This article is a guide to the best longboards for campus/college cruising. Whether you’re looking for a board that fits easily under your desk, or a board that can help you cover the 3mile distance to school, I got you covered. Check it out below.
Best longboards for campus/college
Great longboards for short commutes/zipping across campus
Landyachtz Dinghy – Great mini-cruiser
The Landyachtz Dinghy is arguably the most popular mini-cruiser on the market. It’s one of the best choices if you’re in the market for a mini-cruiser. With all the graphics, shapes, and color choices to choose from, it’s hard not to get a satisfying pick.
Buy the Landyachtz Dinghy here at the Landyachtz website. Use the code – “AroniSkate&Explore15” for 5% off.
The Dinghy comes in at 28inches in length. It features high-quality Bear TKP trucks, Bear Spaceball bearings, and a variety of Hawgs wheels. Quality components all-around.
The Dinghy is a super fun, nimble cruiser. The big 63-72mm wheels (depending on your Dinghy choice), roll smoothly, accelerate quickly, and are soft enough that they can handle a variety of terrain whilst absorbing road vibrations. Perfect for traversing the variety of road surfaces across campuses.
As far as minicruiser go, the Dinghy is one of the best. Check it out here at the Stoked ride shop. Alternatively, you can also find out more about here on Amazon.com.
If you’re looking for something wider and bigger than the Dinghy, you can check out the Landyachtz Tugboat here. It’s better for bigger, taller riders.
Arbor Collective Pilsner – Quality mini cruiser
Similar in size, function and shape to the Dinghy, the Arbor Pilsner is a great alternative.
What I like about Arbor is their ethos and practices when it comes to sustainability and being an eco friendly corporation. All their wood comes from sustainable sources of supply and all the wood by-product is reclaimed and used in other areas. They also use eco friendly glues. They simply try to minimize their impact on the environment.
As a board, the Pilsner is pretty good too. It has quality components, featuring Paris 108mm TKP trucks, 61mm tall Arbor wheels, and Abec 5 bearings. The griptape is recycled glass re-grit.
Apart from the design (and Arbors ethos), the Pilsner is just your regular old, high-quality cruiser. But if you like it’s design, I recommend you go for it. Check it out here on Amazon.com.
Magneto minicruiser – budget mini cruiser
The most affordable minicruiser on this list, the Magneto is great if you’re on a budget. Ofcourse, you get what you pay for. Don’t expect it to ride as well as a Dinghy or the Pilsner above.
The deck on this cruiser is of pretty decent quality actually. It is a bit small at 27inches and 7.5inches in width, but it would be perfect for people with smaller feet.
The components are not of great quality (it’s clear they cut costs here). It has knock-off Paris TKP trucks, cheap bearings, and cheap wheels.
The saving grace of this complete is the great designs. You can pick from 4 graphics, with one being made from bamboo – it’s my favourite. Check out all the graphic options here on Amazon.com.
Best of both worlds
Comet Cruiser – best all-around board
The Comet Cruiser is the best all-around board on my list. It has the manuevarability and portability of a minicruiser, but the comfort and ability to go longer distances like the large cruisers below.
The Comet Cruiser is quality through and through. All the parts are high-quality, featuring Paris trucks, big 69mm Powell-Peralta Snake wheels, Zealous bearings, and wedge risers. Its deck is made from vertically laminated Mahogany and Basswood, sandwiched between fiberglass … it’s a bit fancy.
The Comet Cruiser rides like a dream – it turns on a dime so you can slalom between objects. It is flexible and close enough to the ground that you can push far. And with the soft wheels and soft risers (and flex), absorb a lot of road vibration which adds significant comfort to the ride.
But you do pay for all this. The Comet Cruiser costs $254. It is expensive but it is worth for the quality and performance – this is the best cruiser I have ever used and I don’t say that lightly.
Find out more about it here at the Comet website. Use the code “downhill254” at checkout for 5% off.
Other good boards in this style
- Loaded Omakase (not flexible and a bit heavy), check here at Stoked Ride shop.
- Loaded Poke
- Landyachtz Ripper (great size but small wheels not good for 3miles+ distances), more details here at Stoked ride shop.
Best boards for longer distance (3miles+/5km+) commuting
DB Double-Drop – good for longer rides/but portable
The DB Double-drop boards are the most affordable (but decent quality), long distance pushing boards on the market. You don’t get any better value for money than this. However, the components and construction isn’t the best (but will be better than other cheap boards).
The DB Double drop collection features 3 similar boards – the DB Bear 33, DB Sashimi 32, and DB Minicooper 33. All similar boards.
The Double Drops are low to the ground, come with flexible decks, huge 90mm wheels, and TKP trucks. This combination of features and components make them easy to push for long distances, easy to footbrake, stable, and very comfortable. The 90mm wheels coast forever and roll over everything – you don’t have to worry about pebbles and imperfect road surfaces ever again.
But because the Double-Drops are still quite small at 33inches, they are easy enough to carry around when you need to. They are great boards that bridge being portable, whilst still allowing you to skate far.
Find out more about the DB Double Drop longboards here on Amazon.com.
Drop Cat 33 – good for longer rides/but portable
The Drop Cat 33 is more of a cruiser that can handle slightly longer distances. Whilst the DB Double Drop above is a distance/portable hybrid, the Drop Cat is more of a cruiser/portable boards/distance hybrid. It’s a great option if you’re not super serious about the whole distance thing.
The Drop Cat comes with a flexible deck, high-quality construction (good for riders 90kg/200lbs+), a double drop (so it’s low the ground with loads of flex too), big 72mm wheels, high-quality Bear Gen 6 trucks, and Bear spaceball bearings.
Check out my indpeth review of the Drop Cat here.
Maybe one of the best cruisers on my list. The big wheels of the DB Double Drop will make it abit harder to push initially, whilst the 72mm wheels on this will accelerate quicker but still hold their speed an droll over road imperfection well. This is the best option if you want something more chill to ride.
Buy the Drop Cat here at the Landyachtz website. Use the code – “AroniSkate&Explore15” for 5% off.
Check out the Drop Cat here at the Stoked Ride Shop.
Other boards good for this still of riding
- Zenit Catnip – Drop Cat 33 alternative
- Pantheon Trip – best for longer rides/but portable
- Rocket Rambler
- Zenit AB maze – great quality option for longer rider/but portable
Best longboards for college buying guide
What are your goals? What distances are you skating?
So if you wanna get the best board for your needs, you gotta decide what sort of skating you want to do. Do you just want a board that you can use to zip across campus in 5 minutes, then easily store under your desk? A board that will help you cover 5miles from home to campus?
Different types of boards are best for different types of riding. I go over which is best for what below.
So you want something portable
If you want something portable, you’re gonna end up with a mini-cruiser. For example, the Dinghy.
This type of board is typically 30inches in size and will be able to fit under your desk, it will be lightweight enough to carry around and some can even fit in your backpack.
However, they won’t be great for riding longer than 10minutes. Not great options if you need to skate very far. Also, don’t go for those that are super small, they suck to ride.
Don’t pick mini-cruiser under 27inches in length.
Finally, the Comet Cruiser might be the best of both worlds. It is as portable as a minicruiser but more comfortable to ride over longer distances. But it is a bit longer in size.
So you want to skate a bit far
If you want to clear 5km+/3miles+ or skate for over 10minutes, you’re going to want a commuter-style board. But you also possibly want something small enough that you can carry it around comfortably and store it easy enough.
Boards that are low to the ground, easy to push, and easy to footbrake are what you’re gonna want. But also, boards that aren’t too long or too big would be a welcome choice.
So boards like the Pantheon Ember, Drop Cat 33, etc. would be excellent choices here.
Those boards come with low-standing platforms, big wheels and are great for skating longer distances. But because they aren’t too long, they aren’t so bad to carry around. Not as portable as mini-cruisers but they are the next best thing.
You can’t have a board that does it all
It’s going to be tough to get a board that skates super far but is also easy to store. It is difficult.
However, a board like the Comet Cruiser somehow fits in that category.
But yeah, these are two distinct categories and you’ll be better off picking boards right for them. You could also try skating super far on your mini-cruiser, but honestly, that’s a terrible way to skate/live. It’s pretty brutal, but it can be done.
Aim to get something high-quality, flexible …
High-quality boards are gonna turn smoother, roll quicker and perform better than low-quality boards. You should aim to get a high-quality board for the best riding experience.
A flexible board will simply be more comfortable to ride. It will soak up a lot of road vibrations and give you a more comfortable and better all-around riding experience.
What do you think? Got the right boards?
If you can afford it, the Comet Cruiser is the best all-around longboard on this list. It will be perfect if you want to do a bit of distance riding but need something lightweight to carry around.
But yeah, don’t just pick something because it’s pretty or don’t over estimate the ability of a minicruiser to skate distances. Trust me, you will be much better off picking something right for your needs.
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