I know of two different ways to make your own longboard sliding gloves, and I'm going to tell you about both methods here. In one way, you screw the plastic slide pads onto the gloves, and in the other way you melt them on. Either way works just fine - it all depends on what you feel most comfortable doing. Kyle Chin (from downhill longboarding videos like Let Go) offered help and advice on the Velcro method, and downhill longboarder Matt Morley offered his homemade gloves for these photos, and as you'll see he likes the screwed on method. Thanks to both of these guys for your help!
So here's a list of what you'll need:
- Work Gloves - from a hardware store. They should be thick and strong. Don't get too cheap, or you might regret it later!
- A Thick Plastic Cutting Board - from the housewares section. I'm talking about the kind of board you put down to chop vegetables on. These boards are perfect for making sliding pucks for longboarding gloves!
- A Jigsaw - you are going to cut that cutting board up, and a jigsaw is the easiest way to do it.
- The Velcro Method: you’ll need some Shoe Goo and a couple feet of industrial strength Velcro (both hook and loop sides). This can be purchased for a relatively low price at a hardware store and will give you plenty of extra for making replacement pucks (and additional gloves) later on.
- The Melting Method: you'll need a strong torch, like a large butane torch will do.
- The Screw Method: you'll need screws! Several of them - get at least 20. These need to be small screws, around a quarter of an inch long. You don't want them to go all the way through the pads at the start, so take a look at the cutting board you buy and don't get screws longer than the board is thick. You also need a power screwdriver (like a powered hand drill). And finally, some thinner scrap plastic will help make your gloves more comfortable, but it's not needed.
