The SwellTech surfskate offers an aggressive carving feel because the adapter rotates 360 degrees. The learning curve is steep, and beginners often encounter issues with the adapter jackknifing. Not recommended for longer cruises since it’s so sensitive. They’re the most functional for technical surf training.
Who Is It Best For?
This is best if you want a surfskate that has one of the most aggressive trucks. It doesn’t even compare to a Carver surfskate because the front truck does a complete 360. I wouldn’t recommend it for cruising. I’d suggest it if you want to work on some technical surf training.
The SwellTech has a few unique features compared to other surfskates, the most notable being its front truck design.
Hardware
The first thing I noticed about the hardware was the seven screws instead of the traditional eight. This is because the front truck is designed for only three. Other than that, everything about the hardware is pretty standard. The nuts have a locking plastic to ensure they don’t loosen over time.
Trucks
The trucks are where the magic happens. The back truck is a traditional kingpin with a riser pad to level the board. But, the front truck is really where the innovation comes in. Compared to every other surfskate, this (IMO) looks the coolest.
Not to mention, anytime I show someone that it does a full 360, they trip out. And how could you not? You can see the thought that went into creating it.
Deck
SwellTech’s boards are a little edgier shaped than most other surfskates. The traditional griptape with SwellTech’s logo looks sleek and feels nice to ride barefoot.
But out of everything, I think the foam traction pad is awesome.
Wheels
The stock wheels that came on this SwellTech are 70mm 78a wheels, which means they’re wide and soft. You can carve aggressively without worrying about them slipping on the pavement.
They’re solid wheels for learning how to ride the SwellTech, but I’ve seen quite a few people on the surfskate subreddit mention how they switched out their wheels. So it’s worth experimenting with other wheels, depending on your riding style.
Bushings
Since the front truck is much up of springs, there’s no need for bushings. However, on the back kingpin truck, they have double barrel bushings.
Bearings
The bearings are capped on the back and front. But to be honest, bearings really aren’t as important as wheels.
All the parts that make up the SwellTech boards are solid. I love seeing that they have a lifetime warranty for all their parts and will replace them for free.
Broken Springs Issue
There used to be a common occurrence where the springs would break. But SwellTech replaced them with higher quality, thicker springs. This seems to have fixed this issue.
One final thing to note is that they offer a Lifetime Warranty – if you break a part, they claim they’ll replace it for free. I always love to see a company stand behind its product.
And that covers almost everything for my SwellTech surfskate review. Hope you found some useful info to make a better decision.
SwellTech vs Carver
SwellTech pivots much more than Carver since it pivots a full 360 degrees. There’s a steeper learning curve with SwellTech. Carver is more functional for longer cruises since it’s more stable.
