Words by Patrick Hurel
Skateboard review by Ken Gilet

I meet Ken Gilet in Manly a few months back, just before he went to Bali with one of my long time friends.

Ken used to be amateur pro skater back in France. Before he left I lent him my Tunnel Baldie Pipeline and got another from Hop so that they had a mode of transport around Bali when they were not driving. When he came back he had found a new interest in cruisers, so I decided to take him to Bondi so that he could ride the Bondi Skatepark and the hills around, which even he had heard of from his friends and father back home.

When we got there we skated down from Bondi Junction, as we got half way it started to rain, but we continued. When we finally got to the skatepark we found it not to be that crowded which was a lot better than the park in Manly earlier that day. Ken had a quick look and started to muck around with the Tunnel; after a little bit he decided to try out the board I was riding, the Hillstreet Nirvana. He found this more suited to the park and started to take on the bowl, as wet as it was he had a blast on the cruiser and was carving some serious lines and landing most of his usual double kick tricks.

When we got bored of the park as everyone does after a while, we decided to go for a cruise around Bondi and see what it had to offer. Ken couldn’t believe how much fun the cruiser was just on the flat land. He couldn’t stop himself from finding the nearest set of stairs to jump to test out his theory that the cruiser would snap if used in the “real world” application. Much to his despair and much to my relief nothing broke even after some serious punishment.

After trying to break the boards, Ken was having a rad time on the beach side walk way, at one moment I had completely lost him, too find him lying down in the sand with a big grin, he had decided to jump off the ledge to fly into the sand. As we went along the beach front he would do this periodically when he saw ramps and ways to accelerate himself down so as to get the longest jump possible.

Boardwalk Ollie to Bondi Beach

We continued on and found a nice side street where we able to just carve down the road. In his usual fashion Ken decided to do his double manual all the way down the road, this consist of him getting on two boards and ride the nose and tail at the same time. Much to our surprise the locals enjoyed watching every moment of it.

When the light started to fade Ken decided that he had to go see Coogee to visit. As soon as we got there he spotted this narrow set of stairs with a wall on one side and a railing on the other. After playing around for a bit we went down to the beach and started skating down some of the roads that are nearby. When the sun had set we went for a beer to finish off a gorgeous day of skating beach side in the eastern suburbs.

Patrick Hurel

We had a young skater come into the Hopshop last week with a broken longboard. Tail had snapped off when a car ran over his Sector 9 Joel Tutor longboard. The driver of the car didn’t stop, they knew they were in an accident and sped off which is wrong on so many levels. A moral obligation to check if a child is ok and two it is just illegal not to stop if your car has been in a collision.

So this kid has had some bad luck, we thought we would pimp out his broken board to restore some karma in the world…and it is fun modifying boards!

Please note this is not a standard Hopshop service. It should give you some ideas of what to do with an old deck or one that has broken.

Here is the completed longboard. Note the hand cut griptape job with kick arse huge Sector 9 sticker.

With all custom jobs, it is important to draw out the new shape first. In this case we inked out a new tail shape. Only using good wood left from the break. This deck is going to be a small 28 inch long. There is a bit of wheel cutout action going but the feature is the fat arse. Tail is nice and wide, plenty of room for your foot back there, and just looks bountiful and a pleasure to handle. A bullet to use on a shop run.

Next we used a jigsaw to cut the board. And sanded the new round tail smooth. If you are a grom, make sure you ask permission before using anyone’s tools (just plain good manners), and make sure your elders know what you are up to, so they can check the situation is safe. Skating is no fun without fingers, makes your slide gloves floppy and hard to use.

Next job is drilling out bolt holes and creating new wheel wells. See the photo above, we have sanded out some new wheel wells to help stop wheelbite.
Another good reason to get your parents help, is to make sure you are using the right equipment. You can use sand paper to create wheel wells but it is a lot more fun and easier using your dad’s power tools such as a belt sander. Remember to ask nicely. Wear safety gear. Plan it out. And don’t make your mum do it.

To drill new bolt holes, best to use a baseplate to get the holes lined up right. You want to make sure the wheelbase is the right for the new deck size. Wheelbase is measured from inner hole to inner hole. Have a look at deck dimensions to get an idea of the type of wheelbase you want. The smaller the wheelbase the sharper the turn and the more squirrelly it will be. Our new S9 deck size is 28 inch. However we have given it a wheelbase of 20.5 inches. This is like a Super Giant Slalom wheelbase. It will feel like a bigger deck but cut and turn like an agile ninja.

There is a kid in Sydney with a huge smile on his face this week! Skating his new custom mini longboard.

Review by Ben Hay

A few weeks ago I was in the Hopshop, hanging out and picking up some goodies when I noticed Robbo unpacking a box that included some wheels I hadn’t seen or heard of before.

They were Krakatoa freeride wheels made by Tunnel.

Anyone who knows anything about the history of skateboarding knows that Tunnel have been around for a long time. With that in mind and after a quick chat to Robbo about them I decided I had to try them.

I chose the 81a and a few days later Tim Day, Steve (Finn) and myself met at a new found hill that was ridiculously gnarly and technical.

After a few mobster runs on square lipped wheels I felt it was time to shred some centreset freeride styles and see how the Krakatoas stood up in some ideal terrain.

Immediately I was amazed at how easy they slid fresh.
I had ridden most pre ground, and a few centre set wheels before but these were insane.

It wasn’t long and I was holding out long standup slides with ease.

Since then I have ridden these wheels several times on more mellow terrain and have really taken a liking to them.

The wear has been minimal in comparison and they have already outlasted my last set of freeride wheels.

All the specs are what I look for when choosing a freeride wheel. At 70mm and a contact patch width of 40mm, a pre ground surface and your choice of 81a or 84a its no wonder they feel ridiculously good to throw around.

They also are a bit cheaper than some of the other freeride wheels allowing you to shred more for less!

Next time your in the shop, check them out and give them a go, you will be floating out steezy slides of sikness without doubt.

Go shred.

Benbro

The news has dropped from the Orangatang tree that a new colour is available in their freeride wheels. That colour is orange.

It is not unexpected news, the competition have had 80a freeride wheels for a while. We knew these were on the horizon.

However, Loaded/Orangatang never release without extensive testing. We know these wheels have been put through real world prototyping to make sure they arrive at your home ready to shred.

I hear you, do I really need 80a freeride wheels? There is a place for these gems in your quiver. Read what we have to say:

Orangatang Durian 80a

Orangatang Simulus 80a

Orangatang Fat free 80a

When will they be in the Hopshop?
Worldwide release is Monday April 4. Loaded are always good with spreading the love. They will be in the Hopshop around this date. Maybe not on the 4th, but it will be close. Remember you can know the exact date when they arrive by clicking on our “Out of stock notification” button. Add your email address, and you’ll know at least 24 hours before anyone else. The email address only gets used once, it is automatically deleted after use and we do not store it or sign you up for any other skate spam (except for Otang Pablo’s birthday party invitation). Click on the links above, and keep up to date on what is fresh in the Hopshop.

Trav has been a frequent visitor to the Hopshop the last 5 days and his constant companion is the publisher’s issue of the new Heelside Magazine.

Trav and Kurt have put an enormous amount of work into the new magazine, and it has paid off big time. So Trav gets the first copy off the presses and he has been showing it around, flaunting it in the Hopshop. Can I just state right now, I am impressed. A skateboard magazine is a competitive space. Many would dumb down the idea and go for cheap commercial success. Not Trav and Kurt, they are creative, innovative, irreverent, humourous all wrapped up in big action words like gnar and steeze.

Most comments I have heard this week about the new issue of Heelside Magazine is “the best skateboard magazine I have seen”.

What I like, is that these guys are trying to create a great magazine, one worth reading and putting on your bookshelf forever. Not just another skateboard magazine for the recycling bin. It is easy to talk up a magazine, a lot harder to actually do what you say and publish one.

Here is the tip:

This issue will not be online to read for free. There is a limited print run. It is real, not a figment of someone’s imagination. Trust me, your friend ain’t going to give up this magazine without a fight. If you think you’re just going to skate round to your mate’s house and borrow his copy for a few days… NOT going to happen. This mag is a keeper.It is also huge, you could not sit down and read this in an hour. You might just finish it by the time the next one arrives!

If you want to be the first person to get it, you have to subscribe . Subscribers get their issue first.

Today we bring you another tasty piece of Rayne longboard bling.

Rayne Hustler longboard – 2010 edition

The new 2010 Hustler has been updated, and it looks like they have made an all round longboard, suitable for most occasions.

First thing we noticed was the new shape and larger wheel wells. Deck now allows a wider range of wheel options. This was one of the biggest issues with the older model, only bear trucks could be used with larger 75mm wheels.

Rayne have come to longboard party with an absolute stunner. Hard to imagine they can get more creative!
Just when you thought life was meant to be dervish, along comes a Hustler to waken the senses. Graphics are eye poppin. It is definitely artwork, and according to Rayne, it is scratch-resistant ink, tattooed into the deck.
Here is what we are liking about this deck:
Construction: Vertically Laminated Bamboo Core and Pre-Tensioned Fiberglass making it strong but light. This deck will be strong, durable and have a huge energy return.
Shape: Offset Camber that helps initiate powerful turns and smooth exits. Sharp edges that make it look sleek, but has a function effect by creating an extra dimension for your feet to lock onto. New shape makes for better foot placement, 2010 model is a better all round longboard.
Flex: Flex has always made the Hustler special. It makes carving fun, creates those surf style turns, more rebound when pumping, and flex just makes a comfortable skate when you spend a bit of time on your board.

What is board is not is a downhill board. It is fast, you can bomb hills but the flex makes it unsuitable for high speeds.

Our review on this deck remains unchanged. This is the deck for the individual and the skater with style. Let all your friends get hustled on a dervish, stand out on a hustler!!

By Jackson Shapiera

If I could use one word to describe this board, it would be: Perfection.

The vendetta is everything that a longboarder wants in a freeride board. The concave is deep, but not too aggressive, the standing platform looks small but there is plenty of room for your feet: be it pumping, carving or throwing down some big stand up slides, and the deck is thin and light but strong enough to take skaters’ abuse. Overall this board is a dream platform for freeriding and general longboarding.

I set my Vendetta up with Kahalani 184s and Orangatang 86a Stimulus wheels, and it only took me 5 minutes to realize this is the board I’ve been wanting my whole life. I have the Kahas set up with purple Saber bushings to allow for maximum lean and hard carves, which made the board come alive. I was really astounded with how agile this setup was considering the fact I set it up with CNC downhill trucks. My feet felt so locked into the concave while pumping down the street and I had so much control over each rail to perform tight turns and throw the board around. The light weight of the board coupled with the drop-thru mounting made it really easy to push around, and I had no problems pushing up to top speed in no time at all.

The next test was to see how this bad boy stood up to some fast hard sliding, and let me tell you it stood tall! The deep concave gave so much leverage with each turn I made to initiate slides, and this made pushing out the tail a breeze. The board seemed to glide effortlessly over the road as it is so light, which made holding bigger faster standup slides so much easier. Throwing this puppy around from regular to switch and back seemed like it took no effort at all.

The next session I smashed this board around in a sweet little alley session. Pumping down the line, hitting bins and carving driveways felt so smooth. The board was so nimble and responsive. Cruising through the alleys near the shop has always been a favourite for me, but on the vendetta it was a whole new realm. Quick sharp carves into hard slashes and stand up slides were all this board wanted to do, like it had a mind of its own. It was so easy to control with the deep concave and the drop-thru mounting made the slashing so much smoother.

I think this board is a must-have for any longboard quiver, its extremely light yet strong, its a small neat little package yet it has enough wheelbase and standing platform to handle faster downhill runs, and most importantly, it has a kick-ass graphic…

We ask the questions you want answered

The 2010 Landyachtz range is speeding it way to Australia, available in the next month at all good
skateshops, not just Australia’s best (The Hopshop).

What started out with Hop asking questions about the new range has turned into an interview
with Ryan Theobald and Mike McGoldrick…and a cast of thousands.

Sit back, grab a cold drink, and enjoy.

Ryan Theobald Interview

Hop: The Drop Speed disappeared at the end of 2009 fairly quick.
There was a lot of talk it was getting redesigned. Has anything changed on the shape? Different concave?
Improvements on the shape? Or just cosmetic with a new graphic?

Landyachtz: Our original intention was to replace the Drop Speed
with the 9-two-5. Once we finalized the 9-two-5 shape we decided that they are pretty different boards and
having both in the line was a good idea. No changes to it, just the new graphic.

Hop: There has always been a bit of talk around about the flex on the Drop Carve. I have heard
skaters say they have seen super flexy versions with LY crew and riders. Has the flex been modified in 2010?

Landyachtz: We started with the ultra super flexy version. We tested a ton of
different stiffness prototypes, and everyone here loved the super soft feel. Bouncing the board off the ground while
carving hard and ripping around was a blast. We had never done a board that soft before, so we went for it.
People weren’t as stoked as we were about bouncing off the ground, and it didn’t work for guys over 200 pounds (90kg) at all.
So we stiffened it up. Most of the guys at the shop with a drop carve still ride the nice gooey ones.

Hop: Dually has disappeared from Landyachtz website, is this deck gone or in re-design
or in graphic update?

Landyachtz: The dually proved to be too big. There just wasn’t the demand to
warrant pressing another batch, so it’s been axed, for now. We’re keeping track of how many people are still interested,
we’ll see what happens.

Hop’s note: There is still Dually stock in Australia, if you want one order now, looks like
there will be no more, it is now a collector’s item!!

Hop: Does Landyachtz have a list of credits for the artists or contributors to your graphics?

Landyachtz: We do, we’ll publish it on our website soon. We’re really stoked on the graphics
this year, some of the major contributors are Jeral Tidwell, Gord Bruce, Ewok, Nathan Wilson and in house here, Tom Edstrand (Meatball)
and Greg Nicholls have done a lot themselves. We will likely be seeing some work from Chili Thom as well, who has done several graphics
for us in the past. All of these guys are great, we couldn’t be more stoked to have them all be a part of the 2010 line.

Hop: There definitely seems to be a ocean/aqua/fish theme on the new graphics. Has this been done on purpose?
Is there a single artist influencing the whole range? If you have the whole range in your quiver can it be called a landyachtz aquarium?

Landyachtz: You know, I just noticed that. We’ve been talking about putting a Chinook Salmon
on the Chinook for years, Nathan Wilson came through huge there.
The Drop Speed killer whales came from Greg Nicholls in the shop here, his design
took influence from traditional Pacific North West art.

Once we get a few major graphic concepts or ideas, Tom and Greg will show them around and tweak them until most of us are stoked. You can never please
everyone. I think the fish and birds are another extension of being from Vancouver. Most of us are closely tied to an outdoor active life style,
that creates a big bond with nature, without really thinking about it.

Hop: Is the Evo getting a graphic change in 2010?

Landyachtz: Yes, it’s a bad ass sugar skull style design by Jeral Tidwell. His work is some of my
favorite, check him out at Human Tree

Hop: Any race team decks in prototype? A Scoot model? Team Green model?

Landyachtz: Besides the foam core, Carbon Fiber 9-two-5 and Switch Blade, nothing.

Hop: Any news on the Switch Blade?

Landyachtz: We were aiming to release the Switchblade for the beginning of the 2010 season,
but we’ve gone through more prototype stages than we anticipated. Rather than rush the product out in its current state we figured
we’d take the time to refine the shape and make the board the best it can be. Its nearly there, and everyone here is very stoked on the
current prototype. The Carbon foam core version should be available in a few weeks. Once that’s nailed, we’ll get the bamboo version rolling.

Mike McGoldrick Interview

Hop: How long was the prototype period for the 9-two-5 and how many different versions did you do?

Mike: I can not remember exactly how many but there were about 6 different versions made.
The last proto had a large cut out with multiple holes for the base plate so we could play with the wheel base and get it perfect.

During the prototype process we experimented with different concave, rocker, widths and lengths. Tweaking the nose and tail areas was a
huge focus for us. We wanted to give maximum foot room while still keeping the wheelbase as short as possible. I feel like this is an
overlooked part of most drop through boards and is the real design flaw in a lot of boards. Working with the designers and board builders
at Landyachtz we came up with something that really is the best of both worlds, they managed to slam the trucks back into the riding platform
while adding more material around the truck to give strength. At the end of it all we came out with something that we are all super happy with.

Hop: Did you have a big influence on the graphic? Does it have a meaning,can skaters read anything into it?

Mike: To be totally honest with everyone I had very little to do with the design process of the graphic.
I had been working on something else for the board when Greg Nicholls showed me some stuff he was working on. I basically lost my shit when i saw his work.
It took me all of 1 second to decide on the graphic. It’s super quirky, random and really played into my sense of humour. I am into cut and paste style
graphics with multiple layers right now so he pretty much nailed it for me.

Can skaters read anything in to it? I guess that depends how deep you want to get and what meaning you want to take out of it. To be super literal
I enjoy that style of design right now and when no one is watching I have a secret fetish for very dry books on economics, business and global politics.
I have also download lectures and debates on the same topics. I am a nerd, so the business theme kinda works on that level also.

All that aside, I just thought it was awesome, so me and Greg hi fived on it, and it was decided.

Hop: There is rocker in your new board, I’m a huge fan of rocker, it featured in a lot of old school boards
I use to skate, is that where you got your influence to put rocker in your board?

Mike: I don’t come from an old school skate back round, about 12 years ago i got an element Vert deck
and put soft wheels on it and started bombing hills in West Vancouver. I skated bowls and banks but that is the extent of my “old school” influence.

The rocker is something I have wanted in a board for a long time. The rocker has a two part job; Locking you in to the board, And aligning your legs
and knees for better power transfer and stability. I have been on the production version for a few months now and the rocker feels so natural to me now,
I am not sure I will ever go back.

Hop: This deck has a new type of concave, gas pedal/wedge down the side. How does that come into play when a skater is freeriding?

Mike: The gas pedals are something I have been rambling on about for years. I use to make them out
of hot glue and shape the glue with ice cubes. I will go out on a limb and say that 90% of people hang their heel or toe off the side of their board
when free-riding so I wanted something to stand on when we did.

The gas pedal is new and its cool to be the first to implement it in to our board design, I think that in the future we will see it on a lot of boards.

Hop: A lot of new longboarders will be looking at this deck carefully. Maybe it will be their first deck,
getting into downhill and freeride. Most want to know if this deck is a good beginners deck or is it more for an experienced longboarder?
Will the design help them master different types of sliding and cornering?

Mike: I hope they look at the deck carefully as there is a lot to look at. The builders and myself picked
apart every element of the board and tweaked it until we were happy. Once the board is pressed with symmetrical W concave, it gets CNC cut,
3 router passes to get the shape we want on the nose, tail, wheel wells and the wedges. Then they get seamlessly blended by hand.
Making the board is a very complicated process, but we all feel that it is worth the trouble, the product that comes out, is something to be very proud of.

I don’t think that this board is something for experts or beginners only, good design just works. Any rider who rides the board will benefit from all the
features. The Free-ride movement is a pretty new thing to to the longboard and is constantly evolving. Right now there are two big trends in free-riding.
The first being slower speed tech stuff like shove-its, stand up pendys and slashing. The extended foot platform and wedges help pop and stomp the tech stuff.
The second trend is the amplitude, over the last year the speed of free-riding has gone through the roof. The added length (.75″) of the wheel base gives a
little extra stability at higher speeds and helps lock in big, fast and scary speed checks and lets the rider have more control to drift through corners,
as apposed to doing a revert before it.

I feel that anyone who rides the board will get some use out of all the features. I really wanted one board for DH and free-ride. As long as the rider wants
to get in to the downhill side of longboarding then this deck will meet their needs whether they are a beginner, expert or racer.

Hop: What is your favourite set up for your new board (ie trucks wheels bushings)

Mike: Well going back to the one board idea, the Bear trucks have been re designed and I am currently
on the prototypes. The hanger has a “step-up ” design giving the truck a constant turn and eliminated any dead spot when the truck is at center.
The hangers can still be flipped to give positive of negative leverage on the bushings giving greater or less torque depending on how they are set up.
The bushing seats have zero play with the bushing and has an ovalised lip to let the bushing perform as it was designed.

I have mine set up with stock Pumpkin bushings on the bottom and yellow Venoms on the top.

As for wheels, I am really stoked on the new Zombies right now. They rule. The thane in them is butter smooth at speeds. When doing some faster slides
on other wheels, you can heat up the wheel and it starts to melt and get slipy. The zombies don’t gloss over during big slides.
I am also really feeling the stone ground finish as the wheel performs right away and is constant through the wear.

Hop: Anything else we forgot?

Mike: Yea I just want a chance to give some credit where it is due. Everyone asks me all these questions
about the board and I don’t want to take all the credit. Landyachtz has an extremely talented group of board builders and designers, and an equally talented
skate team. Larry, Sean M and Mike P were a huge help to get my ideas built into deck. Once we had the prototypes made they were put to the test under the
feet of some thrashers like Wolf Coleman and Dylan. Long story short it may be my design but it was a huge process involving a lot of talented people.
Without the recourses and talent that we have access to at landyachtz this board would still be just an idea. Thank you.

Huge big thank you to Ryan and Mike for taking the time to answer all my questions

This interview was originally published in the Hopshop newsletter, send out to subscribers weekly. You can subscribe by adding your email address or ticking the Hopshop newsletter subscription option at the bottom of your Hopkin profile page. Create a new profile or login to modify existing.

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