Category: Skateboarding Product Reviews

As the bony finger of autumn prizes our muscles apart and joinks at our bones and joints, I thought it fitting that to coincide with the tree bits lying all over the place and the dark nights, that I get a new mug to imbibe hot warming drinks. After about a week of trawling through various information sources and websites including wedgewood.com, potteryforbeginners.com and tea_i_up.com and came up trumps on Ebay.

Apparently the Gonz and the guys at Krooked have produced 288 limited edition mugs, most with different designs. As a tea lover, and indeed a wheelyplanker I thought hell yeah! and promptly ordered one from the US. When it arrived I was stoked! Not only did I get a mug, but I also got a load of postal charge stickers, that luckily my work paid for! $3 dollars to send a mug from the US to the UK…what an idiot!

The Gonz has an amazing idea of design, the cup shape itself represents two main rad things about skateboarding that we all love.

1) The internal shape of the mug is the same shape as a full-pipe! Fucking sweet or what!

2) The outside shape of the mug and handle resemble that of a wheel and an independent truck if looked at from the side.

The man is a genius!

I have had the mug for about 3 days now and used it for more than just tea, liquids like coffee, soup, hot chocolate. I have found that cold drinks can also be drunk from it, but its not as good as for hot drinks. I have discovered that the mug can interface with other hot drinks vessels, like my flask.

The design is pretty sweet to, I have number 211 of 288. Although slightly more brittle than a plastic mug, and more heavy than its aluminium counterpart, it is indeed a manly mug. Dimensions : 94 x 81 mm. although 82 mm at bottom, which is handy for stability.

I can seriously recommend these mugs, and they are out there for people to get there hands on…They should cost between 10-15 pounds including postage from the US, I haven’t seen any in the the UK, but I reckon Shiner will know in Bristol, as they do Krooked stuff.

Live the dream!

Whip.

This board is a 7.8 width with quite a mellow concave which for me is about right making it a comfortable skate right from the start making it perfect for both street and transitions.

The shape is sublime with the tail being slightly narrower than the nose but not tapering off so it’s all pointy and horrible. The wood on this board feels great. It’s got some fantastic pop that seems to have lasted more than most boards I have ridden this year and i go through one a month at least. The graphic is simple, but no one buys them for graphics anyway and usually Stereo graphics are pretty cool all round, you just have to see their art direction from their webiste to know they are still messing when it comes to their art, it’s all been top quality from day one .

All in all this has been a good board for me. It’s the third Stereo board I’ve had and they have all been there for me weekly with really good shapes and good quality overall. Grab this board today and don’t forget that you will be helping Olly Todd to get get the beers in!

Get one.

Go to www.stereosoundagency.com to see more.

Jof
8/10

When I first set eyes on these golden ivory beauties, and was simultaneously informed that they were mine free of charge, and that all I had to do was skate and then write this nonsensical piece of garbage about them, you can probably imagine that my tongue suddenly become engorged and dropped to the floor just like those worryingly carthatic American cartoons.

All I wanted to do was get them on my deck, which was now quivering with excitement at the mere thought of grinding edges like ice again. Except, it was fucking raining. Twenty four cunting seven. I’d walk outside, hoping that I can give these a go, but instead I’m on the recieving end of a barrage of water droplets falling onto my skin, and then massaging themselves in, just to rub it in even more.

As I was currently in a new city, I had no fucking idea where any sheltered ledge spots were hiding. So instead, I was in a constant state of torture, being glared at my poor neglected trucks. But the wait, was more than worth it, I can tell you that. Not only do these trucks look like a devilish minx on your skateboard, but they skate beautifully. Get a nice ledge and session to your hearts content, these fellers are light, white, and slippery as vanilla ice. They’ve even got the bling bling gold attachment, so you can feel as pimped out as the Boss himself when doing frontside slashes. You may not be frontside flipping over any obstacle in sight just yet, but get your slash on with these, and you’ll be feeling more radical than any frontrocking gully bad man.

Accompanied with the two pro models, Koston and Reynolds respectively, are a couple of simple, lovely looking tees. What more can you ask for?

www.independenttrucks.com

Joe Moynihan

Chris Haslam finally gets a fucking shoe out! Woohoo! And i tell you another thing, it’s on Globe and it’s a peach.

Apparently ‘Sabaton‘ means armored foot protection but this is no clog, it’s another take on the classic magnum but it’s a beauty. The first thing you will notice is the fact that the leather is cracked and it’s a lovely touch, quite unusual and feels like your cats tongue. (I wouldn’t though as it would not be as good.)

The speil says that this shoe has a Shock Guard ICS footbed protection system, when i rode them this weekend, i could feel a decent sole with some seriously good grip as you get with all current Globe vulcanized foot huggers.

Haslam has had his chance to get his name out there and he has come up with a bloody good skate shoe. They are durable, absorbs shock and more to the point they look fresh on your tootsies, even though the bear faced hippie has managed to sneak corduroy into the mix!

I really think Globe have got themselves a rep now for great skate shoes and this just adds to the plaudits at the end of this year, go get these today.

Chuck Bangers

You what? A lace-up shoe with no laces? Well, yes. Emerica have made the Laced shoe to be able to be worn with no laces at all, advertising the fact that this is how Reynolds wears them. That may be true, but I’m sure he doesn’t skate in these very lightweight thin slip-on/lace-up hybrids.

After a day or so of breaking in, (with a very nasty blister, which I usually get from thin shoes), these started to feel very nice indeed. The wafer thin sole gives so much boardfeel that your truckbolts seem like scaffolding, but with just enough cushioning to knock out the odd 360flip or two without fear and give plenty of grip.

I’ve been using these shoes for both skating and chilling in by putting the laces in for skating, then taking them out when I want my stinkblocks to breathe a bit. The simple design with no toe-stitching is perfect for skating as only the material will wear out (and this tough suede will take a while I’m sure), and they’re also simple enough to wear down the pub without the barman telling you to get your massive stinking shoes off his furniture.

Top tip for the Laced, I would seriously buy them in a smaller size than usual to give a better fit and stretch them out. I wouldn’t advise frontside flipping down 17-sets in these Emerica’s unless you really like heel bruises, but for anyone who wants a quick Sunday morning shralp at the local park before heading home to read the paper with a brew, these are perfect.

www.emericaskate.com

Moose.

Lakai are on a roll right now. Turning out amazing shoes almost non-stop as well as their incredibly hyped video makes them seem unstoppable and as if they could do no wrong.

The Koston Select Independent proves this fact completely. The Select series have been the choice of punters since they came out, and the whole team seem to be wearing them at some point. Having already sung the praises of Rick Howard’s Select shoe, I had high hopes for these Koston ones and certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Straight out the box they were ready to go do switch hardlflips, should you be that way inclined, feeling super comfy but solid enough to give you the confidence that they won’t completely fold on you without notice. Being a fan of thin soled shoes ala waffle, the sole on the Select gave great amount of board feel without the nightmare of getting the dreaded ‘primo-stomp’ bruise. The nubuck and suede combo is really hard wearing and even after many a heavy skate, I still can’t see any sign of holes, or even a toe scuff.

My only gripe with these Lakai’s comes from the fact that I have incredibly flipper like feet. So flat are my feet that I have to wear another pair of insoles inside them to make them fit properly. It’s a problem I’ve had with every pair of Lakai’s I’ve skated. Not a big problem at all, as it actually seemed to level out the slightly over the top heel protection and make it seem less like I was wearing a pair of high heels.

Lakai have hit the nail on the head with the Koston Select. A high-tech shoe that looks and feels like a very simple basic design. And they’ve made it work and skate great. Highly recommended for everything from stair destroying to manual malarkey.

www.lakai.com

Moose.

Dude, when somebody gives you a skateboard so limited that only 500 of them were produced, you say thank you very much, buy some Jessup tape and you set that bastard up quicker than you can do uncle Ben’s rice in a microwave. The artwork is cute and all, but it’s a piece of wood at the end of the day and it was made to ride and slide, not to wall mount and dollar count.

This board is, like any other real board I’ve had, fucking amazing! It took me two sessions to find my feet, but it is such a rad board once you’re settled in to it, it will definitely have you grinning for more and more. We strive to find that happy shape, you know, perfect tail, sweet nose and short in height (my specs of course); that’s exactly what this baby does for me, it just sits right. There’s not a lot of concave either and it’s a surprisingly light piece of wood too. I had an obsession with Cairo Foster’s Real‘s back in the day, they were perfect and I ended buying like 5 of them. To this day, I have no regrets about my moment of madness, just happy inner peace and of course that great feeling of ‘I told you so, now fuck off!’!

Deluxe wood seems to be the ones I enjoy most these days and it definitely has a lot to do with a skateboarding attitude, opposed to an ebayers gold mind. The shapes are brilliant, the size is perfect and the wood is cracking (not literally!). It’s a great graphic too, but hey, the artwork’s long gone and the board still kills concrete everywhere. Think mine was like 163 / 500, oh well, hope the other 499 boards made it out of the cellophane and onto the open road; it would be a shame to waste your road tax by keeping that baby under wraps.

The board comes with some free stuff too, stickers, stencil, DVD etc, so it’s not a bad buy if you think about it.

Live FAST, Ride REAL FAST
2P

It is inevitable, that when you are painfully fatigued, let’s say from a routine trip to the local shops (that are far too much of an undesirable walk away to be claimed as ‘local’), that there will be something to stop you in your tracks and serve you up a banquet of bewilderment.

Normally garnished with a sprinkling of ‘what the fuck?’. I kid you not. Next time you feel exhausted, just wait for it, you’re more prone to attack from the beast of confusion than at any other time of the day. I don’t know why. And I certainly still don’t understand the reason for my encounted with monsiuer madness, but, just like I said, it was inevitable.

Literally, a mere few metres from the haven of my kitchen, where I was waiting to unload five remarkably heavy bags of shopping, I was brought to a halt by some raving romanian. “Hey you! Yes, that’s right, you! You with the shopping!” After being blinded by the array of exclamatives, I thought best to entertain his demand and see what he wanted. His first question was,

“Do you know anyone ginger?”

What the jeeping shit do you say to that? No, can’t say that I know a single person who is ginger, sorry. Honestly, some people. Anyway, I inquire as to why, and he continues,

“Ginger. little bit shorter than you. know him? Where can I find him?”

The Grand ol’ Duke of Vague continued with such pathetic descriptions of the mystery ginger, and as the conversation continued, I began to worry what he intended to do upon finding the poor sod. Turns out this romanian fellow was rudely awakened the night before by this enigmatic red head, and he wanted to seek revenge. The guy bore an uncouth resemblence to that shouty fellow in ‘300’, so I felt best to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately, when I told him that I could be of no assistance, his tone changed dramatically. It’s amazing how much you can tell about someone’s mood from a tiny change of pitch in their voice.

“No. Not good enough. I must find him. Help me. Or else.”

I had to flee from him and his ridiculously short sentences as soon as possible. So I quickly made some excuse about my frozen goods melting and hurried away. As I escaped, he shouted,

“I will keep eye out for you. You have memorable jacket.”

You may wonder why I have decided to tell you about this. Truth is, how much can you say about a piece of material that is designed to keep you warm and as a cheeky bonus make you look fly? Basically, Duffs have made this jacket you can see in the picture above, it’s nice and comfortable, keeps you warm in the harsh british winter, and in my opinion, looks pretty damn fresh. What more else is there to say? If you dig it, go and get it. Just be warned, it apparently stays deep in the mind of vengeful Romanians. Make of this what you will.

Joe Moynihan

Jeans, we all love them, we all have a pair in the cupboard and we usually all treat them the same due to their durability.

Altamont denim delivers cotton that doesn’t fit into the same old same old. Instead, they are the most comfortable jeans that I have ever worn. The first night I wore them out, ladies were all over me like a rash. I thought it was my 70’s disco moves that was the reason but I later learnt that the jeans did all the work for me.

I went for the Crenshaw fit because my fat arse would look stupid in the spray on versions and that’s the best part of what’s on offer here, there’s denim for everyone and there’s nothing like choice, especially when it comes to quality. Click here to find out about the styles.

The front pockets come lined with a dope print and the johnny pocket has a Altamont metal emblem on it, sharp enough to poke you in the finger when you least expect it! I’m sure it was done on purpose as it reminds you that you are wearing some decent threads when you look down!

The instructions inside advise that you should try not to wash them for 6 months. I’m 2 months in and already those girls who were queuing outside the house have now done the offs. Can’t win them all eh?!

Chuck Bangers

This little purple number from Altamont will keep you warm this winter and also serve you well as top layer if it is warm out.

The first thing I noticed when I put this on was the zip head with its skulled metal dagger hanging in its grip, very heavy metal. Next up was the quality. Seriously soft cotton, good pockets, a dope hood plus little detail with Jimi Hendrix signatures and artwork to make it look all pretty.

This is not your average skate hoody, Reynolds has given us something that you must hide from your favourite squeeze. Seriously, this is comfy, if you don’t hide this from her, you will never get it back!

Chuck Bangers