Cold Press or Hot Press Decks, Which is Better?

The question of whether hot pressed or cold pressed skateboard decks are better is not an easy one to answer. Basically, you can't judge one production process or the other as better or worse; like many things in skateboarding, it depends very much on personal preference.

What are the differences.

With cold pressing, the individual layers of the deck are first moistened with water-based glue and then pressed for at least 1 hour until the glue is dry and has sufficiently bonded with the layers of wood. The raw deck must then rest for around 1 week before it can be processed further. The water-based glue has the advantage that it can partially penetrate the pores of the wood and remains more flexible even after drying. Due to the longer processing time, most manufacturers press up to 5 decks at the same time in one press, which means that decks in the middle have a slightly flatter concave and nose/tail kick than decks that lie directly on the mold. The cold pressing process is used on pretty much all decks produced in the USA, Mexico or Europe.

If a deck is made using the hot press process, epoxy glue is used. The layers of wood are placed in a heated mold and pressed into it for only about five minutes. This effective form of production has the advantage that well-known manufacturers press each deck individually. This guarantees that the concave is always the same. The chemical properties of epoxy glue differ from water-based glue; it is harder and less flexible, which makes the decks somewhat stiffer. In our experience, hot pressed decks are less prone to warping. Hot pressed decks are mainly produced in China. After epoxy resins in the manufacture of skateboards long had a bad reputation in terms of environmental compatibility, there are now plant-based epoxy glues that do not use petroleum products.

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