What to Wear When Skateboarding? – Skater Outfit Tips

Compared to any sport, skateboarding is one of the least strict in terms of clothing. Skaters get the freedom to choose apparel that gives them comfort and confidence when riding.

However, these aspects don’t sound that much for beginners until their clothing affects their rides. And if you’re one of them, you probably want to know what to wear when skateboarding.

Ideally, clothes for skateboarding are pretty simple choices, namely durable pants and comfortable tops. Let’s see more specific details about these apparel.

Clothing Choices While Skateboarding

Let’s divide skater outfits into three sections; tops, bottoms, and footwear. Also, we will discuss a few protective accessories you can use for added safety.

1. What tops to wear

Appropriate tops are a catalyst for riding comfort, even though they do not impact performance. For example, among cotton and polyester shirts or other fabrics, shirts made with cotton are soft and breathable.

And for an activity like skateboarding, whether you’re a girl or a boy, having this cooling shirt will free the rider from humid weather or over-sweating.

Having a wide array of tops also lets you achieve your street skater style goals. You can use hoodies, tank tops, or any upper garment, provided it’s comfortable and unrestrictive of your movement.

2. Suitable Bottom apparel for Skateboarding

This part is where more variety enters. One style goes better than the other, or both can suit a specific skating style. Let’s get into the following.

Whether you wear shorts or pants, both these clothing have benefits in performance. Shorts provide sufficient flexibility on your legs. In effect, the rider gets to play well with the skatepark and bowls.

On the other hand, pants serve as protection for the rider’s shins. Especially with chinos and denim, using these will guarantee you get to wear durable bottom apparel.

If comfort rests more on the shirts and tops, the pants’ job is to let your leg move freely. And for this aspect to transpire, your bottom apparel should be stretchable.

This occasion does not require you to pick the most stretchable pants from the store. At a minimum, your pants should let you perform your usual legwork and routines without compromise.

A classic example of this is joggers. Like shirts, these pants may come in various stretchable fabrics. But what makes them more tailor-fit for skateboarding is their elastic cuffs wrapping the rider’s ankles.

This feature keeps the seams of the pants from catching and tripping on any part of the skateboard. So they’re safe and secure when riding.

3. Pick the Right Footwear

Getting appropriate footwear means performing quality and comfortable footwork. Also, it’s another way of protecting the feet from potential injury.

So, if you want to achieve these, you might as well consider three main factors when choosing skate shoes; the soles, exteriors, and elasticity.

And if you want a more specific take on these, check on the following pairs.

These are only a few pairs that work well for the sport regardless of the rider’s level. You may also want to consider other factors like padding, shape, and the shoes’ prices.

4. Important Accessories

These clothing items are more on the protective rather than the aesthetic side. Let’s get into these skateboarding attire additions.

While most skaters don’t prefer using these gears for personal reasons, we still advise beginners and small riders to use helmets. They need not be full-face variants as long as you have protection at the back of your head.

Also, when picking helmets, try to choose a well-ventilated one. That way, you get to keep your head dry when skating. Here are a few options you can check.

Besides your head, we also need to protect a few more body parts using three items; elbow gears, wrist guards, and knee pads.

These wearable gears have one thing in common; the use of ABS plastic. This material helps absorb impact from falls and makes the accessory more durable. The ABS on these gears may come in various shapes cut for the purpose, but it remains sturdy and protective.

Another component probably present on most of these gears is EVA foam. This material serves as the best catalyst for comfort and added impact protection.

When buying these safety accessories, you might as well check if they have durable fasteners in velcros, hooks, locks, and straps. That way, you get to secure them and yourself well.

5. Power tips

You are probably thinking, at this point, what do skateboarders wear under specific weather conditions? Let’s get into them.

When skating in hot weather, the goal is to keep yourself comfortable and dry. So, the first thing you need to consider is your color option.

Whether skateboarding or not, always choose light-colored clothes in summer. So, your shirt doesn’t absorb the sun’s heat the way dark-colored shirts do.

Another thing you should avoid is wearing baggy clothes, whether tops or bottoms. Excess cloth may add weight and humidity, which consequently causes some burden to the rider.

Cold weather calls for additional clothing layers for the rider to keep him mobile. Similarly, the clothes should not be too thick to restrict the skater’s movements.

So, what should you wear for skateboarding in cold weather? You can wear a hoodie, long sleeve shirt, or a windbreaker. Since exposure to cold air can stiffen your arms and legs, wearing these clothes can help keep you warm. Also, they don’t feel too baggy or thick to lock your arms.

Conclusion

As skateboarders, we don’t only want to settle for a good-looking and performing board. We also want to look nice in our way of clothing. It may be an unpopular opinion, but having good skating clothes can build the rider’s confidence.

However, with comfort and the ability to move as top considerations, we should always be careful when picking what to wear when skateboarding. So, our bodies can match the performance our skateboards do.

Charles Harris

Hi, I am Charles Harris. I opened this site to write as much as I can about my biggest passion – skateboarding!

I started as a clumsy yet passionate rookie 10 years ago to now a still passionate yet much better skateboarder! But I have to tell you, the whole journey has always been fun and rewarding, indeed not without hardship.