Santa Cruz Skateboards has released a line of surf skate cruisers in collaboration with Carver. This is an awesome alliance between two of the biggest names in skateboarding!
The Santa Cruz surf skates decks are different from their non-surf skate counterparts as they are custom designed and tuned around the specific Carver surf trucks they are designed to run.
The Santa Cruz surf skates have a sturdy 7-ply North American Maple construction. The completes ship with the world-famous Carver trucks and quality high-rebound Santa Cruz wheels – either OJ or Slime Balls.
The result is a series of uber-cool surf skates that boast Santa Cruz’s amazing graphics, and diverse deck shapes that range from stylish retro/80s shapes to swallow-tail surfboard shapes – all customized optimally for Carver trucks.
See also: Best Santa Cruz Skateboards cruisers
Carver trucks used for the Santa Cruz surf skates
The Santa Cruz surf skates come with either the Carver C5 or the Carver CX:
Carver C5 truck set
The C5 street surf truck set reflects a newer generation of surf skate riding that blends tricks and flow into a creative and technical style.
The front C5 truck is much shorter ( 2 7/8″) and narrower (8 1/2″) than its big brothers the CX and C7, so it can be fitted on mini cruisers and narrower street/hybrid decks.
Just like the CX, the C5 is meant to provide extreme carving and pumping abilities thanks to its special surf truck geometry. However, unlike other surf trucks, the C5 can also be ollied and flipped. The truck’s lower center of gravity gives it good pop enabling higher ollies and better control.
The rear C4 truck is a regular TKP truck, also short and narrow, designed to provide stability in the rear while the front truck performs extreme carving turns.
Due to a narrow hanger and hollow axles and kingpins, the C5 and C4 are a lot lighter than other surf trucks out there. This makes them ideal for a progressive “surf n street” style of riding, especially when mounted on smaller, street-oriented decks.
Carver CX truck set
The CX is Carver’s hybrid surf and skate truck. It’s a lightweight RKP truck, albeit with a special geometry that increases the turning radius of your carves generates an amazing amount of turn and pump for surf-style riding.
While the CX has a simpler design than the C7 and doesn’t have a second axis, it can be pumped just like the C7. However, it offers a snappier shortboard-style feel vs the C7’s classic surf feel.
The CX also is a lot more stable, similar to the C5, allowing for aerial, fakie, and other progressive surf-style tricks. Compared to the C5 however, the CX is significantly taller (3 5/8″) and wider (9″) as it’s designed to run on larger decks.
The CX truck set includes the C2 TKP truck in the rear, providing back stability for optimal carving and pumping.
Below are the Santa Cruz surf skate completes and their key features.
Classic Dot Check 30″ Carver Surf Skate
The Classic Dot Check is a 30.2″ x 9.8″ surf skate deck with an ample 15.25″ wheelbase. It has a short but wide and functional kicktail and a slightly narrowed-down nose with a small kick. The deck has an 80s-inspired shape.
This surf skate comes fitted with the Carver C5 surf truck set, and super grippy 60mm OJ Super Juice wheels (78a duro) well-suited for surf-style carving.
| Size | 30.2″ x 9.8″ (WB 15.25″) |
| Tail/nose | 6.75″ kicktail, wide 4″ nose with kick |
| Concave | Medium |
| Construction | 7-ply North American Maple |
| Trucks | Carver C5 Street Surf truckset |
| Wheels | 60mm 78a OJ Super Juice |
| Price | $245 |
Classic Dot Pig 31.5″ Carver Surf Skate
This Santa Cruz surf skate has an extra-large 31.5″ x 10.5″ custom pig-style shape, with a long and stable 15.75″ wheelbase for drawn-out surf carves and stability at speed.
It has a generous kicktail for slashy surf maneuvers in banks or driveways.
The custom Dot Pig is fitted with the super-snappy Carver CX truck set and huge (for the deck size) 75mm soft and grippy wheels.
| Size | 31.45″ x 10.54″ (WB 15.75″) |
| Tail/nose | 7″ kicktail, 4.50″ slightly upturned nose |
| Concave | Medium |
| Construction | 7-ply North American Maple |
| Trucks | Carver CX truck set |
| Wheels | 75mm 78a Santa Cruz downhill |
| Price | $227 |
Santa Cruz Shark 31.5″ Carver Surf Skate
The Shark surf skate is a surfboard-like swallowtail shape with quite aggressive kicks (tail and nose), contours, and concave.
The pronounced wheel flares and kicks, the foot pocket at the base of the kicktail, and the functional nose kick provide a solid foothold for the most extreme surf skate riding style.
These surf skates are not only hot looking but they’re built for radical surf-style carving and slashing with the Carver CX truck set, including bowl and park.
Depending on your riding style, you may want to swap the grippy 60mm wheels for slightly harder wheels (e.g. 81a) with rounded lips for more radical tail slides.
The decently long 16″ wheelbase gives the Shark surf skate good stability, including when riding at higher speeds.
| Size | 31.52″ x 9.85″ (WB 16″) |
| Tail/nose | 7″ swallow-shaped kicktail, 4.32″ nose kick |
| Concave | Medium |
| Construction | 7-ply North American Maple |
| Trucks | Carver CX truck set |
| Wheels | 60mm 78a OJ Hot Juice |
The Santa Cruz Shark surf skate comes in several beautiful designs:
- The Flame Dot
- The Inferno Hand
- The Other Dot
Flame Dot Shark Carver Surf Skate
The Flame Dot version features a flamboyant design on the deck bottom with the Santa Cruz letters appearing in hot flames. The Santa Cruz “dot” is laid out in the middle on top of red spider web patterns, with rails contoured in bright orange and yellow shades.
This surf skate’s blazing art can hardly go unnoticed!
List price: $163
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Inferno Hand Shark Carver Surf Skate
This deck features Santa Cruz’s iconic Screaming Hand with an overlay of red inferno heat waves! The hand clearly has something to scream about… The cool comics-like graphics and the Carver logo are displayed on an elegant black background.
The top side of the deck has a classic look with grip tape covering most of the deck surface, and the inevitable Santa Cruz dot laid out on the center line.
Price: $236
Other Dot Shark Carver Surf Skate
The Other Dot features a simple design on the bottom with a white-on-black Santa Cruz Dot surrounded by a green veneered background with thick black and white contour lines. The top side is fully covered with dark grip tape, with a small yellow-lettered SC dot on the center line.
The white OJ Hot Juice wheels color match the color theme on the bottom side.
The Carver logo is laid out behind the rear C2 truck, near the base of the angled kicktail.
Price: $236
Santa Cruz Cut Back 30″ Carver surf skates
The Cut Back surf skate is a customized 30″ x 9.75″ shape based on Santa Cruz’s “standard” Cut Back cruiser.
It’s a compact and snappy board with a large (6.5″) angled kicktail and a small but functional nose kick, allowing for manuals, shuvits, and kick tricks.
This surf skate boasts an impressive 15.75″ wheelbase for such a short cruiser, translating into a flowy, stable, and controlled ride when paired with the super responsive Carver CX truck set.
The aggressively tapered tail gives this board extra leverage, making it easier to pivot the front of the board for radical kick turns and snapbacks.
The Shark Surf Skate comes with large and grippy, square-lipped 66mm wheels suitable for extreme surf-style carving and driveway slashing.
| Size | 29.95″ x 9.75″ (WB 15.75″) |
| Tail/nose | 6.50″ kicktail, 3.50″ nose kick |
| Concave | Medium |
| Construction | 7-ply North American Maple |
| Trucks | Carver CX truck set |
| Wheels | 66mm Slime Balls OG Slime |
Infinite Ringed Dot Cut Back Carver Surf Skate
The Infinite Ringed Dot Cut Back deck bottom has a beautiful purple gradient tones in its rear half and dark red stains in the front part. In between the two, the Santa Cruz Dot has white lettering on a khaki pattern, contoured by a dark circle.
The Slime Ball wheels have a nicely matching purple color.
Price: $245
Pink Dot Check Cut Back Carver Surf Skate
The Pink Dot Check variant of the Cut Back surf skate features a super flashy pink-colored Santa Cruz Dot with yellow lettering. The Dot is layered on a cool checker pattern with blue tones, with the Carver logo laid out behind the rear truck.
Pink Slime Ball wheels nicely complement the overall color theme.
Price: $218
Flamed Not a Dot Cut Back Carver Surf Skate
The Flame Not a Dot surf skate shows the Santa Cruz name in red and white fire letters, inside a triangle instead of the traditional Dot (hence the model’s name).
The triangle sits on an elegant dark wood veneered background with a beige contour line and Carver logo. The Slime Ball wheels have a light red color matching the flames.
Price: $236
