Category: Skateboarding Product Reviews

In the world of Skateboarding, I’d say Element is probably one of the strongest brands out there with their presence most apparent in the 3 major categories that defines this Olympic nominated art form, wood, cloth and rubber. Quality is a key factor through all of their ranges and I’m sure they have a very certain future that lays ahead of them in this sometimes rather prickly industry.

The Ketchup Shirt

Flannels are rad; they’ve always been rad and will always be rad! However, the ‘strive to be different’ crowd are hating on the flannels at the moment, because they associate it with the ‘in scene’, but the fact of the matter is, flannies have been around for many skate generations and is as an integral part of skate fashion as the mesh hat and chino pants are, don’t hate on the flannels holmes, try one on and go skate instead!

This shirt in particular has more of lumberjack feel to it, but I think its killer and looks super cool with black jeans and a garage jacket. It’s easy to wear and is really well made, nice and comfy with trees of style. The best part about this garment is that it works well for skating in, but also acts nicely as a casual shirt when you’re out getting the beers in, double whammy!

Floyd Full Zip Hood

I love this Hoody, it’s simple, warm and it’s really comfortable. It’s made with 70% cotton and 30% wool, which means it’s nice and stretchy but doesn’t loose its shape. The fit is more towards the regular side of the spectrum, but it doesn’t hang on you like a poncho in the wet.

I honestly think the material contrast and style of hood is a winner and I find myself wearing it all the time. This has fast become my favourite hood and I can see myself skating with this one all winter long! One of my favourite features though is that the zip comes up that little bit extra under you chin, so when the cold is really biting you’re neck this winter, zip it up all the way and feel the warmth without the hassle of a scarf…clever!

Go to www.elementskateboards.com for the full range.

Moose

This might get confusing.

The “Shambles” is a combination of Geoff Rowley’s former Pro Models, his first pro shoe on Vans, the “OG Rowley” and “the Sham“, which itself was a reworking of the Half Cab.

A lightweight low profile classic looking shoe, the most famous Vegan hunter in skateboarding’s 8th Vans pro model, the Shambles are quite similar to his previous offerings: they are light, padding is kept to a minimum and they are grippy with great board feel. Unfortunately, like all Rowley models I have had, their synthetic Vegan uppers dont last as long as you might like but I would imagine to your garden variety treehugger, that’s a small price to pay knowing that you haven’t peeled a cow for your footwear.

Visually they owe a lot more to the Originals than the Shams, which is definitely not a bad thing as I always thought the Shams looked secondary to the Classics as they had a much classier appearance and in my opinion were the better looking of the two.

Another thing in their favour is that unlike the Originals that I had a few years ago, which looked rad but, being Synthetic “Leather” they hardly lasted a month of half assed mobflipping, the Shambles I got were Synthetic Suede, which appears to be holding up a lot better. Although if your skating is flip heavy I would probably look for something made out of real leather.

In conclusion: a smart looking shoe that would be perfect as a pub chiller or if you are more into skating ramps. Maybe try Halfcabs or TNT’s if you want the classic styling but a bit more longevity but other than that they were a pretty solid shoe and definitely worthy of your feet this winter.

8/10
(These would easily be a 9 if they were real leather)
Billy Dickfingers

I must admit that when I was told that I would be getting a Spitfire Backpack to review I did wonder how the hell I was going to review a bag: “Does it hold stuff? Yes? Its a good bag…”

Sure enough the postman arrives and I was pleasantly surprised. (With the bag, not my postman, I’m used to him by now…) Being a fan of the plain and understated, I was dreading having to wander around with some God awful man purse that looked like it was made out of one of Stevie Wonders shirts, but at first glance the Highlander bag is a straight forward, simple looking rucksack with some nice details. Custom raised embroidered Flaming Heads a plenty, and the padded back panel has the best and most easily recognized skate logo on the market stitched into it. So it ticks the “looks good” box with ease.

The bag itself is a well made 6 pocket affair made of sturdy heavy-duty canvas, with comfy, ergonomically designed shoulder straps and a padded fleece iPod pocket, should the need to be antisocial arise whilst skating. There are enough compartments to keep your laptop and your digital camera a safe distance apart or to stop you getting crumbs from your Ginsters pasty all over this months Razzle depending on your various requirements for a backpack. It’s got board straps if you’re more concerned with carrying your board around than actually riding it and has all sorts of hidden pockets for whatever it is you lot might need to hide in small, well concealed places… Say no more.

I’ll be completely honest, I’ve never needed a backpack to skate with. My balance is bad enough without hanging something on my back to confuse matters and I dump everything I need in the boot of my car before setting out. However, traveling here and there and being too impatient to wait at a baggage carousel means that backpacks are my weapon of choice for holidays and excursions with this now well up the list. Ive been slinging the random crap I need in and out of it and trundling around with it like my life depended on it and everything is still in tip top order. Its the perfect size, being spacious without being bulky but large enough that your not going to fill it up with one hoody.

The only thing I will whinge about is the constant tinkling of the zips as you wander down the road but other than that is a pretty tidy bit of kit and based on the short time I’ve been using it, it seems like it’ll last for ages. As if that wasn’t enough, as an added bonus its named after the best film of the 80’s to contain a sword fighting Sean Connery. So overall, I’m stoked on it. Give it a go and check out the latest online Spitfire catalogue here.

Ed Bowen

Californian legend Jeff Grosso whose status accelerated within skateboarding during the 80’s with Santa Cruz Skateboards has joined forces with Vans to make a bespoke shoe that simply rocks.

We were sent a pair of these Old Skool Lows this week. They skate straight out of the box and come with classic Jim Phillips Grosso artwork etched on the side in black and also a full colour Devil Bat deck graphic on the insole.

You should know by know that the Old Skool Low has become a legend in it’s own right but this version comes with improvements such as “lace saver” eyerow construction, notched heel in Sk8 Hi version, dura-cap toe and ollie areas, and full-length polyurethane foam footbeds.

I was very lucky to be able to shred with this guy in 1996 at the Basic Pool in California and a dog managed to bite his arse whilst he was performing one of his trademark 16ft rock and roll slides! Safe to say he rode out of it with a smile on his face and grabbed a glass of beer from one of the wall kegs! Grosso is one of the best skaters to ever grace this earth and this pays homage to the service he has given to World Skateboarding. Now go pay him back and pick these up from your local SOS!

8/10

Emilio Gonzales

Grosso interview and footage here:

Noblemen Series

This Habitat, Raymond Molinar, art series 7.8″ rig has a striking graphic of a Viking with a very fancy beard, and looking at the rest of the Noblemen series it is clear that they all have beards and they all rock! With these graphics and a recent surge in fashionable facial hair I’ve seen it necessary to compile a list of why skateboarding shares many similarities to growing a good, strong, full beard.

~ Sometimes landing that trick is easier (less painful) than not, as too is growing a beard, sit back and watch that bad boy bloom.

~ Everyone has their own style, some people try and bite other peoples, but it’s always noticeable.

~ It’s a conversation starter.

~ You can start at an early age or not, some excel before others, either way you’ll find your feet.

~ People will say to you that “it just a faze”, but you know deep down “this shit is real”

~ Once you’ve got the taste for it, no one can ever take it away from you…take it to the grave!

~ No one likes a poser.

~ No matter where you go in the world people, in the right circles, will know where you’re coming from.

The last board I snapped was a Habitat, (impossible down a three set!! oh yes) so upon receiving this little number the first order was an impossible. Being 7.8′, not my usual 8′, it flipped wildly out of control, you tend to forget just how 0.2 of an inch can effect you.

Once befriended with my new 7.8′ rig we were like old mates, all the flip tricks, down! Great board, crammed with bags of pop and matched with a mellow concave all finished off with a mellowish pitched nose and tail. I’ve decided to maintain a beard as long as this board lasts, two weeks in and as many impossibles as seen in Public Domain and I’m starting to think that I’ll be matching Darwin’s facial growth before this bad boy dies…..no bad thing.

Long live beards, art, Habitat, public domain and Darwin!

9/10

Masher.

“Save us: Poison Dart Frog”
Powerply 7.8×31.7″

I love SCS decks, if any woodshop has stood the test of time in board construction its these guys. I don’t recall them ever putting out a bad construction or dodgy gimmick, Powerply is straight up the best maple out there. Strong, light, holds the above average deep concave in place and has plenty of pop, I heard they go to nerdish lengths to keep their wood in tip top condition before they press it and it certainly comes across when you ride it.

First thing you notice on this deck is the graphic, this is pretty rowdy in the colours department and shows off the endangered poison frog! This poor fellow is almost extinct, and this series of decks allowed each SCS pro to pick an endangered specie and in return, for every deck sold they will donate $1.00 to the respective wildlife conservation group! Pretty cool huh? Especially if you’re a poison frog (coz we need more of those in our parks and gardens!). The Asian Elephants, Leopards, Albino Royal Pythons and a few other scary snakes also get flow from SCS now!

The board rides amazing, solid, and didn’t flinch at landing an ollie with my feet in “board snapping” position, which always bodes well. The concave, as I said is a little deeper than most, which is sweet for shifty ollies and sticking to your feet on airs. Nose and tail are at a good (not too) steep angle, and with the concave running the length of the straight rails, nollies and switch tricks are much easier.

So swing by your local skateshop and do some good not only for the world’s wildlife, but also your pop and find more at www.santacruzskateboards.com

10/10

Philip Procter

When I was a kid I was always fascinated with what was in my dads “haversack”. Everyone in my town had them from working in the local shipyard and the older school kids had them too. So when my time came to get one, I was stoked, as standard I wrote band names on it, PE for Public Enemy and drew a large H-Street logo on the back, and I was all set, then something happened.

That something was when Eastpak came out with its classic rucky, so the old woven haversack with their nasty buckles was gone overnight. The new breed even had a pocket on the back too! So you cram in your skateshoes and hoodie in – plus some tools and a spare kingpin in the pocket and that’s it your all set to go skate, oh and maybe the odd pen and pencil for school too.

Since then ruckies have got uber complicated, speakers in the side, hidden pockets, earphone holes (do people ever use those?) but this backpack is back to the OG, a simple classic still big enough for your daily junk, a pair of sneaks and still the big pocket on the front for you wallet and phone, and maybe a skate-key if your still that way inclined. As strong as you would expect, and even comes with a 30 year guarantee, so if your zip dies a death, or a hole appears in the pocket, get yourself down to the shop you bought it from and they will gladly replace it, cant go wrong!

These particular bags are covered in the swallow emblem from the Antidote Tour, so if you’re a Flogging Molly fan, this will be right up your street. The Antidote tour is passing Europe this winter, along with Matt Hensley’s band you have Skindred, Street Dogs and Time Again aboard, check it out the UK tour:

02-NovUK Newcastle Academy
03-NovUK Glasgow Barrowlands
05-NovUK London Astoria
06-NovUK Manchester Academy
07-NovIRL Dublin Ambassador
08-NovUK Birmingham Academy
09-NovUK Bristol Academy

www.antidotetour.com

Philip Procter

According to the guys at www.supratuf.com these new Supra TUF Skytops are made from high abrasive genuine suede based material that last 5 times longer than your average skate trainer. Since mine usually last a couple weeks of heavy shredding I cleverly calculated that it would take 10 weeks to fully test these badboys and I quite simply don’t have that much time so we’re just gonna have to take their word on that one.

I had a pair of the grey/black/red Muska Skytops (picture) to try out. You can’t help feeling like your something special when your wearing them. I found myself looking down and feeling extra specially cool, kinda how the Muska must feel all the time. You would think that skating in a high top would be weird or awkward but they skate just like a regular low top – if not better. The vulcanised sole gives you great board feel and the innersole has some sort of thick shock pad so no heel bruises when your jumping off of buildings. I’m not sure what the actual material is they make the shoes out of but they skate just like suede. Kickflips roll off the toe and no matter how many i did there was barely a scratch. My feet felt pretty invincible, as if my ankles couldnt be rolled or toes bashed by my board. I skated in them for a good 4 weeks and i gotta say they are still looking fresh and theres barely a mark on the toe and the soles are still holding up. There’s still a lot of life left in them.

So, if your looking for a shoe that looks amazing, outlasts a few skateboards and makes you as cool as the Muska then this is definately the one for you. Oh, and like every other Muska pro model trainer there’s a stash pocket in the tongue for your dank nugz or whatever…

Steve G

The Stereo Sound Agency have been at the heart of style in the skateboarding industry since 92, when a couple of the best skateboarders around started showing us all how it’s done. Rocking that sort of raw swagger and naming themselves a sound agency has thus since led them to be probably the coolest company today. Sure, I may sound a twat but it’s true and you know it.

So when Earl decided to start making wheels, you were excited; don’t lie and say that you wern’t. This bro can flick one of the finest tre flips in slippers for crying out loud, and pull it off with a charmingly smug grin. We simply must have his wheels. And the fact with these wheels is that they are designed for a skateboarder’s skateboarder; there’s no gimmick, no sly tricks involved – these wheels are 100% urethane. So leave those super-amazing, mega-deluxe, allegedly-make-you-have-more-pop-than-Wainwright air core wheels for the wannabes with all the gear and no idea.

The density of the Hi-Fi urethrane blends well enough to skate anything tough or the smoothest marble and after a good dozen sessions they’ve shown no sign of giving up. Basically they tick all your boxes and were made to be skated. Chris Pastras and Jason Lee know what they’re doing and it’s ok to trust ’em, so leave them 51mm spinning air core rims at the skate shop, and sort yourself out with some proper shit son!

Warren G – ‘Gonna Regulate’

Width: 8.125″ Length: 31.75″
Colour Blind pro deck

This is a board for the big legged and strong willed, two things I don’t have, especially the strong willed part as I have been trying to stop drinking for two weeks and the most I can muster is two days. I mean, that in itself is pretty good. However the first skate was like stepping into a sub universe, once in, you stay in.

The board has to be placed right from the get go and then it does the rest itself, a bit like being in control of a big car or van, it’s all on the first touch. There’s no correcting your mistakes with a board this size, which is no bad thing, Strangely this size board can have a profound effect on your thinking. Will it flip? Will it take a huge amount of effort? The answer to that is yeah it flips, but it all about commitment as it takes a little welly to get it going.

The graphics as you can see will let you fit in at any party in East London, especially if you team these colours with some two colour Ray Ban wayfarer shades. Shape wise It has a large rounded nose and tail, which adds even more to the beastly, oil rig feeling and I am some what amazed at the board being for a street skater, so I hope this board is made to Mike’s spec, as he has the perfect street steeze and I guess if you go big you need a board that is solid as a rock like this one.

There is no fear of this snapping on a back lip at all and it would really suite a skater that is perhaps slight taller than average as there has been a lot of “I’ll swap that board for this” from some taller friends. Overall thumbs up to Alien Workshop for knocking out a board of such quality. Go Big or Go Home.

Harrison
8/10