How long does it take to set up a new range of longboards from a manufacturer? In the Hopshop, it does not take long. Usually the trucks are going on before the deck is out of the box.
We have received our first shipment of Norfin Manta longboards.
Straight out of the box, the decks strike you as amazingly beautiful. The finish is exceptional. Top of the deck shows the natural bamboo through a thin clear grit. The bottom layer is as shiny as a new Ferrari. Thick clear resin layer over carbon. Looking at the edge of the deck, you can see the two layers of vertically layered bamboo. Sandwiched between the layers is tri-axial fibreglass. Norfin tell us that considerable research when into the structural making of the deck. The fibreglass layer is designed and applied to hold the flex pattern, so it has a longer life and does not sag.
The three colours we received were, a dark charcoal carbon, and a dark red carbon and a special edition floral design. Shape of the deck is what you would expect from a custom made longboard. Clean lines, small point at the rear tip, the truck cut out pattern is squarish but with unique circular concours on either end. The pattern is very useable and will fit any major reverse angle truck on the market. There is no requirement to modify the deck to drop trucks thru.
These decks have been design and manufactured in Australia. No backyard job, these guys are set up to do custom longboards.
General specifications are 38 inches long. 9.5 inched wide. 28 inch wheelbase. The foot room, pan of the deck is 22 inches. There is a 2 inch taper at each end of the deck from the pan to the neck where the trucks are mounted. Neck is 6 inches on each end. Flex is between a Flex 1 Dervish and a Flex 2 Dervish. Though Norfin tell us this can be pre order customised. There is about a half inch camber to the deck, and a small amount of concave. Enough to make it comfortable.
Decks available at the Hopshop online or in the shop for $240. Completes will be available later in the week.
OK, so it was Monday afternoon, lovely sunny day in Sydney. New Norfins have arrived. I grabbed the deck designated as the shop board (custom floral pattern), put on some Paris trucks, threw on my trusty old inHeats that are worn in to be freerides. And away we go. Left the car at work, commuted home. A good 20 minute skate, plenty of hills, footpaths, bike track, pedestrians and flat land to give the deck a nice work out.
Jumping on the deck, you notice the flex. It is a nice rebound. There is heaps of width for your feet. Switch pushing is easy, the 9.5 inch wide deck comes into play, you don’t lose your footing easily.
On the flat land, I start to slalom pump, the deck is immediately responsive. The deck is set up with what Robbo would call a gangsta lean, the trucks are very loose, so I start to get a bit of rail bite on the road. That is a good thing, to test out the deck strength, not recommended for normal use. I have not skated a 38 inch deck before and the speed I can get out of the pump is amazing. At times it felt like a big slalom board. It takes a while to get use to a shorter stance. Your feet are closer together than on a 42 inch deck.
First hill, and I get to carve some smooth road. The deck is so light, I find it is very easy to slide the back out, and drift a bit into my carves. Learning stand up slides on this deck would be easy. Where the road is a bit rough, I’m four wheel drifting a bit, but the lightness of the longboard makes it easy to control.
A big cracked section between road and footpath is coming up. I have been thinking about it on the way down this hill. Will the board have the roll weight to get through it or am I getting buckled onto the hard stuff. I hit it with speed, and the deck flies over with no trouble…and I’m still on it!
I’m now into pedestrian territory. This is where the deck comes alive. I can put it in any direction. Cutting past shoppers, carving around couples, scaring old ladies with trolleys. Nudging a few school kids who should be on longboards. When the crowded bus stop arrives, I easily kicked the deck into my hand. The first few times I scrap the tail, but the deck is light, so it is easy to control and learn to kick lower so I dont scrap the ground. Put on a tail guard and you would not have that problem. Carrying the board is easy, it is a lot more manageable than a Dervish.
Manta overall gets a 8 out of 10. Looks, finish and craftsmanship it gets full marks. It is the first of the new 38 inch decks we have reviewed this year so it is hard to compare, so we marked it conservatively. If the expected Rayne and Loaded decks are duds, it could be revised up to a 9. If I have to be critical, the grip is not that rough, you could skate it with bare feet no problem. Anyone that skates every day, and skates hard will be putting on new griptape fairly quickly. The tail is designed with a point on the end. Anyone kicking the deck to hand grabs will get annoyed with that, wear it out quickly. Deck might not suit skaters wanting to do technical air tricks. Anyone getting into skating, wanting a deck with style and grace will be snapping this up quick. Suit people commuting or wanting a deck for the boot of the car to skate after work. It would be nice to skate to school on, if you could stow it safely. It would make an excellent freeride deck, but would not suit fast speeds or downhill.
As a new owner of this deck, you could be this happy. (see photo below) Taken after a session on the deck this morning!! I’m calling this the Manta smile.
Hop
