Trampling Trepidation on the Loaded Tesseract

Check out those curves.

So, as you may well have noticed, Loaded has been busy in their workshop once again and has this time brought a killer new creation to the longboarding world: the Tesseract. What is a tesseract? Well, it's a four dimensional shape of two cubes attached at the corners that rotates through time and space. Kinda hard to wrap your head around at first—I didn't even know a shape could be four dimensional. Don't worry too much about that, though—the board is three dimensional and extremely rideable. Loaded did do quite a bit of three dimensional stretching and warping to the wood and fiberglass in order to produce so much contour and form within a single deck and I'll talk about that soon enough.

First, as with all boards I look at, I like to talk about the specs. A 39” deck on a 24.5-26” adjustable wheelbase that's 9.5” wide at its chunkiest point. Other features include 0.33” of rocker (resulting in 3.5 deg of wedging at the trucks), 0.30-0.39” of concave, a nice fat W running the centerline, wheelflares and some fairly wide 7.25” kicktails. Oh yea, and the Tesseract is symmetrical meaning you can shred any which way you like.

Blunts and mad tigers in the SLO sun.

Right from the start, we can see a lot of similarities to Loaded's last freeride/downhill deck: the Chubby Unicorn. Let me assure you, the two decks, although they share many of the same features, ride very differently. Just a quick comparison between the two before I dive into the meat of the Tesseract review. The Chubby leans more towards the DH discipline and favors bigger riders with it's longer size, slightly wider standing platform (though I hardly noticed the difference) and having a bigger wheelbase. The Tesseract, on the other hand, will serve the freeriding and downhill enthusiast just as well as the Chubby Unicorn but with slightly snappier handling, less frills (no UHMW base layer, no urethane sidewalls, no recessed truck mounts, no grab rails), and a more buyer-friendly price tag. I've ridden both and I love riding both, but I think that right now my deck of choice would have to be the Tesseract.

Santa Barbara hidden hills

So, what is it that sets the Tesseract apart from the rest of the longboards on the market? Well, that's what the rest of this review is for. After all, the Tesseract is not just a wooden replica of the Chubby Unicorn—it deserves to be viewed in its own light. As per usual, Loaded has gone the whole nine yards when it comes to construction, but has also added some creative twists into the process. The Tesseract has Loaded's tried-and-true layers of vertically laminated bamboo between layers of fiberglass as well as an extra layer of pattern-textured cork on the bottom to for durability and dampening. The different materials combine to create a stiff deck with a little bit of a damp flex to provide good road feel while giving your feet a little bit of a break at higher speeds or on coarser pavement. I was skeptical about the cork's durability at first, but it seems to have held up well to the scuffing and grinding my boards go through.

Santa Cruz forests. Photo: the lovely Sam Kass

What else is good about the board? I think that Loaded really hit the nail on the head with the Tesseract's concave and standing platform. This board offers a slew of different features that keep your feet where you want them and allow you to know where your feet are on the board without looking down. Now, any company can throw a bunch of things like rocker, concave, elliptical W, wheel flares and kicktails into a board, but Loaded managed to do it in a way that's not too overwhelming. The board feels natural under my feet from when I first step onto it to when I'm going 40mph on rough roads. The wheel flares compliment the tapering of the W-cave (yes, the W concave actual gets less dramatic near the bolts of the board) which then transitions nicely into the kick tails without altering the shape of functionality of them. The rocker is subtle enough to not be noticed if you're not paying attention to it, but it does a great job in creating a big dish for your feet to stick in. For me, the features of the board are configured to fit my size 12 feet and tucking/freeriding pretty much perfectly. It's a big plus to not have to constantly be maneuvering my feet to take advantage of the board's bumps and grooves.

One of the lovely coastal hills on my commute after visiting the farmstand for some fresh produce.

Right when I got the Tesseract, I took a roadtrip with it all up and down the CA coast and even up into Oregon, visiting friends and hitting some awesome hills along the way. And while I consider that roadtrip to have provided the true proving grounds for the board, I think I've gotten to know it best through “commuting.” My commute, however, has become a little different than most since I moved to the coastal hills north of California's Bay Area. Typically I have a 6 mile skate into a little surf town which involves lots of downhills and uphills, sharp turns, gentle sweepers, very rough pavement and a skatepark (if I decide to stop there, of course). This board was a natural for the downhill and I felt sure-footed the entire time, even on the sketchier pavement (which there is plenty of around here). When I first moved out here, I was sliding to slow down a lot since I didn't know the roads very well. Never once did my feet even think about sliding off the deck. Check after check, I was able to work my way down the hills until I got confident enough with them to just tuck and bomb. Oh, and those wheelflares are perfectly placed for toeside checks and 180s, too. Just sayin.

I also mentioned the skatepark in my “commute.” I hit up the skatepark from time to time, but the features were a bit small overall for the boards size. Most of the time I would ride around on the funbox, attempt the quarter pipe, and mess aorund the parking lot. The board's kicks are nice and wide and well proportioned to the board which makes manuals a breeze to control and pivots a breeze to whip around. Ollies and fliptricks took awhile to get (still working on most actually) due to the boards curves. These curves also make dancing a little awkward at first, but your learn to use them to your advantage by letting them guide your feet around the board. As I said before, this board is a jack of all trades, which also means it is a king of none. The board isn't ideal for for everything, but it does a great job at most!

San Luis Obispo playtime.

A few notes on board setups: Loaded has tested a wide range of trucks on this deck and recommends trucks below 45 deg (Caliber 44s, Paris 43s, etc) to keep the steering geometry sorted and suggests a soft riser for trucks over 45 deg (I could list any number of cast/precision trucks here, but you get the idea) to keep everything sitting nicely. Loaded does a nice sum-up of all the trucks they rode on the board here. When I first got the board I swapped out the stock trucks to try out some 50 deg Randals and Calibers since I ride 50 deg on all my other boards. Well, it felt alright, but when I switched back to the Paris 43 deg, the board felt both alive and much more controllable. The 50 degrees with the wedging seemed to be a bit much for me (note that I didn't use a riser/wedge the trucks at all) and the 43 degrees with some loose trucks worked well for all my usual skating shenanigans.

I've also heard some complaints about wheel size. I've had the best luck with 65-70mm wheels and didn't get any bite on the inner wheelbase with just a soft riser. I threw on some 75mm wheels with a 1/8” riser and it worked alright on a faster run, but I felt like I had to avoid sliding to avoid wheelbite and where's the fun in that? Then again, I do like to run fairly loose trucks (I weigh 180lbs and was running riptide APS barrels 85a all around), so that explains some of the bit. If you're hesitant at all stick to wheels under 70mm and you'll be golden, even with little to no riser. Go above that, and you may need to increase the board height a bit depending on your setup.

Cruising Humboldt Redwoods area.

So, what do I think of the Tesseract? It's probably the most well rounded board Loaded has produced to date. It's a jack of all trades, but seems to hold it's own best on steep hills and sharp turns. Take it sideways and you'll feel right at home. Ride it on two wheels instead of four, or take all four wheels off the ground. It's not the best for pushing—the W concave makes it a little funky after a few miles—and it's not the best in a skatepark, but hey, you're likely not buying this board to ride bowls and stair sets. Yea, it's beefy enough to handle some serious drops, but this board is just asking to go fast and sideways. The kicktails are also a nice feature to throw some spice into your riding. Plenty of screwing around in between runs, seeing if you can pop an ollie at 25mph, and of course, blunt slides galore if you're into that sort of thing (I sure as hell am). It's a great board to add to the quiver and if you're not careful, it may take over a lot of your quiver without you even realizing it!

Loaded Boards Chubby Unicorn Review

Check out my new review on Skateslate! I put the Loaded Chubby Unicorn through some serious field testing, so let me know if you've got any questions about it. The deck goes on sale tomorrow (Dec 4th) so get ready!
Stay chill, skate happy.

Loaded's New Steed: The Chubby Unicorn Photos

 The Loaded Chubby Unicorn. The pudgy mythical beast in all its cushy glory.

 Behold its delicious curves. Its cradling concave. Its inviting platform.

 The simplistic beauty of its coy inlayed graphic.

And the whorl of features that can sometime be too much to wrap your head around, but is ultimately what makes me so excited about having my grimy little hands on this board. I have been and will continue to get well acquainted with this equine creation in preparation for my upcoming review. Check out Skateslate around the date of the product release (Dec 4th). For now, you can read more about the magic and craft that went into this board on Loaded.

Getting Intimate with the Loaded Kanthaka: Preview Photos

 The Loaded Kanthaka. A reliably speedy and agile steed.

Ready for popping, sliding, and general all around gnaritude. Those curves, like waves of grain, amplifying your ultimate shredding experience to a higher state.

A graphic to remind you of what else lay out there, reminiscent of the old Tan Tien proto graphics.

This board makes my feet happy and has flare with room to spare. I have been and will continue to get intimate with this street slaying stallion in preparation for my upcoming review. Check out Skateslate around the date of the product release (Dec 4th). For now, you can read more about the essence of this board on Loaded.

Deville Bomber Wheels Check-In

So yea, I posted a link to my review on skateslate not too long ago. Just wanted give a little end of the line report on the Deville Bombers. They finally cored, but they lasted me a lot longer than I figured they would. Yea, they coned a lot, but they never really flatspotted (until the very end when I did hit the core) and they stayed pretty damn circular until the bitter end. Above is a photo of their demise. The Sector 9 centerset raceform is there for a 70mm size comparison (stay tuned for a new review on the raceforms! feel free to check out my one from awhile ago if youre bored).
My final opinion on these wheels? I would definitely buy them again.

Early Grabs

A fellow skater friend of mine, Arthur, going about as big as you can go off this tiny kicker. Taken after hours at the Davis Longboard Club first official session of the new year. The main reason he has precisions is because he kept bending his cast truck hangers...ha!

Deville Bomber Wheel Review

So, it's been quite awhile, but maybe i'll try and be better at posting a little more? I spent most of my summer without a computer so things feel a bit strange, but I figure with the raining months coming I can catch up on my backlog of photos...maybe. 

Regardless, here is a review I did before the summer started for Skateslate. Check out the goods on some slippy slide wheels by Deville. Review HERE.

Dervish Sama Review

Hey guys, check out my review of the Loaded Dervish Sama on Skateslate! It’s a hell of a ride.

Orangatang Balut Wheel Review

So, I've been testing out the new Orangatang Balut wheels and worked up a review for them. Y'all should check it out over on SkateSlate! These wheels are a blast to ride, and are coming out soon! Keep an eye out because they drop on Thursday, Feb 2nd. Here is an outtake shot from when I was still warming up and getting used to sliding in the rain. Gotta love that facial expression.

Protect Your Noggin!

I've seen way too many people skating around and getting in some gnarly situations without a helmet on. Protect your noggins! As a side note, this is my new triple eight brainsaver with some custom doodle artwork.

New Board!

So, as we (davis longboard crew, including me) were skating with Landyachtz on their college tour a few weeks back, I had a lot of fun on one of the protos that Justen Ortiz was riding. It was a fatty pool/tech slide deck that was all around fun to mob around on. Since I had been planning on getting a pool board soon anyways, this just accelerated the process. I was impatient and didn't want to wait until March when the board was supposed to be released, so I picked up a fatty tech slide board of my own: an Earthwing Jailbird. Loving it so far! Review and photos to come!

The Vanguard Is Revived!

Chopped in half and has a "sicktail" from a old zip zinger deck. Slapped together whatever parts I had to make it a complete. It actually doesn't ride too bad, though the small hard wheels are a bit sketchy when its wet out. I essentially took two broken board (the vannie and the zip zinger) and made one usable one (mainly because I wanted something small to throw around). And it lasted me just long enough.

It snapped a few weeks after I built it when I tried taking it off a 5 stair and landed in the tail. Oh well!

Sector 9 Centerset Raceform 70mm

I picked up a set of new 70mm CS 78a (yellow) raceforms when I was throwing together my Saltflat complete and man am I happy I did. I had noticed a lot of hype around these wheels, or rather Raceforms in general, and I wanted to see if they were really as good as everyone was saying. Well, as of now they are my favorite slide wheel. They are extremely buttery and it seems like the wheels just melt from traction to slide effortlessly. Very predictable, but don't have a defined traction point. That being said, these are not good wheels for cornering. I my back wheels tend to slide out when I try to corner at the local garage, but you know, I'm alright with that. Plus, they're centerset, so you don't even really need to worry about coning if you just remember to flip and rotate your wheels every once and awhile.

Thank you sector 9 for making some tasty, greasy and very affordable slide wheels. I can foresee more sets of these in my future.

Finally, a Fully Loaded Fattail Review, in the Flesh

So, you’re back for more, eh? My first review wasn’t enough for you? Don’t worry, I understand, and now that I have spent well over a month with the Loaded Fattail I really feel confident enough to get into the nitty gritty and dirty dirty of this board and deliver some insights to you! Again, I weigh 175 lbs and I’m rolling on the flex 2 Fattail with Prandal 150mm trucks, 80a otang stims, and orange otang nipple bushings. Now, if you want a bit more info you can check out my first review with photos and tech specs here, my initial opinions on the board in my second review here, or you could get some info from the horse’s mouth here.

Now in my opinion, every board has a soul intent or purpose for its creation. In a perfect world, every board would be perfect for every discipline of skating, but you know as well as I do that this is far from true. I will start off by saying this board is not one that I would label as an all around board. I will say, however, that you will be pleasantly surprised with how much ground (in both a metaphorical and physical sense) the Fattail can cover. And if you haven’t gotten what I was hinting at yet, well, let me put it clearly: this board is a mythical commuting beast, the type that will make you grab your skateboard to run an errand instead of hopping on your bike or in your car because, after all, it is only 10 miles away.

One of the most substantial characters that this board brings to the table is its weight (insert weight here). It feels like a feather if I’m carrying it around in places where skating isn’t possible and it can be likened to ridingPegasus while ripping around the streets and sidewalks. I have strapped the board to my backpack before and forgotten it was there, leading me to believe that I left it somewhere only to find it still strapped to my back after searching high and low for 5 minutes (now you’ll just have to take my word when I say this is a testament to the boards lightness rather than my forgetfulness).

Not only does the light weight help with transporting it while not skating, but it makes pushing it a breeze as well. Jump on the Fattail and ride to a friend’s house, then cruise to downtown for some lunch, head to another friends house, then hit up your favorite spot, and before you realize it, you’ve put in more miles than you can count. It also makes it convenient while carrying strange loads (perhaps a giraffe head or a bag full of cantaloupes).

Another fine attribute this plump little piece of bamboo holds is its maneuverability. This thing carves like mad! Much like a dolphin weaving through giant schools of herring, the Fattail will whip and wander its way through pedestrians and obstacles with purpose and grace. Simply lean your weight to one side and the Fattail will respond instantaneously and without effort. This is a huuuuge plus for those looking to get their urban slalom on, but it also means that this board has a bit of a learning curve. If you are used to a tank or a boat of a board, this one may feel sloppy or loose, but once you get a little more accustomed to the dance of the deck, well, you begin to truly notice how lively it is (I highly recommend getting used to it before you try shredding your local garages or hills). It’s the combination of the classic pintail camber, with a new shape and concave that gives it that little extra bit of spring.

And with all this talk of flexy, fun, and light weight you must be thinking that this board is a major push over—one that will snap if it is pushed too hard or will crack, snapple, and pop its way to your board graveyard. Well, you are wrong! Loaded went through and through the old pintail design and updated the construction to put a little more fat on its bones. It still pairs the time trusted vert-lam bamboo core sandwiched with layers of fiberglass, but now they use a new carbonized bamboo and also added in extra layers of carbon and fiberglass in the tail to make it a bit stiffer and more functional. Hearing about these extra layers gave me a new confidence in the board and lately I’ve been early grabbing and pounding down landings on this thing—I even took it to the skatepark the other day! The flex of the deck actually helps to keep it from snapping by absorbing more of the impact and distributing evenly so that it does not concentrate in a single area (don’t worry, I won’t discuss any of the physics because frankly, I don’t know them).

Now, we all know that all work and no play make Jedediah a dull boy (or girl), and so far it seems like I’ve been talking mostly about how this board’s features make it a killer commuter. Well, this board indeed has another side, one full of gusto, moxie, and enough chutzpah to kick your teeth out. The lightness is a big plus and will save your arms when early grabbing and your legs while ollieing and throwing those shuvits around. The extra thought put into the construction really let you give the board a good beating. Maybe that involves some bouncing off some stair sets or maybe it means you’ll be busting some rock ‘n roll stalls at your local skatepark; either way, the Fattails thin but beefy goodness has you covered.

Continuing with play, one has to comment on the most obviously updated feature that the Fattail offers over its predecessor: the kicktails. Kicktails have been popping up on a lot of new boards as of late, and for good reason. Extended the standing platform a few inches past the trucks mounts allows for better control and more precise movement in manuals. This, plus the little bit of upward curve at the very tip and tail of the board create one fine platform for keeping your feet where they should be and having them land in the right spot time after time again. They work well as reference points for your feet and let you focus on what you’re doing instead of having to look down at your board. Hell, you may even get some new tricks out of it by learning how to do some nose and tail blunt slides, let loose!

Like to get down and dance around? Well, although the Fattail is by no means a dancer, there is still enough room on the standing platform to throw in a bit of style while going from place to place. Even with my size 12 chunky Vans, I’m able to throw together two consecutive cross steps on the cambered surface.

And one final part where I would like to comment is the aesthetic of the deck. I mean, come on, just look at it. That is one sexy piece of wood if I do say so myself. They certainly did some fancy work to get an inlay teardrop graphic on the bottom. Treat it to a box of chocolates and a bubble bath, then go out and put some scratches on that pretty bamboo veneer and scuff up that coarse grip tape. Earn some battle scars!

Sum up: this sexy deck is a perfect pair of commuting and light freeride. Its light weight is ideal for pushing and stowing when necessary and its solid construction lets you raise hell when necessary. Its agility makes it beautiful for urban exploring and getting you from spot to spot and session to session. Though it will set you back a pretty penny (about 30,000 pretty pennies, actually) you definitely get what you pay for with the Fattail. Remember, it is designed around 70mm wheels and 150mm RKP trucks, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore other options.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Happy skatings and wear a helmet! Vicious sloths often hang from trees and pick at the hairy heads of foolish humans who skate without them.

Introducing: The Bombsquad Saltflat Throwback

And here is the newest addition to the quiver. I'm very proud to introduce the limited run Bombsquad Saltflat Throwback (i.e. wooden). I've been considering a top mount speed board for a long time now and finally decided to pull the trigger when I saw this one. I'm extremely glad that I did.

The board made of 9 plies of maple, is 37" long and 10.25" at its widest point (right about where your front foot would sit in a tuck). The width tapers down to about 9.5" right before the rear wheel cutouts. The double wheel wells are really well placed and look like they were made with a lot of thought and care. And just LOOK at that graphic. Now that is what I call rad.

Front concave shot is nice and not super aggressive which makes it really comfortable. The rear has a mellow W concave that is perfectly place to make your back foot stick where it should.

Gripped with 36 Gator where it counts and Mob elsewhere. I had so many extra left over Orangatang sticker that I finally decided to use one. Remember kids: Get rad, stay rad, go fast, and keep skating.

Longboard Review: The Loaded Fattail

After mucking around in the marsh waters every morning catching snakes for the past week, I couldn’t help but think that I was being a bit ripped off. I mean, yea, some of the snakes were big and all, but none of them were really all that fat, you know? I suppose I was on a search for something plumper, juicier, and a bit more rotund. Luckily for me, I was able to find my feet planted firmly on the new Loaded Fattail recently, and it seems as though my desires have been met.

The specs can be found in my previous post here. I must say that I was a bit skeptical when I first laid eyes on the Fattail; I thought the Ceviche and the Bhangra may have gotten together and created a baby. Well, in some ways I was right and in others I was wrong.

Remember the old description of the pintail? Something like “You will stop sleeping. Sorry, but it's true. Versatile, light and fluid, this board is designed to promote an assertive, dynamic riding style. It'll hold its own on hills, banks, commuting, and beer runs. But if you're anything like us, it's all about the late night parking garage sessions.” Well it all holds true for this board as well. This board is indeed still the Loaded Pintail that you learned to love when they first released it years ago, with some slight modifications. It really comes alive under your feet; full of more spring and rebound than any other board I have been on before (even my Vanguard felt a little damp in comparison). Paired with some high rebound bushings (I have the 80a Nipple barrels all around) and some 150mm trucks, this board will keep the energy you put into the turns and may even spring you out with a little bit more (I was able to get some decent pumping action on this setup right out of the box). One thing is for sure, the Fattail is a little beast of a commuter.

Now, some people were wondering if you can ollie/kickflip/hardflip/backflip this board and while I’m sure you can, I just wasn’t quite feeling it for this type of riding. I weigh 175 and ride the flex 2 with the board at its shortest wheelbase and the tail seems a little too floppy for me to really get a good pop out of it. I would suggest that if you want this board to do more flip tricks and whatnot that you should definitely check out the flex 1, especially if you are sort of in-between on with weight/flex charts like I am.

I was also asked about how the board is for sliding. Well, with my current set up, the board is definitely more geared toward gripping the pavement than going sideways on it, so my thoughts may be a bit biased. As is, it is not really a sliding board due to how flexy it can be. However, due to its fairly short wheelbase, its compactness, and the kicktails, one can certainly adapt to sliding on it. It is easy to flick this board around and is great for low speed sliding. Also, the stock grip that Loaded puts on the deck and the little bit of concave can lock your feet in fairly well.

So, as it turns out, the Loaded Fattail is a killer commuting creature and performs perfectly for plundering parking garages. The updated shape is definitely an improvement over the old pintail in that it provides a bit more versatility to the deck. If you have the chance, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

As a heads up, I intend on writing another review after a month or so to see how it holds up. Keep an eye out and happy skatings!

Orangatang Nipple Bushings

Ever want to ride trampolines as bushings? Well now's your chance! I recently got a set of Orangatang's newest product, their Nipple Bushings. I currently am riding 80a barrels all around on my Fattail set up. These bushings have some of the most rebound I've ever experienced. I would even go as far to say that they have more than Venoms SHR.

These bushings are poured with the Orangatang "Randy" formula; apparently they first tested it as a possible urethane for their wheels but decided that it wasn't quite right. Well I think they pretty much hit the nail on the head by pumping out these barrels with the Randy formula. I'm loving the high energy I get out of these when carving and pumping. I'm definitely going to be playing with these guys on other setups.

They'll be available commercially soooooon. Just have to wait for a few batches that were eaten by flamingos while they were in transport (or something like that).

First Look: The Loaded Fattail

I got greeted by a box with a smiley face on it when I got home this monday, and everyone knows that smiley faced boxes bring great gifts. Lo and behold, upon opening it my eyes were cast upon the bodacious bamboo curves of the new Loaded Fattail. Now, I'm not one for getting fat, but sometimes it is necessary, and this board proves it. So, since I just received it today, here is a little photo dump of the Loaded's recreation of their old Pintail. I will try to get a more thorough write up done on it in a week or so after getting to know the board a bit better.
The complete setup came with the flex 2 deck, Paris 150mm trucks, orangatang stimulus 80a wheels, loaded jehu bearings, and orangatang Nipple bushings (80a barrels all around).

38 inches of lean, mean bamboo and 8.5 inches wide through the main part of the deck with the camber (and a little bit of concave) that Loaded was first known for. Upturned kicks on both the nose and tail. The front kick is a little over 4 inches wide and the rear kick is a bit over 5 inches. Two wheelbase options (drilled twice in the back) of roughly 26.5 and 27.5 inches.

Updated graphic inspired by the old Loaded Pintail graphic.

Needless to say, I am stoked to be trying this fine board out and will have a review in the works soon. Its official release is on August 1st. In the mean time, if you've got any questions, feel free to ask. But for now, I'm off to a garage session!

Happy skatings all! Eat lots of zucchini!

Lonboarding Video

Sooo, I finally got around to really using the video function on my Canon. I shot this video using my Canon 7d with my Sigma 10-20 and my Canon 24-70L. Really happy with how it turned out. I filmed it for a contest on Silverfish (that's why it says Buzzed Trucks at the beginning on the end). Edited by me, as well, using Windows Live Movie Maker. It gets the job done. Anyways, lemme know what you think, eh?! I still have a lot to learn when it comes to making movies.

Bhangra Freeride

This board is still going like a champ and is treating me great. I've definitely been putting it through some hell lately and i've got nothing to complain about. Been working on holding out longer slides and learning a few tricks here and there. Also, as a heads up, I think I have a video in the works. All self filmed and edited. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it up by the end of the month.