When it comes to miniature skateboards, two brands reign supreme: Spin Master’s Tech Deck® and Mattel’s Hot Wheels Skate®. Both brands offer finger-sized skateboards that allow fingerboard enthusiasts to perform tricks and stunts with their fingers, but which one is better? Let’s take a closer look at both Tech Deck and Hot Wheels Skate fingerboards.
Tech Deck fingerboards have been a household name for miniature skateboard enthusiasts since the late 1990s. They offer a wide variety of fingerboards with licensed graphics from popular skateboard companies such as Element, Primitive, Santa Cruz, Disorder, and Plan B. Tech Deck also offers a range of multi-packs, and ramps and obstacles to add to your fingerboard park. Plus, their fingerboards have a realistic feel, with actual grip tape on the board and authentic graphics. While single Tech Decks used to come with a skate tool, now most singles only include stickers. To get a skate tool, extra wheels, trucks, screws, etc., you must purchase a Tech Deck Sk8shop. Tech Deck also offers skatepark playsets with ramps and rails that resemble realistic skatepark elements.
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On the other hand, Hot Wheels Skate fingerboards are a relatively new addition to the miniature skateboard scene, debuting in 2022. Hot Wheels Skate was created in collaboration with renowned vert and street skateboarder, Tony Hawk. Hot Wheels Skate offers unique graphics and training clip sneakers. Other Hot Wheels Skate products come with a unique 1:64 scale Hot Wheel car or packs of four boards, and skatepark playsets. They also offer ramps and obstacles that can be connected to create a larger skate park. The additional skatepark pieces are colorful, whimsical, and appear to be geared towards children.
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Both Tech Deck and Hot Wheels Skate fingerboards are widely available at retail giants and online. For the collector, Hot Wheels Skate names each board, while Tech Deck only names the licensed skateboard company and does not specify the name of the actual board. Many third-party sellers do name the boards when reselling, which is helpful for collectors. Tech Deck is missing out on marketing opportunities with each specific board they release by not naming the actual board.
In terms of price, both Tech Deck and Hot Wheels Skate are comparable, with a single board starting at $2.99 at most retailers. Last year, when Hot Wheels Skate was rolled out, one big box store had a rollback for single Tech Decks to $1.97, but they are now back up to $2.97.
Overall, both Tech Deck and Hot Wheels Skate fingerboards have their pros and cons. Tech Deck offers a wider range of licensed graphics and a realistic feel, while Hot Wheels Skate offers vibrant new graphics and playsets that are more attractive to children. Ultimately, the choice between the two will come down to personal preference and what features are most important to the user.
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