We want you to have the best time, so here's our favs list!

these are suggestions from experience, but please feel free to explore brands!

SKATEBOARDING GEAR

HELMET

You want a skate helmet that protects the back of the head instead of the front. Skate helmets like Protec, S1, Girlsnota4letterword, Moxy can take multiple knocks where a bike helmet is designed for the front of the head!

PADDING

Elbow and knee are the most important to me, wrist guards can cause more injury if those are the main pads catching your fall. Please find pads that have ample coverage and padding. We're learning how to fall so we need gear that can truly catch us. Protec, 187Killers, Moxy, tripple8, Bullet are all great brands.

SKATEBOARD

This is a longgggg one! If you get what is called a complete, meaning at the parts are already together, make sure the width of the board is atleast 8in and about 31 in long. For small kiddos getting a small complete is the best and really if you go into a skateshop and ask for a beginners complete the next step is picking out a graphic you like.

One thing I will add here is the difference between hard and soft wheels. Hard: street skating, flip tricks, they're lighter! but loud and a bumpy ride.

Soft: cruising wheels, distance skating, smoother ride, large (will most likely need risers on the deck)

There's a lot to know about skateboards, maybe someday I'll write it ALL outtt but for now all you need to know what kind of skating do you want to do? And that will help you get to the best board.

CLOTHING/Shoes

Always wear clothes that are comfy and make you feel confident. There's a reason why skaters wear baggy jeans, big shirts and flat shoes.

For our learning purposes we want to be able to fit our knee pads over our pants and typically the safe call is to not wear shorts. Wear flat shoes like vans or converse that feel good on your feet. Our shoes are very important!

SURF GEAR

Wetsuits

4/3 mm FULL wetsuits are pretty crucial here in NorCal. You want something stretchy but fitted. For kiddos as much as we want to get the larger size so they can grow into it or borrow a suit that's a little small from a neighbor, it's best to have a suit that is comfortable and allows our youngins the ability to stay in the water. Most surf shops have a pretty rad exchange policy and may give discounts if you want to trade in your old kids wetsuit.

Make sure to take care of your wetsuit by rinsing it out and drying it in a shaded area.

The efficiency of wetsuits is about how it fits. If it doesn't fit right it won't work for you.

As far as brands go.. best option is to try them on at your local surf shop. Proof Lab and Live Water are great shops to get some help here in Marin.

SurfBoard

Beginners should stick with foam boards due to safety. Once you start feeling like the foam board is boring... congrats! Time to move onto a glassed board (epoxy or fiberglass).. this is a very personal and detailed decision that I believe has to be discovered on your own. I don't know what board is going to be best for youuu but what I can offer to narrow down your search is:

Volume : how floaty is this board?

Length: longboards (9ft are cruisy and fun for small waves (mostly, longboards are also performance boards just in a different sense), shortboards (6'10 and under) are for larger waves, quicker turns, stronger performance. Fun boards (7-8ft) are in between short and long... great for learning and getting into larger waves and turning, a good easy upgrade to help you learn how to pop up on less volume than a softboard but more than a shorty.

List Title

This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors.