I recently have gotten back into fingerboarding after having stopped for around 6-7 years. The first thing that has amazed me is the fact that 32mm-34mm decks are now a thing… I have pretty large hands and i’m satisfied with my 29 & 30mm boards.
Why have such wide decks become the norm?
started off as deck companies trying something different, then it evolved to decks just gradually getting a mm wider every year to now 34mm boards are normal to see. people going back to 29mm are generally considered the “trendy” people now
When I first started fingerboarding my first wooden deck was a Dooby Deck made by Ray Spartz in Minnesota and it was 29mm, I absolutely loved the shape and the size. I then moved onto the No Comply M1/M2 Shape which was also 29mm as well, loved it too. Back in the day when doing trades over YouTube were a thing, I got a Berlinwood Classic Skull in 32mm along w/ a Berlinwood 32mm Neon Colors as well, both fantastic decks with a great width.
Honestly, I believe it was ‘hype’ that actually stuck. For years, 29mm was the go-to shape but now it’s phased out with 34-55mm decks becoming a thing and 29mm becoming a phase.
I’m not too thrilled about this continual trend towards ever-wider decks, with some companies even releasing 35mm! For me, 33-33.5mm is ideal. Any wider and it feels ‘clunky’. These baby hands can’t handle that much board!
I’m guessing the reason is small man/penis syndrome - that’s the only logical explanation anyway since over 33mm only degrades performance. I find 32 perfect and 33 manageable.
Oh yeah and don’t forget you got about 200k fingerboard groupies that follow Mike S and jizz over his stupid ass 50mm boards 
Trends man. Companies will follow trends that make the most sales which allows them to contribute more to the scene. It also helps that Tech Deck has switch to 29 and 32 mm boards fully which means 32 and 29 mm trucks are super easy to obtain now. Now there’s really no excuse to not have trucks fit a 32-34 mm board unless you’re super unlucky and your store doesn’t carry Tech Decks anymore.
I like 32mm as well. In my opinion, that fingerboard width has a fairly accurate size ratio in comparison my 8.5+ inch skateboards, which makes riding them feel more realistic to me.
I have a few 33’s and 33.6’s too and the only plus for me is that they feel really comfy; there’s a lot of room to place your fingers. It’s just difficult for me to do heelflips and 360 flips on them. Anything wider than that is just amusing and I like playing with them for the novelty.
Yeah I can’t really get behind anything over 33. 32 or 32.5 is that sweet spot for me. 34+ is just insane.
I ride almost exlcusively ride 35.5-36mm boards. Honestly, it’s really just what feels comfortable to me. I have boards ranging from 25mm to 36mm and I personally just like my 36mm best.
Im convinced on 34mm decks, very good performance
To me its good to see a surprising change coming back to fbing, its all personal opinion though- still use my 32mm deck too
You’ll have old school riders who like the ‘original’ smaller sizes and hate on new options and you’ll have your new riders that hate on the old.
It’s all about preference.
What I may prefer, 33.5/34mm, may not be what others prefer and if they want to hate, let em lol not going to cause me to lose any sleep because who really cares.
Ride what you like, the rest is irrevlevant.
Depends on the deck for me… I have a Manu Oberle deck with a fairly low shape in ~34mm and that feels good, but with my own decks i won’t go over 33mm, mostly ride 32.5mm…
I started riding my 34mm 2KR deck a lot more since this thread was posted. Then I eventually moved onto my 34mm FBC deck and now I’ve been using a 34.4mm Unique, which I’m going to post after I write this because of how much I’m enjoying it. 32mm is still my go-to size, but 34’s have been really fun for me lately.