Skill Board - Review

Arguably one of the most important skills needed to surf is balance. It dictates how well you ride each wave as well as how frequently you fall off your board while sitting in the lineup. Since time on a wave is so scarce, it is important for surfers to have good balance so as to not waste any opportunity.

Enter balance trainers. Surf balance trainers have been around for a long time and usually consist of a board and barrel. These work great, but you only balance in 2 directions. That has always bothered me because when surfing, the board can pivot in any direction and you need to be able to use both legs as well as your toes and heels to stay balanced. These types of balance boards do not allow for that.

Well, I was scrolling through Facebook one day and saw an ad for the Skill Board. This balance trainer utilizes a ball instead of a barrel. This looked just like what I had always wanted out of a balance trainer so I reached out to their team and they quickly sent one my way. 

The Gear

The kit they offer online comes with everything you need to get going. The board is high quality wood that looks really nice. It is thinner than some other balance trainers I’ve used which is nice for carrying it around. The ball is like an extra-grippy reinforced basketball. The kit also comes with a pump (with a pressure gauge) and needle.  After glancing at the instructions, I got the ball inflated to 5 PSI and went for it.

Results

As a balance trainer, this is fantastic. Having surfed for a long time and using balance trainers in the past, I was shocked at how difficult it was to stay balanced. Even at a low PSI, I was struggling to stay off the ground for more than a couple of seconds. Over the next few days, I slowly got better and better. 

I was excited to see how this was going to affect my surfing so I grabbed my longboard (thanks to some Southern California slop) and paddled out. I’m not the greatest long boarder but I saw a significant improvement after just my first few days using the Skill Board. My cross stepping was so much smoother and I was able to walk up and down the board much easier than before. 

As I kept working with the Skill Board, I saw it affect my short boarding as well making my pop ups much smoother and holding rail on longer turns became a breeze. I am really happy with the results I’ve seen from using my Skill Board. I truly believe that the 360 degrees of balance really make this trainer a step above the rest. 

Pick one up for yourself Here and drop them a follow on instagram @skillboardusa.

Stay Stoked!