Wondering if you should get a real or fake penny board?
I decided to buy the real ($100) and the fake ($30) penny board.
I took apart both boards and compared them. Here’s my in-depth comparison of a real vs fake penny board.
Which one should you get?
Obviously, it’s going to come down to your budget and what you’re using it for.
If you want a penny board just to mess around and you’re not going to use a lot, then go with the fake one.
But, if you want something you’re gonna use a lot (like cruise around town/campus), you definitely should get the real one. The quality is much better and will last longer than the fake one. And if anything breaks, you’re covered under a lifetime warranty.
How to tell if a penny board is fake?
Contrary to what many think… Penny Skateboards is the actual name of a company that originally came up with the concept. They’re so popular that now the style of the board is referred to as a Penny Board.
The main difference between a fake penny board and a real one is…
1. Penny Logo
On a real Penny Board, there will be a logo on the top of the deck, front/bottom of the trucks, and on the bottom of the tail.
The trucks logo will just have ‘Penny.’ but on the top of the deck it’ll have “Penny Australia”. If the board doesn’t have this, then it’s not the real/original Penny Board.
2. Price
The price of a real Penny Board is around $100. So if you paid anything below that, it’s most likely fake. Unless you bought it second-hand.
Similarities
After taking these boards apart and riding them, here are the most similar things about them.
Deck
I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty crazy how identical the decks are. It seems like they’re made of the same plastic AND the same mold. Everything on the deck is the same, except for the logos. However, when you ride them, the fake one bents slightly more than the real one.
Bushings
The fake bushings (red ones) are a little harder than the real bushings (black ones). This makes a slight difference in turning the boards. But honestly, it was pretty hard to tell a difference while riding. They’re basically the same size and shape.
Appearance
The overall look of the fake and real penny board is very similar. Though the parts aren’t close when it comes to quality, they still look identical. You can see by the side by side photo below, they’re so similar.
Differences
Now that you know about the similarities between the two boards, here are the main differences.
Trucks
When it comes to the quality of the trucks, the fake ones are cheaper quality. Not only can you see this in the truck itself, but if you check out the base of the truck, it’s quite thinner than the real penny board truck. This would concern me if I was going to ride the board every day. If your trucks break, you’re pretty much guaranteed to fall.
Wheels
The wheels are just about the same size, but the quality once again just isn’t the same. My fake penny came with a small hole in one of the wheels that went all the way down to the metal. The quality check process probably isn’t as through as the real penny board.
Not to mention the fake wheels have less polyurethane, which makes them harder to ride over bumps. When you cruise over pebbles or cracks on the real Penny Board, it’s much smoother.
Bearings
There’s no comparison between these bearings. The real penny board has much better bearings that actually spin after I push them. The fake bearings are almost hard to get to spin! Even though the fake penny claims they’re ABEC 7, they’re not.
Hardware
Though the hardware is a similar length, it’s not on the same level as far as quality goes.
Unboxing
The most annoying part about getting the fake penny board ready to ride was that it was wrapped in plastic. And you’d think you could just peel it off, right?
Nope, not the case.
I ended up having to take the board completely apart since the plastic was stuck under the hardware screws. Not a huge deal for me since I was gonna take it apart anyway.
But if you want something as simple as grabbing out of the box and go ride, the real penny board takes the cake. The real one wasn’t wrapped in annoying plastic.
Warranty & Service
Here’s where spending the extra 70ish dollars actually comes in to play. The real Penny Boards will stand behind their product and offer a lifetime warranty. Compared to the fake penny board, which only offers a 30 days warranty. So if you break something after 30 days, you pretty much have to buy a new one, which get’s you even closer to what you’d spend for a real one.
The real Penny Board also has a section on their website that teaches you how to replace their deck, wheels & bearings.
Summary
It’s all going to come down to your budget and what you’re gonna use it for. To be honest, they ride very similarly.
But if you want a Penny Board that’s going to last for a while, go with the real one. If you don’t care and just want to try it out without spending $100, go with the fake one.
