Skateboarding nose and tail difference

What’s The Difference Between The Nose And Tail Of A Skateboard?

Some skaters prefer skating the nose of a skateboard over the tail, and vice versa. The reason behind this comes down to preference. In general, the tail is used over the nose as by design, is shorter allowing for a nice pop, especially when learning Ollies.I’ve been skating my nose as my tail from day one, until recently. I’ll discuss the reasons one may do this.

The difference between the nose and tail of a skateboard is size, length, and steepness. The nose is the bigger end, while the tail is shorter.These features are important when finding the right skateboard that fits your style of skating.

Common Skateboard Shapes

Popsicle skateboards (trick boards) can be hard to identify the nose from the tail. This will drive you crazy at first, but inspecting the side of the board, or even standing on it, the difference is noticeable.

Old Skool skateboards have a more pronounced shape where the nose is round and flat, while the tail scoops upwards. Sizing My last several boards were hard to identify which had me pull out the tape measure. By measuring one end, to the first hardware holes, you’ll have the answer. The difference is a fraction of a centimeter.

Which End Do You Skate?

Many years I’ve skated using my nose. Does it matter? Not so much. Although I’ve started using my tail for tricks. The reason is that it seems easier to pop certain tricks higher. For example, kickflips hit the ground quicker as the tail end is shorter, and less broad.

Debating whether this works better, it’s important to consider the shape of the nose. Some are wider, flatter, and just different compared to brands I’ve tried in the past. Jumping from size 8” wide board to 8.25” has set me back too. Overall, it’s harder to flip and rotate on a flat surface, but superb for tranny skating.

Don’t Forget To Mark The Ends

Don’t drive yourself crazy skating a board without colored bolts or making a cut in the grip. One colored bolt is all that’s needed, or go crazy with colors. Another approach is to get creative and use stencils and spray paint.

Brands apply unique designs, and costs a couple bucks over standard grip. Don’t Get Too Technical As you can see, a deck has slight differences that may alter the overall “feel” riding a board. I felt the biggest changes in the concave steepness, width, and length. It helps to try varieties of brands to understand this. With the dozens of boards I’ve been through, there’s a select few that hit the sweet spot.