There are a 100s of different boards for sale. And, that makes choosing one stupidly difficult.
Struggling to make a choice? This guide is going to help exactly which is the best penny board for you.
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What Is A Penny Board?
You know when someone mentions “things” (like a search engine) and you respond with a company name or brand (like Google)?
That’s a Love Mark.
A brand that people know so well and love so much, it becomes the name associated with a whole product range, or service.
That’s what a Penny board is.
Penny Australia are the originators of the idea; a short skateboard suitable for cruising.
The founder, Ben Mackay, named Penny Australia after his sister, who’s called…yup, you guessed it!
And, all short boards for cruising have been associated with the name ever since.
What Size Penny Board Do I Need?
The best penny board brands will offer their decks in 3 sizes:
- 22”
- 27”
- 36”
Deck size will vary depending on skill level (beginner, intermediate, expert etc), height and the type of skating you want to do. So, what size deck do you need?
22” Penny Board Decks
- Nimble, but unstable
- Lightweight
- Straps to even the smallest backpacks
Suitable For
Intermediate-Experts, or smaller skaters.
27” Penny Board Decks
The 27” deck is known as the Nickel.
- Easy to manoeuvre
- More stable than the smaller deck
- Straps to a medium sized backpack
- Great deck for small and beginner cruisers
Suitable For
Intermediate skaters, of all sizes.
36” Penny Board Decks
- Most stable due to the bigger deck size, so a great deck for beginners
- Heavier, meaning if you want to strap it to a rucksack, you’ll need a reasonably sized one
Suitable For
Beginners-intermediate skaters, and bigger skaters.
The Best Penny Australia Board For 2021
Penny Australia Nickel Complete Skateboard
Looking for the best complete penny board as a beginner? 
As we’ve mentioned, the Nickel is the 27” deck.
And, as it sits in the mid-ground of everything, it’s definitely the best board for cruising and for beginners.
The majority of Penny Australia’s boards come with the same quality deck, hardware, wheels, and bearings.
So, the only real choice is the deck size, and the graphics you want.
Stability And Speed
The 27″ provides the best of all worlds; speed, agility, stability…
You get nearing on the stability of larger 36” deck, but unlike the 36”, you won’t be hugely compromised on speed.
Learning To Do Tricks
And, if you want to learn how to do tricks, it’s got the manoeuvrability to allow you to do so.
Learning to do tricks on the larger 36” deck is ridiculously difficult.
Graphics
Penny Australia do a tonne of different styles for the Nickel 27” deck.
So, you can get designs from The Simpsons through to Comic Fusion, and even the Penny Glow.
What’s Included
When checking out penny board prices, it’s important that you’re looking at complete boards.
The pictures might show a complete board, but make sure you read the description.
What might look like a saving of a few bucks, could quickly turn out to be a huge expense if you have to buy trucks, wheels and bearings separately.
The Penny Australia Complete Nickel board comes with:
- Deck
- Hardware
- Trucks
- Wheels
- Bearings
Basically, get it delivered to your door, and you’re ready to go skating!
Online Reviews
I always check reviews for any product I’m about to buy online, and you should too.
As a quick example, if you look at the Penny Australia Classic Complete board, you’ll notice it has over 1,000 reviews.
Impressive, but lots of reviews doesn’t necessarily mean lots of compliments.
However, in this case it does.
Penny Australia Review Verdict
There’s a few copies of the real-deal. Some aren’t too bad. But, the ones that come close, are also close in price.
The best penny boards come from the company that created this style of skating; Penny Australia.
The Best Alternatives To Penny Australia
OK, so what if you don’t have the budget for the top boards from Penny Australia?
Well personally, I’d just save up the few extra dollars.
The boards from most other manufacturers are essentially copies. And, a lot of the time, the quality just isn’t there.
With Penny Australia, it’s nice to know you’ve got the real deal.
Still not convinced? Here’s a cheap Penny Australia alternative.
Skatro 22” Penny Board
You’ll make a fairly decent saving with the Skatro in comparison to a legit Penny Australia board. 
Bearings & Wheels
Skatro have chosen to go with ABEC 7 bearings in their 22” board, and that’s suitable for the 59mm wheels they’ve included as part of the deal.
Trucks
For a cheap penny board, they’ve done well to include 3” aluminium trucks, which helps to keep the board lightweight.
Deck Flex
You’ll get a bit less deck flex in a board from Penny Australia, as Skatro have purposely designed this board for those that like a little more flex when cruising.
So, it’s a thumbs up for Skatro if you’re mainly doing low-speed cruising. But, it’s a thumbs down and lots of instability if you’re high-speed cruising.
What’s Included
Like the best Penny Australia board we mentioned above, you get a complete board setup here:
- Deck
- Wheels
- ABEC 7 bearings
- Hardware
- Trucks
Online Reviews
Considering the price, the online reviews for the Skatro 22” are pretty-good, but fall a little short when compared to the real-deal.
Skatro Verdict
The biggest problem with the Skatro, is it’s priced for beginners, but it’s not for beginners.
22” penny decks are notioriously unstable, and that’s suited to intermediate-expert skaters.
My recommendation? Go with a 27” Penny Australia board.
What’s Next?
Thanks for reading our 2-minute guide to the best penny boards for beginners.
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