The Logger is a Skogger

Testing the Hamboards Logger for surfskogging and ambidextrous pumping (with video below)

The majority of boards used for surfskating tend to be the size of a usual skateboard. But there are surfskate longboards as well. These huge and often flat boards are perfect for cruising and they have enough space to perform different kinds of boardwalks, in the same way as it is done on a surfboard. One of the best known manufacturers for longboards made for surfskating is Hamboards from Huntington Beach in California. They sell complete setups since many years now. Meanwhile they are using their own HST (Hamboard Spring Torsion) trucks (which are inspired by the Original S8 trucks) together with their own Hamboards wheels. As big and flat boards are nice for skogging footwork, while constantly switching your stance, I decided to get myself a Hamboard and test it for surfskogging (see video below).

Luckily in Europe the boards are available from Hamboards in the UK. So you don‘t have to order them from overseas which drastically reduces the shipping costs. And until now there are still no customs to pay. The boards are not cheap, but considering their quality components which are maid to last for years, the price seems to be reasonable.

My board of choice was the Hamboards Logger Walnut (279 GBP without shipping), as I like its wooden look. With a length of 5 foot (about 152 cm) it is not too big and heavy but with still enough room for all the footwork you like. It also has more flex than the bigger Hamboards Classics, which is something that adds to the fun for me. Compared to the other bigger versions of the Hamboards the narrower shape of the Logger allows for deep carving without railbites.

When riding it, the first thing I noticed was that the wide restorative spring trucks can give you a very stable feel when riding in the central position. This allows for safe pushing which is often not easy to do with other surfskate systems. I like that I can easily skog the board, even when rolling at higher speed. But as soon as you shift your weight from side to side, you will notice the extreme turning capabilities of the trucks. Despite the length of the board it is possible to perform very tight turns. The deep lean of the trucks together with the big flat surface of the deck and the large 83 mm wheels make this board setup predestined for cruising around in surfskogging style.

But what about pumping? If you like to propel your surfskate by pumping, this board could be a real challenge for you. Because the stock silver springs are the same in the front and back, the trucks perform identical in lean and turn. As a result the board will not pump as effortless as all the boards with swivel arms in the front and more stabilizing trucks in the back. It takes more than some wiggling to pump a Hamboard. In order to gain speed by pumping you need to use your whole body in an up and down movement while shifting your weight from rail to rail. If you cannot keep up a proper surfskate pumping technique you will slow down immediately. It is possible to propel all other surfskate trucks just by using a wiggling motion but you cannot cheat to successfully pump a Hamboard, as it will only move if you really know how to pump. It may be more similar to the feel of pumping a surfboard on water, which makes the board a good training tool for surfers to learn the correct form. For surfskoggers it is a great board to check, if you really have mastered ambidexterity in pumping. Another effect is that pumping the Logger will give you a great whole body workout (as you can see in the video below). 

But Hamboards also offers the possibility to customize the trucks by using the more stable and snappy gold spring or the less stable black spring from the Original S8 trucks. By using different springs in the setup it should also be possible to make pumping a bit easier. But to test this will be a future task for me.

Pumping and Skogging the Hamboards Logger