[jyl]

13 y/o son wants a skateboard.

He rides a RipStik now and used to unicycle - good balance.

Probably would ride it to school (1/2 mile, flat sidewalks). Not convinced he'll get serious about it.

What's a good one, not too spendy? Where to buy? Zumiez?

I haven't been on a board since college, when I commuted with one. I mostly remember liking a stiff broad wood deck, wide trucks, and fairly narrow wheels. There were some steep hills, way too steep to bomb down (and they dumped into busy roads) and to control speed you had to make rapid narrow radius skidding turns Like wedels in snow skiing. The narrow wheels broke free easily and predictably which was good. The stiff deck gave me control. My buddy had a board with very wide wheels and that was impossible to wedel.