The main difference between Bamboo and maple longboard decks is a few remarkable differences among features like durability, flexibility, pricing, longevity, etc.  Nowadays, you will find that the longboards are built with various kinds of material like fiber glasses, wood, plastic, etc. Among all types of materials, two of the most used and popular types of woods are Maple and bamboo wood. Different top-quality longboard decks are built with these two categories of woods. 

Many customers often get confused between these two types of longboards. Are you also in a dilemma like a few customers whether you should go for the Bamboo or the maple wood-based longboard? Also, finding it difficult to find out the differences between these two categories? Then, giving a thorough read to this article may be a great help. 

From this article, you will get information about benefits, standard features, and differences between bamboo and maple longboards.

We will consider the features mentioned below, and they are: 

• Weight and weight-bearing ability
• Durability 
• Flexibility
• Availability in the market
• Cost-effectiveness & 
• Environmentally-friendly.

Weight Handling Ability of Maple and Bamboo Longboard Deck 

The first characteristic we are going to discuss in these two types of boards is ‘weight.’ The maple wood tends to be heavier than bamboo wood. The maple wood longboard is more sturdy, and that’s why weight capacity is also more remarkable than bamboo skateboards. 

If someone weighs from 220 to 240 pounds or has an average weight, he can go for the longboards made with bamboo wood. You can buy different top-quality longboard decks made with Bamboo, like Magneto Longboard, Quest super cruiser longboard, Atom pintail longboard, etc. For heavy riders who weights up to 340 pounds, longboards built with maple wood will be the right choice. 

Is Bamboo More Flexible Than Maple?

Many longboard riders often swear upon the flexibility of the bamboo boards. The reason behind this is the ‘flex’ offered by the longboards made with bamboo wood. You will not get this kind of flexibility in any other form of wood. The built-in flex of the bamboo longboard helps to observe any type of vibration created from more challenging surfaces. 

Overall, if you want a super smooth ride and want to perform freestyle riding tricks and tactics, you should go for the bamboo longboards. So, you can already assume that in terms of flexibility, maple boards are a bit lagging behind due to not being able to provide enough flex, which might be the first preference of many professional longboarders. 

But Bamboo is Not More Durable than Maple, or is it?

Next, we are going to talk about durability. Apart from sturdiness, the longboards built with maple wood are super durable because of their solid wooden texture and dense fiber. The tree that has been grown for many years indeed tends to be more durable. 

The maximum number of customers say that Bamboo is lightweight and pretty strong in performance. But in terms of durability, the maple wood longboards last longer than the bamboo longboards. But nowadays, to increase the durability of bamboo longboards, materials like fiberglass are used with bamboo wood. 

In Terms of Growth, Which One’s Ahead?

Between bamboo and maple trees, a maple tree takes about 20 to 30 long years for a maple tree to grow fully. Some grow fast. Still, it takes 10 to 15 years for proper growth; as a result, when the maple tree is cut, it takes a long time to grow another tree. Usually, maple trees grow in cold areas of Canada and Russia. 

3 to 5 years is enough for a bamboo tree to grow fully and another positive side about bamboo trees is, if it is adequately cut from the roots, it grows again. Bamboo trees grow easily in all the tropical areas of the world, and they are great for building up flexible longboards. 

Availability in the Current Market

Both bamboo and maple deck longboards are available in the market and on online platforms like Amazon, eBay, etc. There is a difference in the price as well because we all know that a maple tree takes a lot longer time to grow fully, and the strong quality of this board is remarkable. But you can choose any between one even if you are on a budget. 

So when it comes to the effect on the environment, Bamboo is an excellent source of making longboards as it doesn’t take much time to grow. Contradictorily, maple trees grow all around the world except in some specific areas and regions. Moreover, it takes a much longer time to grow than bamboo trees. 

Which One’s the More Substantial Deck?

Another essential characteristic that is considered with great importance is the strength of the wood while building up the longboard. If you are giving a thought about getting a longboard and using it for at best 2 to 3 years, then Bamboo made longboards are great as these are outstanding for commuting from here to there and roaming around the whole city. 

But the strength of the Maple made the longboard is unbeatable. When you want to invest in a good-quality longboard and use it for a long time, then a longboard made with maple wood will be the best choice among different top-quality longboard decks. You can perform more challenging tricks without fear of breaking down the board as it’s super sustainable and sturdy. 

Final Words

Hopefully, after reading this article, you have acknowledged all the necessary features of bamboo and maple longboard decks. You can now select different top-quality longboard decks for you according to your preferred features. If you want a lightweight and flexible deck to perform freeriding styles within budget, then you can go for the bamboo decks. 

Again, if you want to invest a decent amount and want a heavy deck for a longer time, and perform different types of riding styles, then maple longboards will be an excellent choice for you as well. So, it mostly depends on the choice and preference of a rider whether he wants a bamboo or maple longboard deck but categorizing based on the features will surely help to make the decision early.