Hi to all the fingerboard crew out there,
I have skated skateboards for a long time and am more or less an expert when it comes to full size setups.(Nearly 28 years of skateboarding,working in skate shops and dealing with both the wholesale and retail aspects of the industry.Along with many years of indulging in the sport.)So I know exactly what I want and need from a full size board for producing board performance,but even though I have known about,mucked around with and still collect fingerboards,I have never really thought about mastering any of the harder tricks until now.I am going to start practicing and hopefully developing my fingerboard skills and have only ever used plastic decks(Tech Decks).Can anyone out there please shine a little light on any information that will help me get a good start?
All responses and information is greatly appreciated.
Nez.

I'd for sure check out anyone that is in the banner on top! all are very legit guys!

^what Ryan said. They'll all the trusted brands who are members of this community, and there are some amazing decks up there. Give them a look, see what you like. You won't find much thinner than 29mm (Tech Decks are 26mm), and most are 30-32mm. Personally I prefer the wider decks, but it's all preference. Widers decks just give me more control over finger position, though the board does rotate more slowly as a result.

Depends what you're looking for really, a beginner setup or the best money can buy? ;D

As Ryan said, you can't go wrong with any brands from the banner up there^

Blosom decks should be in stock on fingersized.com either today or tomorrow at 5pm, they're £20 for a blank or £24 for a graphic crazy high demand too, with good reason! They're probably the best decks out there, definitely my favourite and I've tried a lot of decks

If you're wanting to go all out on a full setup I'd recommend getting some blackriver wides with some Winklers, flatface or oak wheels depending on the feel of wheel that you want!
Winkler are pretty big and hard, they squeak a little bit though.
Flatface come in many different sizes and feels, shop around on flatfacefingerboards.com I guess ideally you need brr edition if you go for blackriver trucks though
Oak wheels are the closest things to miniature skateboard wheels, they're grippy, and squeak a lot on powerslides etc

There are many great decks out there from many different countries. I would start with where you live, and ask around what good companies are out there. I of course would recommend Homewood since I make them lol (the blue smokestack monster in the banner up top is mine) and I do it full-time so I could use any order I can get :-p But if you're in Europe I'd suggeset Berlinwood or Woodguest (also can get some on my site right now) or Pretes if you can get your hands on one.

If you're in the UK definitely check out Kerry's site!

Basically all the companies on the banner are great. All are very good.

Having a look on the reviews page is also a good shot; a fair few different decks/trucks/wheels/tape/etc are reviewed there by various different people. https://fingerboardhq.darkbb.com/t12195-skull-jk-1-blackjack-complete if you scroll down a bit a few of the guys mention some boards that they think are especially good for beginners.
I started out with a LoveDrug, then a Zonawood and now I've got a Pure. Very different decks, so it might take you a while to figure out what style you like, but just play around. Most decks retain their re-sale value and most of these crazy kids are open to trading as well as selling.

Thanks for all the advice,I am in Australia and am having a hard time finding any sellers here.If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great.I definitely want to get the best set up I can I am more interested in quality than price,big thanks to all who have posted replies again.
Nez.

I don't know of any Australian companies but most countries take about a week to ship to Australia. I know cuz I have a team rider from Melbourne and it takes about a week to get decks to him.

All of your advice is greatly appreciated,and respected.I am so keen to get started with finger boarding as a serious venture that I just went ahead and brought a couple of completes that I found online.The first 1 that I got is a Close Up Series $ Antiz Angel and the 2nd one is a Star Series 2 Einstein graphic.I have checked heaps of reviews but am curious what people in the Fingerboard HQ forums opinions of the boards that I have purchased.Brutal Honesty Appreciated,I think I will be an ongoing part of your community and look forward to learning more from all of you and sharing my progression.
Nez.

Man Im from melbourne australia and their are a few riders here. What state and what are you looking for?

I guess for starters another Aussie would be good,thanks for your reply.As for finger board advice I want as much as I can get.I am in Lismore northern NSW.

neztek wrote:

All of your advice is greatly appreciated,and respected.I am so keen to get started with finger boarding as a serious venture that I just went ahead and brought a couple of completes that I found online.The first 1 that I got is a Close Up Series $ Antiz Angel and the 2nd one is a Star Series 2 Einstein graphic.I have checked heaps of reviews but am curious what people in the Fingerboard HQ forums opinions of the boards that I have purchased.Brutal Honesty Appreciated,I think I will be an ongoing part of your community and look forward to learning more from all of you and sharing my progression.
Nez.

You brought a china complete and a board that's gonna be a bit too thin to use, to put it shortly. Star just resell crap products they don't make themselves at a big markup, and the old closeup boards were tiny.

Ok, you can buy a deck from most of the guys up their^^^^^
They are a lll part of this community. For wheels I recommend flat face wheels since their cheap and for trucks either get wide truck setup from finger sized or dump trucks from flat face. Dump trucks are 4 dollars and wide trucks setup are about 2 dollars 50 and come with non bearing wheels and a piece of tape.

Feedback appreciated its a bit sad that I have learned about the true nature of the FB's I have brought,but what do I do?I will only deal with reputable companies from now on.Thanks again.
Nez.

I sent you a pm man:d Its should help

Close up decks come with really nice beginner wheels so that's not too bad
The star complete is just China though :/ maybe you could cancel the order if you no longer want it? It's not so much that China decks are bad, it's just that companies such as star re-sell China stuff for so much!

Both of the trucks that comes with the two completes you now have ordered will work good with a decent set of tuning bushings and superglued kingpin nuts. So that is at least some good news for you. You can use these trucks on future setups perhaps. That way you can experiment with other decks and wheels and find what you prefer..

Dont feel to bad. Chanses are you will enjoy what you ordered. It is not like the things you have ordered wont bring you good times and enjoyable fingerboarding experienses. And this way you have loads of progressing to look forward to and can use your time to get more into seeking your dream setup later down the road, if you find that what you got needs to be changed. This also is a big part of fingerboarding I personally enjoy very much!

G'day to all the FingerboardHQ crew and especially to the guys and girls who took the time to try and guide me in the right directions with good advice since I first approached this forum.I would like to say that I believe that I am in the full evolution process from seasoned skateboarder to one day I hope to say a seasoned fingerboarder.Since I posted that I had got a Close Up and a Star FB I haven't gone anywhere without a board in my pocket and every chance I get no matter how small it may be I am flinging fingerboards across the room and,knocking over drinks in mad attempts to catch wayward trick attempts.I am happy to say that I am starting to get my head around finger placements and am starting to work out physics and force too.I fully understand the lack of respect for the role that Star has placed itself in,in an industry that is rooted and will surely continue to move forward as skateboarding has due to true support from true lovers of not just the art but also the culture.Therefore I have now ordered several decks and other bits and pieces from companies that are run for fingerboarders by fingerboarders.That last part of the sentence is actually the slogan of the skateshop where I last worked although FB is SB.Anyway I definitely think that I am becoming slightly addicted to my new found challenge as I did about 28 years ago when I first began to skate(my house has manual pads,rails,transitions,ledges and even a bowl corner that I have whacked together over the last couple of weeks).I love that almost anything can be utilised for terrain.I probably wont post in this topic anymore but look forward to becoming a regular part of this community and learning more from you all as time goes on,once again thanks and I will catch you all in the discussions.
Nez.