Penny vs Nickel Board: Which One Should I Choose?

I really like Penny’s products!

Their extreme lightness and portability allow the brand to win the battle in the skateboard world, gaining much trust and love among commuters as well as younger riders of all ages.

However, I know that many beginners and even intermediate skateboarders out there are confused about two typical versions of Penny which are the Original Penny and the Nickel Board. What are the differences? Which one should I choose?

Congrats, you’re in the right address because here, I’m going to help you with that. Stay tuned!

Table of Contents

How to Distinguish the Original Penny and the Nickel Board

Similarities

I guess the same-same design between the Original Penny and the Nickel Board is the real matter for many riders’ confusion, isn’t it?

But other than that, both of them are made out of pennies signature plastic that is very strong. No weight limit really on these boards but in general, they hold up very nicely. Even a 220-pound guy like me finds no difficulty riding them at all.

Besides, is their pennies customizer ability. Exactly, you can access through their website and choose the different colors of your board’s components. There are many similarly cool options for both of them there.

Grip tape is the last notable factor. This seems like the highest pride of Penny when it comes to their products as not many skateboards can ride such that safely and decently in wet conditions. If it’s not for tricks, the grip tape still benefits in keeping your feet stay firmly on the board to ride controllably.

Differences

It’s hard to tell which is the Original Penny or Nickel Board if just looking at them separately in pictures. However, when lining them up side by side, it’s much easier to see the difference.

The most obvious between the two is their size. The Nickle Board has a 27-inch deck that’s 7.5 inches wide while the Penny has a 22-inch deck that’s 6 inches wide.

Besides, the trucks are another mentionable element. All made by Penny but the Penny Classic has 3 inches whilst the Nickle has 4.

Other than the subtle build differences than these boards, what really makes them different is the ride characteristics.

Penny & Nickel Board in Comparison

To give you a quick overview of the strength and weakness of these two boards, I’ll summarize them in this table:

Factor	Original Penny Board	Nickel Board
Portability	Better -> Easier to fit inside of 90% nowadays backpacks or pockets -> Ask for shorter wheelbases -> More convenient for traveling	Worse -> Strongly depend on the size of your backpack or pocket -> Ask for longer wheelbases -> Not a good idea for traveling
Maneuverability	Better -> Can weave in and out a foot traffic	Worse -> Harder to wriggle in a crowd of people
For Bigfoot Riders	Worse -> As feet are closer together, it’s harder to stand and control during a ride -> Need time to get used to -> Just suitable for professional riders	Better -> Give more foot space for comfort -> Easier to stand on, keep balance, and ride -> Perfect for beginners
Controllability	Worse	Better
Stability	Worse	Better
Speed	Better	Worse

My Thoughts After a Test Ride on Both

As mentioned above, the Original Penny and the Nickel Board are just 5” different in length. However, on a skateboard this small, it’s a whole different world.

The Nickel is very smooth due to its larger size whilst the Penny is still smooth but does feel a lot of bumps. Also, the larger trucks on the Nickel makes it more capable of carving whereas, on the Penny, you might find it a little bit unstable through the sharper turns.

I’m not going to lie, the first thing I actually thought when riding a Penny was that it felt like a roller skateboard strapped to one of my feet when I was skateboarding. But over time, I gradually get used to it and feel absolutely fine. Now, it’s very comfortable to ride.

In the end, they are both excellent boards.

The Original Penny is super portable and tiny that I can practically fit in my 22” backpack to air travel with ease. It’s fast, reliable and rides smoothly enough to get the job done.

The Nickel, on the other hand, is slightly larger to suit people who would prefer a larger board for more stability. Also, Nickel is much easier to do tricks. It’s really hard to do an ollie on the Penny but it seems pretty natural on the Nickle.

Which One Should I Choose?

There are some solid factors to consider which is your best bet:

Riding styles
Riding experience
Shoe size
Preference

I have already cleared up the riding styles and riding experience. But about the shoe size, how to know which one your feet will fit?

Well, as a basic rule of thumb, a Nickel Board is suitable for a shoe size of 13 or up while the Original Penny is for the smaller. However, it’s not applied solidly.

There are many riders (mostly experienced ones) out there with big feet preferring to the Original, that’s why I listed the preference factor as a consideration.

It’s really up to personal preference whether you’re looking for something very portable and fast or maybe something a little more stable, controllable and just as fast but not as portable.

That’s it! Thanks for reading!