Perhaps you’re looking for a skateboard for your child, nephew, or grandson and are in doubt of what to get. You’ve come to the right place because we tested a couple of skateboards that are great for 9-year-old kids (and older).
This post lists a few skateboards that we really like and at the end I’ll explain a bit of the jargon, what type of skateboards to avoid, and how to adjust a skateboard. Don’t forget to read about what to do on the first day of riding a new skateboard.
Contents
- The Right Skateboard Size For 9-Year-Old Kids
- What Makes A Good Skateboard For Kids
- What Makes a Terrible Kids Skateboard?
- Skateboards Suitable for 9-year-Old Boys and Girls
- Skateboarding & Protective Gear
- Proper Footwear
- Skateboard Tweaking Tips When Riding The First Time
- Why Should I trust SkateboardersHQ?
The Right Skateboard Size For 9-Year-Old Kids
Typically a skateboard between 7.25″ and 7.5″ works for kids of 9 year olds given they aren’t taller than 4′ 11
While skateboard sizes for kids isn’t exact science, kids tend to benefit from shorter skateboards. A shorter board makes it easier to distribute their weight and allows them to properly place their feet and legs. A longer board will require a much wider stance which makes it more difficult to balance.
Secondly a shorter skateboard usually has a shorter wheel base which makes it easier to turn. it also offers more responsiveness which helps to correct minor mistakes and avoid obstacles.
Take this with a grain of salt because kids adjust their stance if a skateboard is a bit longer or wider. If you see a great quality 7.75″ skateboard for a good price, go for it. It’s just that the shorter and narrower boards make it easier to do tricks.
What Makes A Good Skateboard For Kids
Younger kids that want to learn how to skateboard benefit from softer wheels and softer bushings. Many skateboard brands neglect to use the right combination of components and just push their boards on the market without really thinking about kids needs.
Furthermore a skateboard should be able to withstand impacts and not break from hopping a curb. The trucks should be made of quality materials that don’t tear easily and the wheels and bearings should offer a comfortable ride.
I only select the decent skateboard for beginner kids, because better to spend a bit more than you’re kid coming home injured.
What Makes a Terrible Kids Skateboard?
Basically all the skateboards you see recommended by websites that don’t use real images.
They steal content from others and advice you to buy cheap skateboards just to get a commission. I’m sure you’ve come across one of those sites.
Funny thing is that even the top and trusted websites these days recommend them. Be careful and don’t fall for this. If it doesn’t have real pictures or video, it’s very likely fake.
There are certain brands to avoid if you want a safe and well performing skateboard, common skateboard ‘brands’ you see on Amazon like Beleev, Metroller, Phoeros, Krown, etc.
A $30 to $60 USD skateboard is unsafe and not fun to ride. You’re better off buying a used skateboard from a reputable brand. However, the relatively cheap Tony Hawk signature series are an exception.
Skateboards Suitable for 9-year-Old Boys and Girls
We judged the skateboards for the quality of the decks, wheels, trucks, and bearings. We look at durability, beginner friendliness, price, and most suitable style.
All the skateboards listed here are excellent, the ones that are terrible didn’t make the list.
Oh before I forget, we also looked for kid friendly, and cool graphics. A great looking skateboard really motivates to go out and ride a skateboard!
1. SkateXS Skateboard
Let’s hit it off with the highest quality skateboard you can get. SkateXS designs skateboards specifically for young kids and have been at it for over a decade.
They offer skateboards in various ages ranges including 9-year-olds, both for girls and boys.
What makes this skateboard stand out from the rest is the choice of components. They are carefully selected for kids that want to learn how to ride a skateboard and maybe do some tricks.
The trucks are lightweight, durable, and come with softer bushings that make it easier to turn without losing balance.
SkateXS Kids Skateboard
Performs great on sidewalks, concrete, and asphalt. Offers a smooth and reliable ride straight out of the box.
- Custom Designed for kids
- Can handle pebbles and cracks
- High-quality Parts
- Excellent customer support
- Safest skateboard we tested
The responsive setup also helps to stay in control when trying to move forward or suddenly having to correct a minor mistake.
This will result in less falling and a more enjoyable ride, making it less likely to become discouraged.
The colorful wheels (also available in black and white) are soft and suitable for riding over small cracks and pebbles.
It also requires less effort to maintain speed so kids can focus more on staying on control and keeping their balance.
Lastly, the bamboo maple deck is extremely durable and will last for a long time. Most kids skateboards are made of birch these days which is inferior to maple and bamboo.
It’s a way to cut costs and easily overlooked if you don’t know what makes a good skateboard.
SkateXS also offers even higher quality kids skateboards with better wheels, bearings, and trucks. Not needed for 9-year-olds but worth checking out.
SkateXS also offers protective gear for kids, at least get a helmet.
| Skate XS skateboard | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | High quality maple and bamboo |
| Wheels | Medium soft 90A wheels |
| Bearings | Quality beginner SkateXS bearings |
| Trucks | High grade lightweight SkateXS trucks |
| Style | Skate Park, street, cruising |
Why We Like This Skateboard
There aren’t any downsides to SkateXS skateboards, it’s the best skateboard for beginner kids. Sure, it might be a more expensive than these cheap skateboards you often see on Amazon but they are safer, more reliable, and not mass produced.
SkateXS has excellent customer service and loves to help you pick out the perfect skateboard customized for young kids. Check SkateXS for availability.
- You get the bet components that work well together
- Graphics that looks rad and are kid friendly.
- A durable environmentally friendly bamboo/maple deck.
- A smooth riding experience suitable for both pavements, street, and skate parks
- Excellent customer service from people that actually care and want the best for kids
What We Don’t Like
There isn’t anything we don’t like but if you don’t want to spend $120 USD on a skateboard this one isn’t the best pick.
If you still want a quality skateboard for a lot less you might want to check for used skateboards. Often you can get skateboards that are hardly used for a lot less.
2. Meow Skateboards
If you think Enjoi has cute graphics, check out Meow skateboards. Meow is a relatively new brand but very successful. And because they aren’t a huge brand yet, they care about offering quality skateboards.
Bigger brands like Powell Peralta or Santa Cruz started to cut corners and many bigger brands followed by offering lower quality decks
. Meow does not cut corners and offers a quality maple deck with soft wheels and decent trucks for a fair price.
This skateboard is a great option who don’t have the budget for a SkateXS skateboard but still want something reliable. It comes with small and softer wheels which offer a smooth riding experience.
The Meow complete performs well on uneven terrain, but also offers grip on slicker surfaces.
Great for pavement and street skateboarding but also a skateboard you can bring to a skate park (both indoors and outdoors).
It does require more effort to push and maintain speed, this improved a bit after making a few adjustments.
Meow offers skateboard in many sizes, the one pictured here is 8.0″ but we recommend getting one that’s around 7.5″ for 9-year-olds.
This skateboard offers a stable riding experience and behaves predictably. Turning is a bit harder at first and I advice to slightly loosen the kingpin axle nut.
Usually turnability improves in time because the bushings need to break-in. Only tweak the trucks if the kid is very lightweight and/or has trouble turning the board. More about this at the end of this article.
Why We Like This Skateboard
Meow is a brand that wants to motivate girls to get into skateboarding scene.
By buying a skateboard from Meow you support women in skateboarding which is much needed. Skateboarding is a sport for both boys and girls!
Other than that, their skateboards are super rad with awesome graphics (my favorite) and high quality components (except the bearings).
The price is very fair compared to the dominating brands and offer higher quality skateboards compared to Powell Peralta (one of the biggest brands) for the same price. Available on Amazon.
| Meow Skateboard | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | Durable Canadian Maple, 7-ply |
| Wheels | Medium soft 90A wheels |
| Bearings | Low quality bearings |
| Trucks | Decent beginner trucks, easy turning |
| Style | Skate Park, street, cruising |
What We Don’t Like
There’s one thing that bothers me, it requires quite some effort to maintain speed.
Sure, the small 52mm wheels don’t cover much ground per rotation, but I think they cut back on the bearings. They just won’t roll and hardly spin.
Loosening the axle nut and adding some silicon lube improves its ‘rollability’, still not a huge improvement.
It’s not a deal breaker considering you get a maple deck and decent truck + wheels, but it is a downside.
At first this won’t be an issue, but as kids getbetter at riding, replacing the bearings might be worth it.
If I have to compare it to the SkateXS kids skateboard it doesn’t match the quality. The trucks and wheels and bearings are of lower quality, but its also a bit cheaper.
3. Blind Complete Reaper
Blind offers many great skateboards for younger kids with playful and cool colorful graphics. While graphics don’t say much about the quality of a skateboard, they do help to get motivated to ride.
This particular skateboard is 7.75″ wide which is suitable for a kid that almost turns 10 or a bit taller compared to their peers.
Blind offers both girls and boys graphics and besides the graphics all their boards are made from the same components no matter what size or graphic you pick.
The trucks are made by a reputable brand called Tensor owned by a famous skateboarder called Rodney Mullen.
These are the basic Tensor trucks but lightweight and reliable. They offer a decent turn and enough stability for beginner skateboarders.
One of the better features are the 92A wheels, this means they are quite soft and can deal with gritty asphalt or tiny obstacles.
Despite their small size of 53mm, they are less likely to get stuck compared to harder wheels you often see on kids skateboards.
The deck is made of birch which is not as durable a maple or bamboo.
Blind also offers skateboards decks made of maple which requires you to assemble a skateboard yourself. Birch isn’t the worst material for kids or beginner skateboarders, but also not the best.
In this case a high quality resin is used during the pressing process increasing its strength.
Blind skateboards are single pressed which means they don’t come out deformed, all decks are the exact same shape.
After a year or two a decks need to be replaced, which is a good time to switch to a maple deck. The wheels, trucks, and bearings will still work by that time. Available on Amazon
| Blind Skateboard | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | Birch 7-ply |
| Wheels | Medium soft 90A wheels |
| Bearings | Low quality bearings |
| Trucks | Decent beginner trucks, easy turning |
| Style | Skate Park, street skating, tricks |
Why We Like This Skateboard
Blind offers a high quality skateboard for a decent price, often you can get them for under 100 bucks which is a good deal nowadays with all the price hikes. It rides really well and offer a lot of stability.
Blind is one of the few that offers a durable maple deck construction with quality trucks and softer wheels that helps kid to control a skateboard better.
What We Don’t Like
We (me and my son) don’t like the birch skateboard deck, which is of lesser quality than Canadian maple.
Birch is more prone to splintering and cracks appear sooner compared to maple. Birch is also softer and weaker when compressed resulting in a soggy pop.
This means when a skateboarder attempts a trick it’s harder to get the board from the ground when kicking the tail.
Not a issue for kids and beginners because they don’t start doing tricks right away, but something to be aware of.
Decks can easily be replaced once they are cracked or splintered, much easier than assembling an IKEA furniture.
4. Girl Complete Skateboard
Girl is a very well known skateboard brand that also offers some great skateboards for kids. Girl is a brand for both boys and girls, well basically for everyone that likes to skate honestly.
This skateboard comes in many different graphics but the price and parts are the same. Make sure to get the right size and the maple version.
This skateboard has a very interesting shape compared to the other skateboards on this list. It’s almost and oval like shape and the widest point its 7.75″.
This means that this skateboard offers extra room for a kid to place their feet. This skateboard of more forgiving when making a minor mistake, being slightly off balance is easier to correct.
Another great thing about this skateboard are the low trucks, they are pretty close to the ground resulting in a lower center of gravity.
This makes it easier to balance a skateboard and keep in control. The only skateboard that also offers this feature is the SkateXS skateboard.
It comes with small hard wheels that are great for skate parks but also perform well on pavements or regular asphalt.
They aren’t as comfortable as the wheels of the other skateboards and make a bit more noise depending on the surface.
It’s one of the faster skateboards and doesn’t require a lot of pushing to maintain speed compared to the Meow skateboard, for example.
| Girl Skateboard | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | Durable Canadian Maple, 7-ply |
| Wheels | Hard 99A wheels, 52mm |
| Bearings | Medium quality bearings |
| Trucks | Medium quality beginner trucks |
| Style | Skate Park |
Why We Like This Skateboard
The lower center of gravity, unique shape, maple deck, and price makes this a great skateboard for 9-year-olds and up.
If you don’t happen to like the graphic, there are tons to pick from and basically all the Girl complete skateboards are the same.
We also experienced that it turns really well and snaps back into ‘neutral’ quit fast. A predictable skateboard is great for beginners and this skateboard really offers a good and stable riding experience.
Lastly, you get a maple skateboard deck which is usually around 70 to 80 bucks alone. Maple is the best material for skateboard decks and I’m glad Girl didn’t cut corners here.
We tested Girl decks before and they are extremely durable.
It’s not as great as out top choice, but this is the second best skateboard you can buy a kid. Availabe on Amazon (8.0″) or Buy on Tactics (7.0″ + 7.5″).
What We Don’t Like
Considering the quality of the components and the price I can’t think of much that I don’t like. The wheels are a bit harder compared to the other skateboards and make a bit more noise.
This can be uncomfortable on rougher surfaces like gritty asphalt. The wheels are also more likely to get stuck in cracks or behind small object, riding on smooth surfaces is adviced.
5. Enjoi Skateboard
A great brand for kids with funny and adorable graphics. This complete is very comparable to the Blind skateboard with some minor differences in the trucks and bearings.
After we tested it for a bit we noticed it offers a very stable ride.
Turning and carving doesn’t require much effort and it easily snaps back into position when kids adjust their stance.
It also maintains its speed rather well so the wheels and bearings seems to work well together.
This is a great skateboard for kids close to 10 years old and who already know how to skateboard. It’s wider compared to the other skateboards and might take some time to get used to.
At 8.0″ this board isn’t suitable for smaller kids, but those who are taller will benefit from the longer deck and wheel base.
The 92A wheels feel very smooth and ignore smaller objects like pebbles and twigs. This makes it a very beginner friendly skateboard, but also confidence booster for more experienced kids.
The skateboard behaves quite predictable which makes it easy to control for kids to adjust their stance.
| Enjoi Skateboard | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | Durable Canadian Maple, 7-ply |
| Wheels | Medium soft 92A wheels, 52mm |
| Bearings | Decent bearings |
| Trucks | Quality beginner trucks |
| Style | Skate Park, tricks, short comfy rides |
Why We Like This Skateboard
Enjoi always delivers a decent combination of skateboard components that work well for kids. The softer wheels offer a comfortable ride combined with decent bearings to maintain speed.
It just rides great and offers a lot of stability to kids who are taller and are looking for their next skateboard. It’s certainly an upgrade compared to the cheap stuff that is available on Amazon.
It rides well on asphalt, concrete, pavements and the wheels don’t get stuck easily. A decent skateboard for a fair price. Buy on Tactics (7.0″ to 7.5″)
What We Don’t Like
Enjoi also switched to birch skateboard decks to cut costs on their completes. Sadly this isn’t reflected in the price because they are just as expensive as their higher quality maple counterparts used to be.
The 52mm aren’t great for riding longer distances, this setup is suitable for skate parks and tricks, less for longer comfortable rides.
6. Santa Cruz Street Cruzer
While Santa Cruz doesn’t market the Street Cruzer as a kids skateboard, it actually is very suitable for 9 years olds and up.
Because of if short length and short wheelbase it’s an excellent board for kids that just want to ride. It’s not a great board for tricks but it does offer a lot of stability because of the 9″ wide deck.
On a wider deck it’s easier for kids to keep their balance when just moving forward.
Because its a very short board with a relatively short wheelbase, kids can stand up straight without having to overcompensate.
Longer decks, let’s say 32″+ kids really need to assume an almost crouch like position to keep their balance.
The Santa Cruz Street Cruzer is rather short so this won’t be an issue. At 8.79in” wide and 29.05″ tall this board is suitable for kids of 9 years old and up.
Another great thing about this cruiser are the rather large and soft wheels. If you are looking for a skateboard that can deal with rough terrain, this one is recommended.
The 60mm/78A wheels offer a very smooth ride and won’t get blocked by small cracks or tiny rocks.
| Santa Cruz Cruiser | Description |
|---|---|
| Deck | Canadian maple |
| Wheels | Ultra soft 78A wheels, 60mm |
| Bearings | Decent bearings |
| Trucks | Low quality trucks |
| Style | Easy riding, comfortable cruising |
Why We Like This Skateboard
This is a great cruiser skateboard for kids who just want to ride the streets with confidence. The big and soft wheels and wider deck makes it less likely to fall when coming into contact with smaller obstacles.
It’s also not expensive for a cruiser skateboard, and the components are made of reasonable quality. Nothing high-end, but more than enough for younger kids.
This cruiser offers the most comfortable ride of all the boards on this list, but isn’t great for tricks and less responsive because of it’s short wheel base and wide deck. It’s pretty cheap for a cruiser, check Amazon for availability.
What We Don’t Like
The way Santa Cruz market this skateboard is a bit misleading in my opinion. This board isn’t great for tricks because of the short wheelbase and width, though Santa Cruz claims it is.
I bought this expecting it to work for an adult, but it really didn’t. My kid picked it up and had a good time though. I think it’s a terrible skateboard for older kids (13+) but great for younger kids who just want to ride.
Skateboarding & Protective Gear
If you buy a child a skateboard, please AT LEAST buy a helmet. Helmets save lives and not buying a helmet is irresponsible. In most skate parks helmets are mandatory for kids under a certain age.
If your budget is tight, consider getting a cheaper helmet. All helmets offer enough protection though some more than others.
Knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards are also recommended, especially for beginners. Kids will fall and getting bruises or abrasions is very demotivating.
I personally recommend getting a triple 8 all-in one-pack which is often a lot cheaper than buying everything separately.
Proper Footwear
Often overlooked but proper shoes are important when riding or learning how to skateboard. i recommend shoes that have a flat sole like Vans for example.
A skateboarder need to be able to feel and be connected to a skateboard deck.
If for example, you wear runners, it’s really hard to control a skateboard because the thick outsoles don’t offer much feedback.
Controlling a skateboard is important to correct mistakes and avoid obstacles, or people. Proper shoes with thin outsoles really make a difference.
I would also recommend mid-top skate shoes because they are a bit higher and offer more Achilles tendon and ankle protection.
The front and back of a skateboard sometimes can bump into your feet and a bit of cushioning prevents cuts or bruises.
High top skate shoes offer even more protection as they completely cover the ankle but are harder to put on and can restrain movement.
Skateboard Tweaking Tips When Riding The First Time
Usually skateboards take some time to work properly depending on the weight and experience level of the rider.
The truck bushings (plastic cone-barrels) might be a bit too hard or a bit too soft. Sometimes this cause a skateboard to turn too much or the opposite.
Usually this takes some time but you can also adjust the trucks a bit. Turning them tighter makes them less turny and loosening them up makes them turn more.
It’s a matter of finding the right balance and also the preference of the rider. Some like really loose trucks and other like tight trucks.
Sometimes wheels hardly spin which could mean that the axle nut is a bit too close to the bearing.
It could be that there is some friction preventing the wheel from spinning properly, or the bearings aren’t great.
You can try to use a bit of silicon lube and apply it to the bearings but try to loosen the axle nut first. It should help make a skateboard go faster.
Why Should I trust SkateboardersHQ?
SkateboardersHQ is one of the few, if not only blog that actually buys and tests skateboards. Sure we get a commission if someone purchases through us, but we don’t recommend stuff we don’t like or deem unfit. Check out all these boards that didn’t make this list.
I’m an aged skateboarder and still shred responsibly. Started skateboarding 25 years ago, peaked in the 2000’s, and still ride to this day. I am a total geek when it comes to skateboard gear, love test to stuff and share my findings.