Well it's all about how you look at it. Maple use to be big in the skateboarding industry in the 90's but unfortunately tanked and they sold the name and now places like Target sell Maple decks at much lower quality standards. In a case like this, you get what you pay for. You can certainly learn the basics on there if you're a beginner, but i'd say if you're looking to progress further than the basics you should invest in a board from a local skateshop or online. Quality wise they're not much better than Wal-mart boards, but like I said if you're just learning it'll be a great tool to get down your basics without spending over $100-$150 on a professional complete. Hope this helped. :)

all boards blanks and pro models are made of 7 ply Canadian Maple, so its a very good material and durable to skate with.

i look at it as a personal preference. some people could think blank maple boards are awesome and very durable and have lots of pop. others could think different. try out different brands and see what u like:)