Category: Skateboarding Product Reviews

‘Harrison, where are these fucking reviews‘, yeah yeah I will have them done by Tuesday. This has been the start of all my conversation with the sarge for the last month. So, here it is. I’m typing this review fresh from a fact finding mission in Barcelona and here they are if you didn’t know already:

Fact 1 Drink Estelle Beer coz is cold and tastes good
Fact 2 Drink spirits in Spain as they just pour in the glass, no measure systems here.
Fact 3 Take your skateboard.
Fact 4 You must apply sun cream when skating in the summer.

Now we have covered the facts of Barca let’s cover the Stereo team board in as many stupid points as humanly possible, if you can think of more just email Zac a picture of your sister (if she is 18 or older) and I am sure he will get in touch.

The Stereo Deck Facts

1 Made of Wood
2 Team board graphic
4 Rides like dream.
5 Plenty of pop.
6 Could get you girls.
7 If you see another rider with the same board you could start a conversation with “Hey we got the same board”.
8 As we all know Stereo boards fill the slipstream of coolness, coz Jason Lee is Earl on TV. Right?
9 Benny Fairfax and Olly Todd both ride for them.
10 Jason Lee once turned up at my birthday party back in 92, after spotting my mini ramp from the street.
11 Can be used to break a car window if you get trapped in a car.
12 You get thrown out of your hotel for pissing of the balcony; you could keep warm by making a fire out of this prime maple (If you find yourself in this scenario, make sure you leave the trucks on as these are a conductor of heat so you can use these to cook up a few sausages on)
13 Fact ten is a lie, but I did have a mini you could see from the street.
14 Buy Stereo skateboards.
15 Never try to write loads of fact about a fucking skateboard.

MAIN FACT: Stereo skateboards rock and can be found at the Stereo Sound Agency

Harrison

I remember my first experience of buying trucks, It would have been around 12-14 years ago now, I had a Tubo 2 board that I bought with my pocket money for £12 off some guy in the market. This was the very beginning of a life long passion for skateboarding, sadly this was cut short after my brother stood on my new rig and the cheap nasty trucks crumbled under his measly 8 stone in weight.

Thus the first lesson of trucks being important started here, I immediate realised that this piece of shit skateboard was not up to the job, I fondly remember grabbing my copy of RAD and flicking through to the Rollersnakes advert and begging my Dad to buy me some ventures, he was amazed that just one truck cost the price of my whole first board and here in lies my point, These ventures changed everything and venture treated me well and in return I stuck with these trucks for many years, and this is the thing once you settle on a certain truck it becomes a long term relationship.

So with some trepidation I agreed to try out the new Tensor Lightweight Response Trucks in a great black and red colourway. I know everyone has their truck of choice and I am sure that all the pro riders for Tensor are getting a truck they love to ride and money in the bank, which can’t be bad by any means. I on the other hand found none of these benefits, yes they looked amazing, but to be blunt they were total shit, and this is the reason.

They were to low for a start. Wheel bite was now a daily occurrence and I am not just talking about landing and getting it but even carving round bowls it would happen sending me flying off the front, and the biggest issue was the back truck developed a crack all the way around the axel within a week, yet there was mostly ledge skating taking place that week and at the most a few games of skate, but I don’t recall any supper heavy landings. I can only assume they were faulty as in 14 years of riding venture and Indies only two trucks have broken and mostly it’s the base plate or kingpin.

If you want a honest review of these trucks I guess a cross section of different riders would be the best way to go, If you want my opinion on Tensor, they had the opportunity to steal away a customer from one of their competitors and they simply blew it.

Trucks are an integral part of your rig and you need to know that they can perform and perform these did not. There is some good news to come out of this, whist on a trip to Barca I gave away my set up to a young kid that had fucked old trucks and a board that had seen better days, so in one sense there is a past it thirty something skater moaning about Tensor Trucks and on the other there is a kid in Barca shredding on a new set up, with a slightly cracked axel.

I guess it all worked out well in the end. Dirty Blood is nothing to worry about.

Harrison
3/10

Terrell Robinson is straight outta Compton, paid his dues and deserving of his first pro-model and Darkstar have totally pimped his ride. The technology behind these decks is actually a work of genius – nothing like Powell Peralta’s attempts with “Bonite” (cardboard layer that went soggy!) way back in the day.

Armor Light has a carbon composite layer that runs down the core of the board allowing the other plies to be really thin – combined with new resin glue it comes out super stiff. The stiffness gives it a deceptively brittle feel and at 7.5″ it’s a little smaller than my usual ride, so I thought I’d hit up Meanwhile 2’s new banks and blocks to test it out.

This thing has pop – actually, it’s not like normal pop, it’s more like a snap – and it’s such a crisp feeling. The concave and tail angles are all pretty deep and aggressive, so for sticking to your feet this is perfect, shifty ollies are a breeze and the big nose is spot on for popping nollies, especially as the concave runs full length so your back foot sticks on switch tricks. The board kept its shape 100%; a lot of decks with deep concaves tend to straighten out a little as the ply is battling to return to its pre-pressed shape – but the bonding is so tight, it didn’t sag a bit, maybe due to it hardly flexing.

There is something I never understood about Darkstar. The products they put out are super tech, the wheels have advanced cores and formula, and the decks are years ahead of most wood shops, plus the team are bang up to date and on point street technicians. So why are the graphics so gnar? This deck has Terrel getting snuffed out in an electric chair – what’s up with that? I don’t know who the company is aiming at but the quality product and team are going to attract the Transworld reading street crowd, rather the slash-dawgs from some backyard pool session.

Darkstar wood is unique, and fun to ride – and has the added bonus of a warranty. If you break this deck in 30 days, they will hook you up with a fresh one – I rode their last wood and snapped one on an ollie to rock on a ¼ pipe – to be fair, most decks would have snapped with the bad landing – I went back to the shop (Halfpipe) and they just took the date I bought it down, my receipt number and gave me a new deck right off the bat! With such a confidence in their wood you can happily go out and push it to its limits knowing that the warranty has got your back

Go get some, shit’s tight!

9/10

Philip Procter

Times change and people do too, Vans understands this better than most brands and instead of sticking they’re nose in the air, they adapt to the changes and roll with the times!

Chosen by curb surfers in the 70’s, Vans quickly became the skateboarder’s choice for comfort and style and still remains a core brand in our industry today. They’ve come a long way since 1966 and have tapped into many different markets since then, they stretch from goth to punk, hip-hop to funk, bikers to boarders, sneaker freaks to thread heads and the list goes on and on. Vans listened to the people and catered for these genres, thus leaving them in the position where they are now able to specialize in all these different fields to bring the consumer quality through experience.

AV FLANNEL II
Flannels are definitely a focus point at the moment, it seems to be a must have in every line that’s out at the moment, some get it right, others fail miserably, but Anthony made sure he designs stuff that he himself would actually wear. The result speaks for itself, it’s a blend of simplicity and practicality with performance in mind, with a recipe like that, it’s pretty hard to get it wrong. The shirt is 100% cotton, subtle on the eyes and comes with a removable jersey hood! It’s handy on cooler days when worn as a casual shirt, but it also works well as a hood under your jacket when the temperature drops a little more and you need to cover yourself up! Good quality and definitely worth a look at for a looming winter.

AV REVERSE COACH
Coach jackets have always been a favourite of mine, it’s a practical garment and it looks cool with any type pants. This one comes with a modern twist, it’s reversible and therefore becomes a BOGOF when purchased. One side is 100% cotton with AVE’s custom flannel design, where the other side is PU poplin coated to keep you nice and dry on them rainy days. It’s a great jacket, really tough and very warm too; practical in the day time when it’s cold and wet outside, then flip it over if you’re heading out to wow the ladies with your stylish choice of shirt.

VANS ERA – LX45 (FIXED)
Probably the best selling classic in their range, the Era, has been reinvented to cater for a whole different type of riding; this model has been designed around the needs of the fixed gear cyclist, a phenomenon that’s sweeping the skate world with no brakes in mind. Most fix heads that I know ride Vans regardless, so I think for a brand to go out of they’re way to build a shoe that now compliments the way a these guys live, is a pretty neat thing to do. On appearance, the shoe remains exactly the same, only when you actually try it on will you notice that they’re using nylon and leather instead of canvas to give the shoe a longer lifespan. The laces have 3M running throughout for added reflection and they come with a cute little saddlebag which straps around your seat post to carry bits with you whilst riding. These are a lot more stable than you’re average Era’s, but they break in quite easily and come in some decent colour ways too. If you dig Vans and ride brakeless, give them a go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the minor changes.

Live FAST, Ride FAST
2P

There has to be a really good reason for a shoe more or less 16 years old and to keep topping lists of the greatest skate shoes ever since its release. Regardless of what kind of skater you are, Half Cabs are amazing. Worn and loved by different generations to attack bowls, stairs, vert ramps; even the highest ollie in the world was nailed wearing these beasts. Half Cabs skate brilliantly straight out of the box.

Like most Vans, there isn’t a breaking in period, although after having a leather pair a while back they did take a bit longer to get to grips with, but nothing that a few nights in the pub didn’t loosen up. It’s the sacrifice you make balancing durability with comfort I guess. I’m rocking a canvas pair at the moment and despite looking good they aren’t lasting as long as the suede version but that’s to be expected. After wearing through the outer canvas there’s still a couple of layers before you start shredding skin but if push comes to shove, its nothing a bit of ShooGoo won’t sort out.

If I had to pick just one fault with them then it would be the thickness of the sole which is a unfortunate hallmark of the waffle; so if you are prone to jumping down things or hooning at rails then it might be worth slinging a pair of insoles in just to pad them out a bit. However, considering I can only do layback grinds on mini ramps, it’s academic to me and as such – I reckon they’re amazing. They’re cheap, they last and they look good – what more could you ask for?

Dickfingers

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking… “when, what, how did he get hold of these?“, well, if you want to get with the times, do what TK said in the last Baker video and ‘speak to the nigga negotiating your deal!’

Independent has been making low trucks for some time now, but this is different, this is new, this is STAGE 10! That’s right, they are up to double figures in experience and now bringing you a combination of new blood mixed with years of making skater preferred trucks, the end result speaks for itself!

After trying to find out what changes they’ve gone through to come up with a new stage, I could only conclude the following; it’s a new baseplate from an older stage. Disappointed? Don’t be, here’s the score:

When working on the stage 9 Low’s, they created a truck that has a kingpin sitting at more of an angle to compensate for the lower hanger, but whilst doing this, they kept the pivot angle the same as before so that the original axle remains relative to the mounting holes which will provide true wheel base and keeps the weight of the baseplate to enhance tricks off the nose and tail. They also gave it a rounder inside hanger for extra meat on smithies and feebles, but the real clincher for me, was the all new light weight hollow bodied aluminium used to make the low truck about 10% lighter than any other Independent truck on the market. Stage 9 also came with a modified baseplate, it has the hole cut out in the middle, between the pivot cup and the bushings, which I guess had problems with breaking. So, by going back to a reliable baseplate, this meant they’ve created a lower truck that is lighter than ever before and it comes with a stronger base plate…NICE!!!

Some say, why didn’t they call it 9.5, but I think 10 is spot on, it’s a new chapter, so it deserves a new stage, not a half stage! The baseplate, unlike the original stage 8, has only 4 holes where as the previous stage 8’s had 6, making it even stronger than the original stage 8 plate. I should also add that they’ve been running grade 8 kingpins throughout stage 9; it’s a shorter kingpin and is knurled instead of hexed, which shaves a bit off the weight too. The shorter kingpin also lessens the chances of hanging up on a smiths and busting your front teeth on the coping.

These come in custom Haslam colours, copper and black and are in 129 and 139 sizes, good for 7.75″ and 8.00″ boards. The rubbers fucked me around for about 2 hours on the first skate, but they softened up so quickly, I never changed them and that in itself is one mammoth feat! I have to say, the truck responds very well to your skateboarding needs and as for grinding, well, it’s like they claim in their campaign, ‘built to grind‘.

Independent trucks are good, they are solid and now lighter than most of their competitors, they come in all sizes for different types of riding, trust me, the time to convert is now, don’t get left with a bent hanger.

10/10
Live FAST, Ride FAST
2P

The dark side is shining bright, very bright and rest assured, evil will once again roll our streets and we will bleed green again, oh yes, WE WILL BLEED GREEN AGAIN!

This company, like many other dark horses in the skate community, is making huge ripples in the pond, small waves to be exact. I’ve recently been on a week long trip all over the country and noticed the green demons surfacing on concrete all over the show, from all the way up north to way down south. I wondered if it was all trend related, but then thought to myself, how can it be, these guys are gnarly and don’t give a shit about the olympics, why would ‘Johnny Mystery‘ rather shred a toxic waste stick opposed to a LA Lakers graphic? The answer, which I’m about to unfold here, is simple, these boards are unbelievably good!

After recently having my skateboard pinched from a skate orgy, I thought the only way to get even with karma is to get the joker of Gotham city, a bright stick with a black heart. I got dealt the death card and this made me very happy, I made no peace with anyone and rolled out the gun straight away.

This board has a very strong back bone with a medium concaved upper body and shorter wheelbase, all the elements that contributes to this being a nearly perfect ride. Long wheel based boards just don’t feel right to me and I tend to snap them much quicker too. It’s quite a short board over all actually, any 8 inch rig shorter than 32 inches in length ticks the right boxes in my book, they’re much easier to handle in tight spots and gives you maximum control through corner pockets. The tail is slightly shorter than the nose, not much, but enough for you to know which way your board is facing at all times. It’s snappy and very light too, again, more reasons why I enjoy being stuck with this creation. I wish I could say bad things about the board, but I cant, it’s truly a great ride on both parks and street!

I don’t believe in following trends or Xerox-ing others, but as far as getting hold of one of these go, I highly recommend you try it out and get on board, it’s a nice ride and you’ll hate yourself for not doing so sooner.

My favourite thing about this board is the luminous green glow it gives off; very hard to misplace! Should any prick attempt to steal this from a pub, skate park, tree house or anywhere for that matter, he automatically deals himself an involuntary death card and this means you become his maker. You will be able to see the toxic glow miles away and therefore you could quite easily retrieve your stolen goods from the perpetrator after snapping a kingpin over the cunt’s face! I suggest you knock him unconscious, get a handsaw out and remove one of his hands. This will leave a permanent mental scar on his conscience and will most likely prevent him from ever taking something that doesn’t belong to him…just a thought though?!

I’M COMING FOR YOU!

9/10
Live FAST, Ride FAST
2P

24.07.08

So Emerica sent me a pair of their latest rider’s pro model kicks, the Jerry Hsu. I put them on right away and strolled out of my door to the dance floor. You see, one of the most important aspects about designing a skate shoe is that you can wear the footwear straight away and enjoy comfort in an instant. The Jerry Hsu ticks this box without a doubt.

Next on the list of priorities for skate shoe production is the look. The colour way for these kicks is a mix of red embers and ash, a combination that stands out from the rest but doesn’t scream for attention either. I like it. Now the other half to look is the originality in the shape and form a shoe takes. Emerica and Jerry Hsu have taken two of skateboarding’s most classic and credible skate shoes – the Vans Half Cab and the Nike Dunk- combined them both and removed a few things for copyright infringement to create a good shoe. I mean you take inspiration from two of skateboarding’s greats and you can’t really miss, can you?*

My last comment will be on the actual skate ability of these shoes. Well, Emerica lives under the Sole Tech banner, an establishment that understands the needs of a skaters feet like the back of their hand, so the Jerry Hsu skates without a hitch. Perhaps the sole could do with being stronger, but where you lose for toughness, you gain with flex and feel. These shoes are good on and off the board which means that’s two thumbs up from me.

* I feel a bit bad having said that but take a look at the skate shoes on display at your SOS and tell me which company is doing something completely different.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis

Nike are known for their collaborations and special edition shoes, with mashups coming from the whole country of Sweden, to Slam City, to MF Doom. These collabs are the result of hooking up with Europe’s finest skate team, Cliché.

I’ve gotta say it. I love Nike Classics. They’re comfy, they last for ages, look good, and skate oh so well. Which is why I was a little shocked when I put these on and instantly felt like I was wearing wooden clogs. The nubuck material they’ve used was so stiff that it’s taken a few weeks of walking down the shops to soften them up enough to skate in.

They were very good once they got to that point. The flock wallpaper patterned material is mad-strong, and despite laces snapping every 10th trick, they just aren’t wearing away, save a few scratches around the toe.

Cliché know what they’re doing, and I’m glad they went for the Classic instead of the more obvious Dunk. Years of history behind these shoes has lead to something that skates like a dream, but still looks fresh enough to go out chilling in. Good touch with the corduroy swoosh as well. Corduroy is rad.

Moose

Having not worn a pair of mid-tops for a while, and being generally disappointed by the Dunk when it came out, I bit the bullet and combined the two whilst trying out these Nike Mid Dunks.

Timberland boots is what I thought when I first saw them, and thankfully they are nothing like them. I know Tom Penny can do magic in those beetle crushers, but I need something a bit more slimmed down to get crafty on my board.

Being mids, they had plenty of ankle support yet gave enough movement to get my kicking flicks on with ease. They felt a lot stiffer than the other Dunks I’d tried, which is definitely a good thing as those always felt like someone wrapped my foot in a really cheap pillow.

The sole on these is thin and flexy, gives the perfect amount of board feel yet also gives you that confidence that a primo landing isn’t going to send you hobbling home crying, like you’ve just been caned across your sole.

One gripe is that the Velcro ankle strap does restrict your ankle a little too much, but leaving it undone means you have a flappy extra bit of yellow flying around. Not too much of a problem, but if something with the opposite Velcro side brushes past your foot, it’s gonna stick to you faster than the last drunk girl at a party.

One great advantage to these is that because they look like the kind of shoes you’d find on a woodyard, they perfectly match the collection of lumberjack shirts that you have piling up in your wardrobe, so there’s no excuse not to wear them all the time.

Moose