The current change in the season means new decks are needed. This month’s Line Check has Zip Zingers from Krooked, Superdead‘s Autumnal horror from Mr Gauky (who you will hear more about at the Crossfire Halloween Massacre), Black Label‘s Space Invaders, smokers from Flip, Anti Hero‘s Bitter offerings, Baker‘s colurful dozens and Fabric‘s first wave of wood from up North.
Broadcast, Powell and Spitfire bring the wheels that go with some new trucks from Independent, Venture and Thunder. Also check out the new Stella Supply Co hardware that Fos and Joleon Pressey have rolled out in the UK. Reflex skate tool’s are doing the rounds so you can tighten your rude manufacturing up on the move.
There are always a good selection of tee shirts out there all year round. Fabric, Heathen, Superdead, Spitfire and Vans. Altamont also have some prime cuts as do DGK, who have rolled out their latest colourful collection.
If you want chillers then Emerica have the new Wino Mid and Hopi‘s this month for the hedonists. Vans are still rolling out the Classics, Etnies have gone 70’s on us for Autumn and we will all miss éS as it goes into hibernation for the forseable future. All of these are available in your local skate shop. Seek and Destroy.
It’s that time of the year when the Summer is kind of on it’s way out, but there’s always a chance of the good old Indian summer greeting us this September if we are lucky. If that is the case then the evenings are going to start to get a little colder, so you may want to look for a good quality jumper to wear over your t-shirt to keep your body warm after an evening skate.
Etnies have a decent and simple solution available in your local skater owned shop right now with their Classic Crew. The 80% cotton 20% polyester keeps the warmth whilst this mix also feels super comfy as you would expect. My sweater is actually bergundy red in colour but also comes in grey, blue and black. There’s a classic embriodered etnies logo on the chest plus another branded logo stitched on the front that has information about the serial number on it. It’s the sort of info that you find inside a clothing garment and for me personally wasn’t needed, but if this doesn’t bug you then I can guarantee you will be stoked on this purchase which has now become a weekly part of my life.
Have you noticed how the quality of Etnies clothing has been upped over the last 2 years? This Bakersfield shirt is just one recent example of this Summer’s range, this time designed as part of the Devine Calloway signature label package that has been released in your local skate shop.
This long sleeve shirt feels super comfy when worn thanks to a mix of 55% cotton 45% polyester. It comes with 2 breast pockets, an inner tab so you can peel back your cuffs and comes in the wonderful colourway that you see on this page. Smart, comfortable, well stitched and worth looking into. Out now.
Need a jacket that makes you feel amazing? Look no further, but firstly, scroll down below and click play as you need the music to make this review work best.
Done that? OK here we go.
Volcom’s Oxford Jacket loved me and left me this month. She arrived in the post at the end of May and fit like a glove- tailored perfectly to make my appearance look smart for the first time in ages. It was exactly what I needed at the time. A jacket that could deal with the summer nights, light weight with pockets inside and out to deal with the usual electrical gadgets I ship around my stupid life daily.
I had fallen for her curves, I had fallen for the the punk rock inner lining and her abililty to make me feel like i was being noticed for the first time in a while. I was wearing her when I met a beautiful girl in the park one afternoon. She walked past a rose bush at the ice cream parlour to pat my lovely woofer on the head, then kissed his little nose and told me he was the most amazing dog she had ever met. I asked her if she wanted an ice cream but she was with friends. I guessed she was actually being polite and probably had boyfriend. She was stunning so there’s no way she could have been single. The next day I returned to the park for another walk. She was there again and alone this time so I bought her a drink and we exchanged numbers.
I lucked out. She was single, and thankfully we fell in love pretty quickly. After the first week I noticed that she adored my Oxford jacket. She would prune the bobbles that appeared on the elastic cuffs, she took it to the dry cleaners once every 2 weeks and used to wear it whenever it wasn’t on my back. We booked a holiday to Greece after dating for a month. My bag didn’t arrive at the airport so it was not the ideal welcome to another country but thankfully the jacket was there with us to meet the 42′ heat. She still looked good on the ferry though, hooked over my shoulder, enjoying every breeze that caught her 65% polyester and 35% cotton charcoal heather appearance. It was here that our love was torn apart. The jacket was unfortunately left on the boat. My mind has wandered. She is probably being worn by a Greek ferry worker as you read this. He is probably fingering the zip that I loved the most, fastening the buttons that joined the collar and warming his hands in he pockets I loved resting my hands in. It’s soul destroying and I never quite recovered from the loss.
My new girlfriend left me shortly after the jacket disappeared. Not even the dog could convince her to stay. She is probably back in Greece right now having a cold beer and some seafood with a local who looks amazing in his new Volcom threads, whilst i’m here pining for the best jacket I have ever owned. Purchase one of these today as it could change your life.
It’s only the beginning of August so there’s plenty of time left for a barbecue summer, however pessimistic we’re supposed to be about the weather. If you still want to make the most of the last few summer months and skate through the day without your legs reaching boiling point, purchasing a pair of shorts wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Coincidently, I happen to have a great pair of shorts on my body now. The Volcom Borken Skate Chino is a true skate chino. It’s not just a name! They are baggy enough (without looking ridiculous) to move about in comfortably and not too short. As expected from Volcom the quality is good with 35% cotton and 65% polyester so they shouldn’t rip too easily if you slam in them. There are also plenty of pockets with coin catchers so your small change doesn’t fall out, making the aforementioned slam worse. The famous Volcom Stone logo features on the inside and the drip brown colour looks choclately enough to eat, although they come in plenty of other colour ways too, including black.
If you need any more encouragement, Volcom have a bangin’ team with dozens of well known pros and ams which could do with you support. Get some air to your pegs or swelter…
Knowing the quality of an average British summer all too well, the people over at Fabric have produced their first ever range of beanies. For those of you who haven’t yet encountered Fabric yet, they are a new UK based board company hailing from the North East. Launched only a few months back in May, they are fast becoming a big part of the UK scene. They’ve already hooked up Shaun Currie, Jason Lewer, Jamie Errington and Paul Regan, produced a few great web edits and have a promising art direction with a real street feel. What more could you ask for?
Coming back to the beanies, they are sick! Available in 4 colours, the Marcus Beanie comes in black, royal blue, grey and olive. With a store price of £19.99, it might be time to stock up for the winter and hassle your local SOS to hassle Stable Distribution to get a few of these in.
In other related news, Fabric have a re-run of their T-Shirts available this month, so if you found a shop with them out of stock recently, they should have some back in as soon as possible.
The Pledge shirt by éS should deal with a British summer on 2 levels. Over the last 3 weeks, the weather has blown, hot, cold, hot, cold and somehow this shirt has sat right in the middle of it all and saved my skin. Due to its 100% cotton lightweight design, this baby blue number has provided warmth when the sun has disappeared and has tackled the heat with the sleeves rolled up with ease.
It comes with a double lining so when you get it out of the wash it doesn’t fall apart and is easy on the iron. It also has minimal branding and a tasty front pocket if you need to stash smokes or cards.
éS have some great lines of clothing out right now and this shirt comes highly recommended this summer. Treat yourself this weekend, you only live once.
When éS thought of the concept of simplicity vs technical, they pulled out quite a few stops to produce a very minimalistic skate shoe that can easily be mistaken for a loafer rather than something you would wear when skateboarding. They’ve released these in a few different versions, but I’m picky and if ain’t suede, I ain’t riding them. Fortunately for me, this model has full suede uppers supported by synthetic leather lining throughout.
Slim shoes should always have a thin tongue, again, a feature apparent on these beauties. A nice added feature I personally like on the modern skate shoe is waxed laces, they look better and last a bit longer. éS have taken the initiative to ensure the laces are nice and shiny to match the slick appearance of the leather lining.
I will admit I wasn’t a fan of the stitch and turn toe cap due to the fact that it might hinder my flips and probably wear through rather quickly, but it really hasn’t influenced my board control in anyway and I was surprised to see it last this long. Professionals, Ams and all kinds of skaters are riding skinnier shoes these days, but they all know a slim shoe still needs a solid sole, which is why these represent a full length EVA midsole with a moulded STI system G2 embedded into it. The rubber outsole is a regular 400 NBS, slightly different to a vulc sole of course, but rather light and really not disappointing at all.
Overall I like these shoes, they’ve been good to me and outlasted their expectancy. I can’t fault them in anyway, but I do prefer a vulcanised outsole which I feel could have given them a slightly better overall performance.
UK skate shops are stacked with new decks, wheels, clothing, shoes, hats and more right now so here’s our monthly gathering of what we think are the best options throughout July. Explore below for a selection of products available from Skate Mental, Girl, Superdead, Heroin, Drawing Boards, Volcom, Foundation, Unabomber, Chocolate, Crayon, Toy Machine, Fourstar, Altamont, DVS, Lakai, Kr3w, éS and Emerica.
If you would like your product considered for inclusion in this zine, get in touch here.
Altamont have some great summer clothing out right now so if you are getting fed up with sweating your balls off in this heat then read on. Shorts have either graced your body since you were a kid and are destined to appear from the wardrobe on May 1st, or the thought of wearing cut down trousers and exposing your sorry-arse excuse for legs is just too much to consider. The fact that you are on this page right now clarifies you are probably connected with the former. But the question is, who is putting out decent shorts this year?
If you desire a pair of shorts that are comfy and cut to shape then Altamont are offering a decent option right now. These chocolate coloured Barge shorts are durable due to a mix of 55% cotton and 45% polyester so skating in them is definitely on. They are designed with 2 deep pockets on the front and back so you an easily carry your daily gubbins, and come with a clip and button to fasten, plus a zip for easy access to your crown jewels.
There are no strings attached, no over branding, no silly studs, or pockets you don’t need- just a simple, quality made, bifurcated garment from Andrew Reynolds’ company that doesn’t use your computer to search wikipedia for a fancy word. Go get some.
