The Best Fingerboard

Buying Guide

You can’t always go to the skate park. Sure, you could practice your moves on the street in front of your house, but what happens when the weather turns bad and you can’t get out?

That’s where a fingerboard can come in handy. With typical dimensions of 3.9” L x 1.3” W, this small device can help skateboarders simulate their moves using only their index and middle fingers. Although a fingerboard is small, it’s no slouch in simulating an actual skateboard. You’ll get a grip tape, deck, bushings and interchangeable wheels, all to scale to give skateboarders accurate response time while practicing their moves.

As skateboarding has grown in popularity, it has remained deeply rooted in counterculture. Yes, it might have been added as an Olympic sport in 2020, but that didn’t deter the many who are drawn to the sport as an alternative to playing soccer or football in adolescence.

There’s a reason skateboarding was a good fit for the Olympics. The sport is surprisingly complex. Yes, skateboarders make it look easy, but manipulating the board, whether over flat or hilly terrain, requires plenty of practice, along with some natural skill.

It might seem like a simple board with wheels attached, but take a closer look and you’ll see that a skateboard has contours and curves that are strategically placed to maximize a skateboarder’s control. Learning to work with those curves to navigate surfaces is fairly complex, as anyone who’s tried skateboarding can attest.

A fingerboard is designed with those similar contours and curves. Using two fingers, skateboarders can simulate movements over surfaces to learn how leaning just a little to the left or right can change the way the board operates. Many parents have bought fingerboards for their children upon request, not fully understanding the point. But one look at how skateboarders use these devices makes it clear how helpful they can be.

• Fingerboards aren’t just for practice. They can also give kids something to do with their hands when they’re bored.
• Although fingerboards might seem like a toy, for skateboarders, it’s a serious tool. A good fingerboard has a design similar to a real skateboard, complete with contours and durable wheels. A plywood material will hold up over many uses, but some fingerboards incorporate plastic into the build.
• With some fingerboards, assembly is required. Make sure the kit includes the tools and instructions you’ll need to put it together. If not, you’ll need to have them on hand.
• Fingerboards can be works of art. You’ll see them decorated to look like full-size skateboards, as well as in various colors. Some come with stickers that you can use to decorate your fingerboard or skateboarding surfaces as you want.
• Avid skateboarders know the value of wheel bearings to give a board agility and maximize control. Fingerboards with bearings in the wheels can give you that same added control.
• Grip tape is an important part of any fingerboard. You’ll need one that’s comfortable while also providing the friction you need to prevent your fingers from slipping around. Foam grip tape is especially useful for this. Some kits include this, but you can easily buy it separately if it isn’t included.
• A half-pipe ramp can take your fingerboarding to the next level. This simulates the feel of the ramps used at skate parks and helps skateboarders practice tricks.
• If you have younger children in your household, look at the age recommendations for any fingerboard you buy. Most have a minimum recommended age. If your skateboarder has younger siblings, the smaller parts could be a choking hazard.