Miller Surfskate: The Other Affordable Street Surfer

Many of you faithful surf skaters have asked me about the Miller surfskate so I decided to write a post about it. Miller Division makes and markets quality surf skateboards at affordable prices compared to the more established and high-profile brands in the industry.

Miller Division is the new kid on the block in the surfskate market – and the skateboard/longboard market in general. Although the company has only recently started to tackle the international market, Miller surfskates stand the comparison with the YOW, Slide, and Triton (Carver) in terms of quality and functionality. In particular, Miller is quickly becoming a serious competitor for Slide (see my post about them).

Here’s a glimpse of yours truly doing some relaxed carving on a Miller surfskate at the beach:

Miller Division: the brand & company

The Miller Division skate brand was created in Spain in 2012 by two friends, Ivan Garcia, a former pro skateboarder who handles product development, and Ricardo Garrido, a seasoned entrepreneur who acts as the company’s CEO.

The company, Rider Division, is based in Northern Spain close to the Basque Country, in an area where surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding are popular and the board sports industry has a strong presence.

Miller’s international growth

During its first 3 years, the Miller Division brand focused primarily on the Spanish market and established itself through quality skateboards and longboards at accessible prices for all kinds of skaters. Miller started expanding into the international market only in 2015 through a presence at the huge ISPO sports tradeshow in Munich.

Since then, Miller Division has successfully built a presence in 30 countries. Their success can be attributed to Miller’s skateboard and longboard products which offer high-end specs and a distinctive look at accessible prices. Miller’s product line initially included street skateboards, plastic skateboards, cruisers, and longboards – but no surfskates.

The in summer 2016, Miller entered the surfskate scene – one of the fastest growing skateboarding market segment – by launching their own complete surf skateboards and newly-designed surf truck. See next section for more.

Miller Division maintains its own international downhill team, which takes part in the International Downhill Federation’s events. Miller also sponsors a local freeride team, individual skaters and surfers nationwide, and some skate and surf schools. They organize local events such as the Miller Division El Soplao, a local freeride race which received national TV attention.

Miller surfskate truck

Miller Division’s surfskate truck, which equips all Miller surfskates, is the XRKP – the name stands for Xtreme Reverse Kingpin. It’s a 160mm (6.5″) truck with a geometry similar to the Carver CX, allowing for extreme turning angles far beyond standard RKP trucks.

Like the CX, the XRKP uses rubber bushings for bringing back the truck to its center position in turns – in contrast to spring-based systems like YOW, Swelltech, or Carver C7 (see my post on surf trucks).

The Miller surfskate truck enables tight surf-like turns as well as efficient pumping and carving, emulating the feeling of surfing waves on a surfboard. You generate speed including from a standstill position by rotating your shoulders and hips from side to side, and flexing your knees during the transition – see this article about surfskate technique.

The XRKP truck is compatible with both skateboard and longboard decks and works best with decks 29″ to 33″ in length.

Miller’s rear truck

The Miller rear truck which comes with the XRKP uses a standard RKP truck geometry for stability in extreme turns. This rear truck gives you strong grip and stability for tight turns, the same way surfboard fins keep the rear of the board stable when you perform a bottom or top turn in the wave. This 10″ wide rear truck is designed to accommodate any deck size, rider stance, and foot size comfortably.

It’s worth noting that both Miller front and rear trucks are taller than standard RKP trucks in order to avoid wheelbite in very tight turns. The taller truck geometry eliminates the need for added risers, reduces the setup’s overall weight and volume, and potentially increases the trucks’ lifetime due to fewer parts and less maintenance.

Miller surfskate truck bushings

The bushings on the Miller XRKP ship with two sets of bushings with different durometers, one softer and one harder. You can change the bushings depending on your riding goals:

• Use the harder bushings for more stability e.g. for cruising
• Use the softer bushings to facilitate surf-style maneuvers
• You can also mix and match depending on your weight and style

Miller surfskate truck new version

In 2018, Miller released a new and improved version of their surf truck, the XRKP2. One of the improvements in the new truck version is that the baseplate has 8 holes. This is a great new feature which brings a lot more flexibility since you can adjust the wheelbase up to 2 cm regardless of your deck length.

Miller Division surfskate complete setups

The Miller surfskate decks are made of quality, 100% 7 or 8-ply (depending on model) Hardrock Canadian Maple. They offer attractive and modern graphic designs that contribute to Miller’s success worldwide.

Miller surfskate models are often named after mythical places of the surf culture such as Mundaka, a world-famous surf spot in the Spanish Basque country, and Kirra, another world-class Australian wave.

The Miller Division surfskate lineup has expanded from the initial Kirra and Mundaka models to include 9 new models with deck lengths ranging from 30″ to 32″. Besides length, the Miller decks also vary in shape with 3 types of shape: soft concave, medium concave single kick, and medium concave double kick.

As I mentioned earlier, the new Miller XRKP truck lets you adjust the wheelbase length significantly according to your preference. As a result, you can choose the deck size and shape you like the best without worrying about constraining your riding style.

On a longer deck, you can always shorten your wheelbase to obtain tighter turns, and conversely, on a shorter deck, you may choose to increase the wheelbase for smoother cruising and wider, more flowy turns. This is an advantage few other surfskate brands offer.

Miller’s surf skateboards ship with high-rebound wheels from their new Surf Wheels Collection, and ABEC 9 bearings. Let’s look at some of Miller’s top surfskate models.

Miller surfskate Kirra 31.5″ review

The Miller Kirra is a 31.5″ x 10″ deck with a 17.71″ (adjustable) wheelbase. This is one of the most stable surfskates in the Miller lineup. It features the single kick, medium concave shape. The Kirra is made of 7-ply Canadian Maple wood. The deck bottom has a pastel-colored, surf-inspired tropical theme art, with a similar themed narrow stripe printed on top of the deck.

The Kirra surfskate ships with Miller’s XRKP front surf truck and standard RKP extra-high Miller rear truck. It comes with large and soft 70mm Miller Creek (Surf Collection) wheels. The softer 78A durometer is well-suited for effortless smooth cruising and surf carving and pumping.

See the Miller Kirra surfskate on Amazon (or here).

Miller surfskate Mundaka 30″ review

The Miller Mundaka, like the Kirra, is one of the first and most successful surfskate of the brand. It’s smaller than the Kirra at 30″ x 9.8″ with a 16.8″ wheelbase. It’s beautiful deck bottom graphics are inspired from the Mundaka wave, one of the best lefthander in the world located in the Spanish Basque Country. The breaking wave sits on top of a dark red and blue background. A blue circle is also printed on the deck top.

Like the Kirra, the Mundaka has a single kick shape, though with more of a rounded nose. It comes with the XRKP front truck for surf turns and tricks, and Miller’s standard rear truck designed to provide stability in those tight surf-like turns. The Kirra also ships with Miller Division’s 70mm 78A carving wheels.

The Mundaka, like the Kirra, is a great surfskate for carving hard turns and pumping with energy like when riding a surfboard.

Check out the Miller Division Mundaka surfskate here on Amazon (or here).

The Miller Mundaka also comes in a different color version, featuring a white-colored wave on a sky blue and orange background (Mundaka II):

See the price for the Mundaka II here on Amazon.

Miller Surfskate Pablo Solar Pro Model 31.5″ review

The Pablo Solar Pro Model is 31.5″ long by 10″ wide, with a 16.8″ wheelbase. It has a stunning surfboard look with a white background and a stringer-like graphic running down its length. The graphics also include 5 fin inserts in the bottom and a rear surf pad on top of the deck. The shape is also surfboard-inspired with a fish tail and a round pointed nose. Overall a great looking Miller surfskate.

This pro model bears the name of a well-known Spanish pro surfer who cross-trains on a custom-built Miller surfskate. This board offers a double-kick shape and comes with the XRKP2 Miller 160mm surf trucks. It ships with transparent 70mm Miller surf wheels.

Check out the Miller Pablo Solar Pro Model on Amazon.

Miller Surfskate Lighthouse review

The Miller Lighthouse surfskate is 30.5″ x 10″ with a 16″ wheelbase, with a single kick and a diamond shaped tail. The art on the deck bottom features a cool lighthouse navy blue graphic with the name “Miller Light” appearing in the light, on a a wite and worn out red background. The top of the deck has black griptape with a small white and blue circle showing the top part of the lighthouse.

This surfskate comes with slightly smaller and harder 65mm 80A wheels, suitable for slightly more technical surf tricks (sliding, ramp) than the usual 70mm surf wheels.

Check the price of the Miller Division Lighthouse surfskate on Amazon (or here).

Miller surfskate Aguas Caliente 31″ review

The Miller Division Aguas Calientes is 31″ x 9.8″ with a 16.33″ wheelbase. It’s a low concave deck with a single kick and a wide squared nose for extra maneuvering space. Proportionally narrower than other Miller surfskates, this board is the most versatile of the lineup. It’s an all-around board that works great for classic cruising and riding as well as advanced surf carving.

The Aguas Calientes comes with the newer 9.8″ XRKP front truck which gives this board high responsive and controlled turning. The surfskate comes fitted with bigger 71mm wheels with slightly harder (80A) durometer.

The artwork on the Aguas Caliente is a tribute to Mexico and its relaxed lifestyle, with bands of traditional bright Mexican colors laid out on deep blue background.

See the price for the Miller Aguas Calientes surfskate (or here) on Amazon.

Miller surfskate Inn 30″ review

The Miller Division Inn surfskate is a pretty short and wide deck, at 30″ by 9.5″ with a 15.94″ wheelbase. It’s specifically designed for female and smaller male riders, with its small size and medium concave that makes it easier for smaller feet to control it. The Miller Inn features cool contemporary art style graphics showing a road-size motel vacancy sign and an open road surrounded by desert.

This surfskate also comes with the newer wider 180mm Miller XRKP surfskate trucks, which give this short and wide board the tightest turning radius of the lineup. It also ships with the larger and slightly harder 71mm 80A Miller wheels.

See the price for the Miller Division Inn surfskate on Amazon (or here)

Miller surfskate Classic 31.5” review

The Miller Classic surfskate is designed to look and feel just like a real surfboard, namely through the digitally-printed graphics on the deck top. This 31.5″ x 10″ deck is made of 8-ply Canadia maple. It features a medium concave and a small nose kick in addition to the kicktail, which adds to the surfboard feel of this Miller skateboard.

The relatively long 17.12″ wheelbase gives the Classic surfskate a wider turning radius, great for performing classic wide surf-style carves on land. This awesome-looking surfskate has a style highly reminiscent of classic surfboards.

The Miller Classic surfskate comes with the new 180mm XRKP Miller front truck and high-performance smaller and harder wheels (65mm, 80A duro) relative to the deck size.

See the Miller Classic surfskate on Amazon (you can also find it here)

Miller Surfskate Miami Beach 31″ review

This 31″ x 9.7″, 16.33″ wheelbase Miller surfskate is another all-around board which offers an optimal mix of turning capability and stability. Its narrow width relative to its length makes it very responsive and turny while maintaining good traction in turns. The Miami Beach is a versatile board that can fit riders of any size, style, and level.

This surfskate has super cool artwork printed on both sides of the deck, though with slightly different color shades on each side. The graphics feature a hip young woman with sunglasses symbolizing the Miami Beach boardwalk lifestyle.

The complete surfskate comes with the 180mm Miller XRKP front truck and large 71mm Creek wheels with 80A durometer, suitable for an all-around riding style (cruising, carving, sliding).

See the price for Miller Division Miami Beach surfskate on Amazon – also available here.

Miller Surfskate Tahiti 31.5″ review

This awesome Miller surfskate boasts stunning island-inspired graphics on a light blue color background both on both the deck’s top and bottom sides – the top side is covered with a tropical palm tree stripe pattern. The Tahiti is a 7-ply, 31.5″ x 10″ in size deck with a 16.8″ wheelbase. It’s similar in shape and size to the uber stable Miller Kirra, and has a comparable single kick and medium concave type shape.

The Tahiti comes fitted with the new Miller XRKP2 truck. This surfskate is a well-suited board for a bigger and heavier rider due to the extra room and stability in turns it offers. The deck is made from 7-ply maple. The complete setup includes soft 70mm wheels, also a good fit for bigger skaters.

See the price for the Miller Tahiti surskate on Amazon

Final words

Before leaving, don’t forget to take the surfskate instant survey to find out what everyone is choosing!

Miller Division surfskates are high quality, performance skateboards that allow you to emulate the feeling of wave surfing on the asphalt. Their European-designed products sell at competitive prices. The new kid on the block, Miller Division has quickly become a strong contender to another up-and-coming surfskate brand from Spain, Slide Surfskates.

Miller’s newer surf truck, the XRKPs, and their new and improved completes, have brought about real performance improvements and are making Miller Division an even more serious challenger to the established surfskate brands out there.

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Photo credits:
Featured image and product shots courtesy of Miller Division