WORDS & PHOTOS Jake Grove
Welcome to our December edition of Tried & True. This is our final 2016, monthly skate gear collection that we’ve collected, skated, and are fired up to feature! Sit back, relax, and check out some of our favorite skate goodness to wrap-up the 2016 shred-season:
Loaded “Tan Tien” Deck
The updated Tan Tien deck by Loaded Boards is a classic freestyle, cruising, and freeride longboard capable of handling a wide range of terrains. The Tan Tien has been one of Loaded’s most popular decks since its original introduction, and this latest version just hit stores last week, offering a fresh look and design with the same feel of riding. The tan tien is a moderately flexy carve oriented board, and comes equipped with drop-through truck mounts and full-size kicks to allow for both advanced tricks or general riding. This board is 39″ long, 8.75″ wide, has a wheelbase of 27″, and comes in three flex options depending on weight and desired ride. The complex contours in the concave lend this board to have a more responsive and open feeling as well.
Through our years of riding, we have found the Tan Tien to be an ideal carving and cruising board, and from school campus cruising, boardwalk dancing, and turny freeride, the Tan Tien provides a very unique and flowy ride. We recommend setting this style of board up with some 180mm reverse kingpin trucks, and some larger wheels around 70mm at 78a for a smooth and consistent roll and turn.
Loaded has been pressing and designing some of the highest quality longboards since the earlier days of longboarding’s popularity, and although their boards have advanced and innovated over time, they still provide similar staples like the Tan Tien from their roots. We’re stoked to see the new lineup coming out with this updated Tan Tien, and are impressed by the designs and durability of Loaded. From beach-bound cruises to freestyle burrito-runs, the Tan Tien is where it’s at.
Check out more from Loaded Here!
Caliber II Trucks
The Caliber II trucks are an updated design of the original reverse truck that made Caliber popular, and offers a stronger, more responsive, and precise package in an affordable cast truck. The II’s come in a 44 and 50 degree baseplate angle, and with 9 and 10 inch hangers, and offer a truck built for speed. The forty-four degree is specifically made to go fast and hold stable, while the fifty offers high speed stability and an optimal angle for broader carves. Calibers come stock with high rebound 89a Blood Orange bushings, and grade 8 steel kingpins. With a sleeker and stronger shape than the original caliber, these trucks feature an updated inner and outer bushing seat step and tighter tolerance pivot chamber for a more precise turn and alignment. The thinner paint, reinforced baseplates, heat treated axles, and pressed in kingpin also keep the truck stronger and more equipped for downhill riding.
We recommend the Caliber II RKP for most any downhill and freeride riding, and also have found the fifty degree version to perform great through pushing, carving, and cruising. The trucks have stood up to our testing, and are built to last. Grab a set of Calibers for your downhill, carving, or freeride board and get stoked. These trucks are fresh, strong, and engineered to perform.
Check out more from Caliber here!
Remember “Optimo” Wheels
The Optimo Wheel by Remember Collective is a 70mm offset freeride wheel with an extremely smooth and buttery slide. This wheel features a 44mm width, 37mm contact patch, and a stoneground surface ready to slide. Coming in a range of four durometers from 74a to 80a, the Optimo has a softer and smoother ride with an ultra buttery predictable slide. The core of this wheel is offset and with its wide and supportive build, the soft urethane feels in shape and strong while riding.
The optimo provides one of the smoothest and best slide that we have encountered, and we recommend them for all freeride and cruising pursuits. Toss a pair on a topmount, drop through, or kick board, and slide as far as your legs will take you. If you want to have a near-effortless consistent and buttery slide, the optimo is ideal.
Check out more from Remember here!
Holesom “Sgt. Shred” Gloves
The Holesom Sgt. Shred slide gloves are a durable, flexible, and all around good looking option to keep your paws off the ground. With a camouflage RipStop material built with suede, these gloves are light and comfy. The elasto-wrist and double up finger tip pads provide a snug and secure feeling, while the incorporated port holes of the glove offer ventilation from sweaty palms. These slide gloves are built with an attention to detail, and are equipped with the classic scented slide pucks that put Holesom on the map.
We recommend a pair of Sgt. Shred slide gloves with Holesom scented pucks for all downhill and freeride applications, where hand dragging or crashing is inevitable. Holesom is a small skater-based company out of San Clemente, and is a family run business, with each sale directly supporting a local small business. Swipe up a pair of gloves and let the stoke flow!
Check out more from Holesom here!
Protec “Full-Cut” Classic Helmet
The Full-Cut helmet by Protec is a classic helmet design dating back to the 1970’s, and offers a comfy and stylish form of protection for all riding. The fitted soft-foam padding and covered ears offer a snug and secure fit, and makes for one of the more comfortable and low-profile helmets we’ve tried. The latest designs feature a clean matte black finish, and a sleek overall build. This helmet comes in a variety of sizes, and with adjustable pad inserts, fits most rider’s heads without an issue.
We prefer the feel of the Full-Cut helmet for lower speed applications where protection is required, but a heavier or more noticeable helmet is not desired. In ditches, pools, and just pushing around town, this lid keeps it fresh and the minimalistic design is hardly noticeable throughout the day. We do have to note that the soft-foam fullcut helmet is not ideal for faster speed or higher impact situations, where a certified hard foam would provide greater protection, but Protec has a new certified fullcut in the works that may just offer the best of both helmets. Be on the lookout!
Check out more from Protec Here!
Protec Street Pads
The Protec Street Pads offer a classic and high quality form of safety gear, and keep swelbows and tweaked kneecaps in check. The perfected design of the street series offers a thicker and more impact-protective pad, without the bulk of other pool and vert kneepads. The high quality inner foam and sturdy outer hardcaps work together to protect from impact and friction based injuries, and have set the standard for street pads since even before the modern skate era. We can’t say much more on these pads, other than that they work. The simplistic yet trusted construction offers just about all the protection required through most skating, yet still gives a comfortable and medium-profile build.
We recommend the Street Pads for most skateboarding pursuits where crashing is inevitable, and have found them exceptionally suited for smaller to medium sized transitions, pools, and street. That said, the comfort of this pad extends into downhill, freeride, and other terrains, and the hard cap offers the ability to kneeslide out of most any fall. Protec has been designing top quality safety gear through the majority of skateboarding’s popularity, and continues to offer classic yet innovative protection.
Check out more from Protec Here!
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Thanks again for tuning in to our December, 2016 edition of Tried & True! Be sure to check back next year/month for another collection and fresh skate related products!