car. The point is, it is tough to transport big paddleboards on small cars without roof rack bars. Keep this in mind when planning your next SUP adventure. Paddleboards on Your Roof – Upside Down and Backward Here’s how to load your paddleboard onto the roof of your car: Bottom of the paddleboard up: Logistically, if your fins are in, the rack will only work with the paddleboard fins facing up in the air, or else your fins would hit your car’s roof. Also, you prefer not to expose your wax or board pad to the sun, so top side faces down. And generally strapping the board upside down is better for travel, based on any concave of the paddleboard. Fins in the front: It may sound like a Jimmy Buffett song, but as mentioned, in a worst-case scenario, fins act as a last line of defense against your paddleboard wiggling free and flying off your car. If your boards start to slide backward, the fins catch on the straps and restrict how far backward the boards slide. Also, it’s more likely the tail of your paddleboard is thicker and flatter, so it has more strength and better shape to cut through the air as you’re cruising down the road. Securing Your Paddleboard to Your Roof Rack Once you’ve loaded up your paddleboard, it’s time to strap it down. For cars with roof rack bars, it’s all about feeding the straps around the bars and your paddleboard in the right direction for maximum security. You’ll have two straps, one in front and one in back. Start with the clamp end of the first strap on the outside of the board, underneath the roof rack bar. Run the strap across the top width of the paddleboard to the other side of the board, underneath the rack bar, and back along the width of the board. There it will meet the clamp end, and you will tighten appropriately. Tie off the excess strap and give your paddleboard and the straps a couple of pulls to make sure nothing is loose. For cars without roof rack bars, securing the roof rack straps is a bit more straight forward. The front straps and back straps each extend from both sides of the car. Pull them up from each side over your paddleboard and secure the plain end through the clamp and tighten. Repeat for both front and back straps, once again giving the straps a couple of pulls to double check. Don’t overtighten your straps. Avoid damaging your paddleboard by wrenching your roof rack straps too tightly around it. Different paddleboards are made of different materials, but you can crack fiberglass or other board materials if you pull your straps too tight. Find that just right tightness for your paddleboard. Mind your straps. Take the extra couple of seconds and make sure your straps are straight and not twisted around your board for maximum contact and hold. Then tie off the ends of the straps, as nothing good can come from them flapping in the breeze. Stacking Multiple Paddleboards When you’re heading out with a couple of your friends and need to stack multiple paddleboards on the roof of your car, one on top of the other, a few more issues come into play. Biggest paddleboard on the bottom. The biggest paddleboard goes at the bottom of the stack of SUPs because it provides the best foundation/ stability. Watch the spacing of fins and tails. Make sure there’s some space between the tails of the paddleboards and the fins facing up from the boards below them. If you stack your SUPs too closely together, with some wiggle or if you hit a bump, the tail of one paddleboard could be cut by the fins from the paddleboard below it. 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