We’re huge advocates of longboarding safety- and a great way to ride safer is to add lights to your longboard. There’s two reasons to add longboard lights, to see in front of you, and to be seen by others.
If you ever plan on doing any riding after dark, we highly recommend buying or building your own light setup. An added bonus for some lights is that they just look cool. In this post we’ll dive into the best longboard lights and provide other helpful tips and info.
4 Best longboard light options
| Model | Shop | Best for |
| ShredLights | Check Price | Complete kits to single headlights |
| Board Blazers | Check Price | Cheap underglow board lights |
| DON PEREGRINO | Check Price | Cheap board head/tail lights |
| SLONIK | Check Price | Solid DIY approach |
Best longboard lights overall
ShredLights
If you’re in the market for lights for your longboard it’s impossible not to hear about ShredLights. The concept behind ShredLights began when a college student took a spill on his skateboard at night and realized that cars could not see him assessing the damage he had taken. ShredLights were born when that student created a team of people at his college to launch the initial prototypes, and the rest is history.
The secret sauce aside from being a great quality light, is the special patented mounts that fasten to your board. These mounts make it easy to remove or swap out your lights.
The complete skateboard kit contains 2 headlights and 2 tail lights for your board, 2 headlights for your helmet, and 1 for your backpack. Of course you’re able to purchase individual pieces to customize your own setup, but the complete kit is the best value.
ShredLights are powered using an internal rechargeable battery. You can easily charge your lights using included micro-USB charging cables.
Best longboard underglow lights
Board Blazers
If you’re looking for cheap underlights for your longboard definitely take a look at the Board Blazers.
Board Blazers are a set of 4 self-adhesive, battery-powered LED color lights. You can choose what color you want, or go with the gift pack or color changers. There are so many options and all at a fair price.
The lights run on CR2032 button cell batteries that last for about 30 hours and are included.
Installation is super easy since there are no cords or wires, instead there’s a new and improved self-adhesive sticky pad they claim to be industrial grade and made in the USA.
If you’re just looking to have some fun for not a ton of cash, we enjoy the Board Blazers underlights.
Best longboard tail lights
DON PEREGRINO
Underglow lights are fun, but sometimes your longboard lights need to keep you safe during night riding. Similar to the tail lights of a car, longboard tail lights are designed to keep you safe from people coming from behind who may otherwise not see you easily.
These lights were designed for bikes, but they can be applied to longboards with some creative mounting. For the price, these are tough to beat for a basic solution. The reviews are pretty incredible with over 700 averaging about a 4.7 stars out of 5.
Best DIY longboard lights
SLONIK
Let’s be honest, outside of ShredLights, there really isn’t a company out there specifically serving skateboarders and longboarders when it comes to lighting. What many longboarders have done to solve the lighting issue is to go with a DIY approach. A DIY approach means to repurpose other forms of lighting and using them on a longboard.
DIY lights can range from quality headlamps, to simply strapping a flashlight to the front of your board. The key is to be creative and think of safe ways to secure the lighting device to your board.
The easiest thing to do is to hop on Amazon or whatever site you prefer to buy things, and do a quick search for good headlamps or flashlights.
Since we had to choose one for the DIY category we went with the highly rated SLONIK headlamp because it’s super bright, and rechargeable. The sky’s the limit, find a good light and safely strap it on!
Bonus: Light up longboard wheels
Sunset Skateboard Co. 65mm 78a LED Light-Up Longboard Wheels
Another fun area to light up on your longboard set up are the wheels. These wheels by Sunset Skateboard Co. are perfect for longboards and are super easy to install.
The best part hands-down is that these don’t require batteries. These wheels use kinetic energy to power the lights. Basically meaning that just the wheel spinning is enough to power up the lights.
As for the bearings included- you’re getting ABEC-7 Carbon Steel. The bearings are already in the wheel so you’re good to go!
Anybody looking for a fun and cheap way to light up their night riding, look no further!
Safety tips for longboarding at night
New riders should stick to daytime until they are comfortable enough to ride at night. When you are comfortable doing night rides, here’s some extra tips for your safety:
[1] Use lights!
The whole point of this article is to showcase longboard lighting options that will keep you safe no matter what your budget is. Even if you don’t plan on doing a ton of night riding, it’s always a good idea to have a cheap set of lights ready just in case you’re with a group that wants to go for a night ride.
An optimal setup would include:
- Front board headlights
- Rear board lights
- Helmet light
- Torso light (backpack)
- Reflective gear
If you don’t have lights – we don’t suggest night riding. If you still choose to do so, stick to areas that are well lit with streetlights or something similar.
[2] Wear proper attire
Longboarding helmets are a must for any rider no matter if it’s day or night, but it’s even more important to wear one at night. Night riders are naturally more prone to accidents, and wearing proper headgear can potentially save your life. In our linked article above you can check out all of our approved longboarding helmets.
Included in the proper attire would also be reflective gear. This would include clothing and padding that has reflectors on it so that vehicles with lights can see you better.
Another good idea is to wear glow sticks. Buy a bulk pack and bust them out anytime you want to longboard at night.
Longboarding at night can be one of the most peaceful and fun ways to ride. Especially since you don’t have to worry about the unbearable heat from the sun.
If you do want to experience the joys of night riding, we hope you’ll do it equipped with the proper lighting we mentioned in this post. The key is to be as visible as possible so you stay safe. Make sure you have lights on your board and ideally your helmet and body as well.
Stay visible. Stay safe. Happy riding.
