ABS and Kydex are about the same. Kydex is a little tougher, but it’s more expensive. You can also use PVC, but it’s less cooperative. Polystyrene is cheap but very brittle, not recommended for enclosures.
Yeah I have electric tailless longboards but I still ride my 30.5" shortboard with a long tail as my daily cruiser. It’s surprisingly stable at speed (20mph). Lance Mountain Reissue deck
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Ok so I found the a deck around the size I wanted. I went ahead and ordered it along with the trucks/wheels/bearings listed in my OP.
Length: 33.3” Width: 9.75” Wheelbase: 20”-20.75”
I spent the majority of my day researching batteries/motors. The batteries that look most attractive to me based on what I have read are these but I am going to wait to order until I have selected all of the remaining parts for the build. - https://voltaplex.com/6s3p-21.6v-7.5ah-li-ion-18650-battery-pack-lg-he4-cuboid - It looks like I have a ton of options for connectors and battery safety that I also need to consider.
I am no closer to determining which motor I want yet as I have not been able to use RCcalc to figure out the kv rating/drivetrain specs I need to get to my desired speeds efficiently. I will get there…eventually.
That’s where I am currently. I will add a pic once the base of my build arrives in a few days.
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I would love more info on this enclosure option. Do they just need specifications and $?
Excellent I have selected a deck a little longer than I initially wanted. I figure it’s better to play it safe and get something a little bigger [just a little].
Not sure exactly, but I reckon if you PM’d @psychotiller he’d help you out. Alternatively he’s got a website: https://psychotiller.com/
That’s actually a pretty cool deck
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After spending 20 of the last 24 hours researching my brain is not operating at full capacity any longer. A small part of me wants to consider finding kit that has the VESC/Batteries already mounted to an enclosure, something more plug and play. I found something that looks to be for hub motors with an ESC but from what I can tell it would lack the ability to customize for my specific application. See - http://www.diyeboard.com/electric-skateboard-7s2p-44ah-battery-esc-power-kit-p-525.html - Does anyone have experience/familiarity with something like this? I have done some basic soldiering years ago, but the more I think about it the less confident I am that I can execute the task without major folly.
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Do you have a soldering iron? If so, grab it and have a go at soldering some random things. It’s not difficult to learn to solder. Basically, you want to “tin” (put a layer of solder onto) the tip of your iron, then tin both things you want to solder together, then (usually using a “third hand” device) position the two wires against each other, apply the iron to one of the wires (and add a small amount of solder between the iron and wire if it’s not heating the wire enough) and start attempting to melt solder into both pieces of wire. Of course if you’re soldering two wires you can always twist the wires together first to make things easier 
The goal is to have just enough solder on the tip of the iron and the wires such that when you press the iron into the wire, the heat is transferred into the wire well enough that you can touch the solder to the other side of the wire and have the wire melt the solder, not the tip of the iron. You also want to have the iron hot enough that the solder becomes completely liquid and flows freely into the wire. If the solder doesn’t melt enough you’ll create a “cold” joint, which will be a physically weak joint with low current capacity.
If you feel like you’re not achieving anything, we’ll be happy to help you get there 
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The kit is bullshit though right? I could do better if I just take my time and do my homework?
“better” is subjective. What do you want? The kit is “better” for optimising time spent to a minimum
There are lots of “betters” here. Cheaper? More performance? More range? Faster to build? More failure-resistant? Looks nicer? Sells better? Lighter? Lower profile?
See you need to decide first what you want
I would think it would do what it says on the tin, but we can’t know what cells they use and the ESC probably won’t be customisable. I suspect the cost-cutting factor of that sort of kit would be quality.
Well I already have parameters for my use in the OP.
140lb rider, but lets say 160 if you consider my backpack with lunch and a laptop. 5 mile round trip commute that is flat save for an overpass where the street arcs over the interstate. Only need 15mph top speed
[possibly also relevant]
I would like to achieve top speed without keeping the motor “pinned”. I would like to achieve the round trip without exhausting the batteries beyond 70% of their capacity.
The reason I would like to achieve these results is to avoid stressing the components, and to increase the lifespan of the build. This may not actually be necessary, but that is my thinking.
Is there a reason you want to build it, versus buy it?
http://calc.esk8.today/advanced/
This is a great tool to calculate what you need. And with vesc you can control the maximum RPM therefore your speed
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I believe what @b264 is saying is that the prebuilt kit might achieve your goals, as would a DIY setup. However each would be “better” than the other in different ways. You need to decide which “better” you care about more. You might achieve the same goals with the prebuilt kit and gain “quick, easy and cheap” but sacrifice “quality”.
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I would say that with your budget you could definitely do better than the prebuilt kit. And by that I mean achieve the same things, but you would have to put in time and effort, and it would cost more. However you would end up with a build that could potentially be more reliable (depending on your own skill in building it) and use higher quality parts that are less likely to break. Plus you could use VESCs and get the ultimate customisation
A Metroboard Shortboard would perfectly meet your goals
The only production board that I actually liked the look of was the Riptide, and I couldn’t bring myself to spend $800 on a board made in Shenzhen. I figured for around 1k I could make my own that was purpose built, and more reliable long term.
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