Surfers initially started longboarding when they weren’t able to take the high seas.

So, as you can see skateboarding, surfing, and longboarding all come from the same wheelhouse.

Learn How to Ride a Longboard

The first step to learning how to longboard is understanding the basic parts of a longboard. Usually, people who have had experience in skateboarding already have a little bit of knowledge about the different parts that comprise a longboard. The following are the different parts that make up a longboard:

• Deck
• Bearings
• Trucks
• Wheels
• Bushings

There are some other more technical parts of a longboard, such as the bearing spacers or the riser pads that allow you to change the height of the board, however the five above are the main basic components of a longboard.

Having some knowledge about those five components will help you to learn to ride better.

The deck is the main feature of a longboard. This section comes in many different designs, styles, colors, and materials. There are also a number of different categories of longboards. One of these is the drop down board and this type is considered to be the best version of longboard for beginners. Some of the other categories include different top mounts, different wheel cuts, single kick, double kick, pintail, and many other varieties of features. Knowing about the different types of boards will help you to make the right decision when choosing a board for yourself.

A Bit About Longboarding

The years progressed and so did the fascination with longboarding. The community of skaters that follow this particular trend has grown. There are more products such as Zumiez Longboards and events geared to this particular group.

There is no stereotypical group that is specifically interested in longboarding. It is diverse as the world is wide. People from all walks of life, all ages, genders, educational and work background come together to have fun.

They celebrate life fast through the use of longboard skateboards.

Keep in mind that longboarding, in its most extreme sense, is not for the faint of heart.

Skaters are often jetting down hills ranging from 35 to 60 miles an hour. They are known as a downhiller or freerider.The longboards used for this can be tough but bendable to exceedingly rigid and have mid-sized wheelbases that manage

 equally the highly technical maneuvers and daredevil speeds.

Many boards incorporate the use of bamboo and other high-end materials to give a lovely bounce to the board.

For those who prefer to exercise more caution, you can ride your longboards over city streets, across university campuses and down the lovely back roads of the country.

So, if you are interested in joining the longboard society, then continue reading this Zumiez longboards review, as we enlighten you about one of the established brands in the skating industry.

We will also identify some of the boards that you can consider as you come to love and learn about the sport.

Zumiez: Made in the USA

Zumiez is an American company that was established in Seattle, circa 1978.

They initially started with one store location based at the Northgate Mall. Its original name was “Above the Belt,†but this was changed at the height of its popularity in the 1980s.

30 years later they have scores of stores in Canada and the United States. At last count, there were 698 stores, spanning across Australia, Europe with 50 in Canada and the over 600 in the US.

This is due to the hardworking founders, Gary Haakenson and Tom Champion.

Even though the main store started in Seattle, the base is now located in Lynwood, Washington. The company is under the leadership of Richard Brooks, who is the CEO.

Their website boasts of their customer-focused approach. Their message says, 

“

“Everything we do revolves around the customer — you are the heart of our company.â€

Gary Haakenson and Tom Champion 

/ Founders

Zumiez Product Offerings and Suppliers

The company serves the snow and skate industry, primarily by offering a range of products. These span several sports, which include motor cross, BMX biking, snowboarding, and skating.

Zumiez Product Offerings

These include snowboards, bindings, snowboard boots, hats, watches and jewelry; headwear, socks, underwear, belts and wallets; jackets, pants and tech fleece; goggles, gloves, beanies, helmets, face masks and long underwear; cold weather bags and backpacks; pins, patches and stickers, personal care, sunglasses, electronics, snow socks, snow skates and hard goods; DVDs, footwear and active lifestyle cutting-edge clothing.

For skaters, you can also shop for trucks, wheels, bearings, hardware, grip tape, slide gloves, Zumiez longboards and complete skateboards. As well as shoe goo, laces and skate shoes; wax, tools, risers, helmets, pads, ramps, rails, cameras and backpacks.

Zumiez Partner Suppliers

They have everything for men, women, boys, and girls. Zumiez carries a wide variety of items from approximately 446 different brand suppliers. Their featured suppliers include:

• 1Adidas
• 2Nike
• 3Puma
• 4Fila
• 5Champion
• 6Converse
• 7Vans
• 8Thrasher
• 9OBEY
• 10The Hundreds
• 11RipnDip
• 12Nixon
• 13Sketchy Tank
• 14Cookies
• 15DGK
• 16Naketano
• 17Bones
• 18Herschel
• 19Santa Cruz
• 20Supra
• 21Diamond
• 22Rothco
• 2340s & Shorties
• 24Empyre
• 25Naket ano

As with many large companies, Zumiez launched their website to give them greater access to international customers, Zumiez.com.

They also procured Blue Tomato and Fast Forward clothing brands to help diversify the Zumiez brand offerings.

As you can see they are a one stop shop for all things skate and snow, and you can get your BMX and motor cross gear there as well.

The Zumiez Longboards Image

The company follows a particular theme, “organized chaos.†This they believe adequately reflect the general lifestyle of a teenager.

Therefore, when you visit their stores you will notice the use of video games stations with couches. This gets their clients to spend longer time in their stores and generally by more products.

It also encourages them to hang around with other bikers, skaters, snowboarders, and people of similar interests.

Zumiez stores are generally 2900 sq feet.

Couch Tour

In keeping with their thrust to have people “lyming†together and relating to all things snow, skate, BMX or motor cross, they have a “Couch Tour.†This has been running successfully for approximately 13 years.

The event is well celebrated when they make their 12 store stops across the country. Entertainment is provided by local amateurs, professional skaters and or course live bands and musicians.

Best Foot Forward

Zumiez believes in social responsibility and one of the programs that they developed is the “Best Foot Forward†contest series.

It is an amateur contest, but they have global exposure.

In this way, the company is a part of the movement to expose new and upcoming skaters through the competitions that are held in over 335 cities. It is free and anyone can enter.

They have helped to establish such skaters as Alec Majerus, Chris Wimer, Jack Olson, Tom Asta and Ishod Wair.

Zumiez Longboard Products

The company distributes over 107 different longboards from several brands.

They include Z-Flex, Sector 9, Santa Cruz Skate, San Clemente, Rayne, Omen, Mercer, Madrid Skateboards, Landyachtz, Habitat, Gold Coast, Globe, Dusters, Db Longboards and Arbor Longboards.

These are available on their website and at large retailers such as Amazon and smaller skateboarding retailers as well.

You can shop for any four types of Zumiez longboards, including the top mount longboards, bamboo longboards, drop through longboards and drop down longboards.

Popular Zumiez Longboards

There are a number of boards from their product listing that are more popular. The top nine are from the Landyachtz and DB brand. They are:

No products found.

No products found.

As you can see the prices for these popular Zumiez longboards range from $179.95 to $307.95

Affordable Zumiez Longboards

Some of the more affordable Zumiez longboards are being sold for under $170.

No products found.

So in terms of pricing, you can get a Zumiez longboard from $130 to $170.

Zumiez Longboards Review: What are Buyers Saying?

We noticed on the website that there was no way to review the products sold by the Zumiez Company.

So, we decided to conduct a broader search about what the actual public perception was of the Zumiez brand.

Initially, when we started to explore the brand and review Zumiez, there was a landslide of negative feedback online that were specific to the company.

General Customer Reviews

Many of these are about the customer service experience of Zumiez shoppers.

Customers’ complaints were generally about lengthy shipping items, lost and misdirected items, undelivered purchases, damaged packages and products, noticeably used items, the fact that they have to pay for exchanges and many other gross and maligning comments.

One potential shopper reported in 2017, “I walked in and a guy asked me ‘Are you sure you can afford this? It’s a lot of money’ and I was so offended I left the store… I decided not to because of the rudeness of the employees.â€

Another customer got so upset, his review was mostly riddled with curse words. But regardless, he said, “The skateboard came in a beat-up box with a bunch of ripped paper inside and just basically trash and a note saying in red ink: “You think you’re a skater but do you wear Thrasher? What does that even mean? Such a poser. The disrespect and lack of professionalism. And, the board looked used too and dirty. Never again. Spending my hard-earned cash elsewhere. Pissed off honestly whoever packaged that…â€

Dozens of other customers used terms such as “absolutely terrible,†“horrible customer service,†“NO no no never again,†“worst customer service,†and “bad shipping and horrible tracking.â€

Product Customer Reviews

Careful scouting of the products had to be done, to judge fairly and provide the Zumiez longboards review based on the products merit, and not based on the company’s reputation in the market.

We found five-star ratings continually for the Landyachtz longboards and DB longboards, which were two of the highly-rated items on the Zumiez website.

Customers gushed about their high quality and how enviable it was.

One customer, Liberty, disclosed, “It’s a nice board I was kinda skeptical but it actually really nice it came with nicer trucks than in the pic and the wheels are also nicer in person the trucks are bear trucks and the design is really stunning I really don’t have any complaints I am happy with my product.â€

Eventually, we were able to track down a few happy customers of these popular boards, which actually purchased their boards on the Zumiez website.

One customer purchased their board in the summer of 2017 and said, 

 â€œDidn’t buy this from Amazon, but got this exact DB Paradigm 41″ Longboard Complete board from Zumiez. I have ridden a few boards, Landyachtz, Bustin, and I have to say this is fun to ride. I got this to teach my girlfriend how to board and after tightening the trucks some, it’s probably the most stable board I have ridden yet. It grips you, feels like you’re hugging the hills and it can go fast. Excellent board. 10/10.â€

Another happy customer reported, 

“For starters, I purchased this board at Zumiez. I paid the same price for it. Is it worth it? YES. The ride is incredibly smooth. It’s spring but it’s also stout. My model came with atlas 48″ trucks and I have not had to tighten or loosen anything. For a 41-inch board, it turns tight and thanks to the cloud nine wheels the ride is glass smooth. The way the board is shaped, it’s concave and dropped but all very slightly, so it doesn’t feel like leg day. The tape is grippy and all around the board just feels good. Also, the trucks can be repositioned if the need presents itself.This isn’t a board for doing tricks. Remember that. It’s primarily a cruising and freeride boards. That being said if I had a little more ability I might do something interesting. Just saying. For a cruiser or freeride this is a great board. For downhill it’s not too bad either. Highly recommended.â€

Our Final Vote on Zumiez for Longboard Purchase

It is probably best to purchase the items from another skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX or motor cross store.

Of the nearly two hundred customer feedback, the vast majority we reviewed were negative and the Zumiez website did not provide any customer review themselves.

To protect your hard-earned dollar and to have a better shopping experience, we recommend that you check out such dealers as Amazon or others that have a clearly defined user and return policy.

This is also the safer way for international shoppers. You will be able to track your purchases better and possibly receive better customer service.