Can you believe that I’ve never ridden a Zoo York deck before? I mean, I might have skated a hand me down way back when the company first started (1993), but a lot of planks have been pressed, painted and produced since then, so it was about time I took a look at what the home of East Coast skateboarding had to offer. My pick was the Kenny Hughes New York City photo series deck shaping up at 7.625 by 31.5 inches.
I have to jump in and mention how suitable the 7.625 inch width is for street skating. The board is slim enough to flip and spin effortlessly, but it’s also got enough girth to maintain stability. Perfect for technical street skating. The next obvious angle by which a board must be chosen is it’s concave, and Zoo York are pretty established in that area.
Not a company to go lightly when they press their decks, Zoo York boards have an angular depth to them that reacts very well to the various foot positions you might have whilst out riding the streets. This board is not flat, but it isn’t warped like a barrel either. The lines of the concave lead your feet to almost always find the prime bolts stance that guarantees a good ride. The nose and tail are both of a healthy length and virtually identical, so switch skating and board control is optimal.
I haven’t really found anything wrong with this board, so I’ll just add some more praise in regards the graphic and quality of the paint used. No flakey cheap stuff here. If I really had to criticize this deck, I might say that it’s slightly heavier than some of the other decks available, but that only means it’s ready to take a tougher beating, and despite a bit of a stressed session last week, blunt blows to the nose and the tail haven’t dented the contour at all.
Some magazines might warn you about boards dipped entirely in paint so as to hide any defects or dodgy construction visible through the rails of a board. This Kenny Hughes deck was dipped in mat black paint, but I think that was more of an exercise in accentuating the dope photography that graces yet another fine Zoo York board series.
8/10
Ralph L-D
15.01.07
