As the popularity of traditional kingpin trucks on larger decks increases for freeride and slashing purposes, companies are catching on and producing traditional kingpin trucks of their own. First it was Caliber, then Paris, and now, Atlas Truck Co.
For more details on the difference between different types of trucks and tips on finding the best trucks for your longboard, read our ultimate guide to the best longboard trucks.
Some trucks are much too specialized for any general use. Trucks like Tracker (specialized for pool) aren’t useful for flatland. Others, like Independents (specialized for street), aren’t particularly good at high-level pool skateboarding.
Raw Atlas TKP Top
Raw Atlas TKP Bottom
Raw Atlas TKP Front
Black Atlas TKP Top
Black Atlas TKP Front
Black Atlas TKP Bottom
With these issues in mind, Atlas burst into the market with an innovative truck that offers the same strength of their reverse kingpin trucks, with a geometry which capitalizes on a do-it-all, generalized geometry that can realistically be used to do everything. In technical terms, the truck is a split between Thunder and Independent, a healthy mix of two of the most popular trucks on the market today.
The Atlas TKP really gains inspiration from recent trends in RKPs. For example, there are built-in speed rings; a modern innovation to nuts and the inside of hangars to eliminate the need for extra, bothersome washers. Precision is also offered- a CNC machined pivot ensures a tight fit and slopless operation when turning or carving into flips and tricks. The ride height is a while 1mm lower than Independents, and come with a 91a stock bushing pair to combat stock hangar/wheelbite. The strong chromoly steel axle tops it off, making this truck a future opponent to the street trucks of the old.
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For years- no, decades, Swiss engineering has been hailed as some of the most elite. Luxury cars and sports cars come with Swiss engineering inside of them, as do many expensive watches and clothing. In fact, the Swiss have even perfected the art of engineering chocolate! We all know Swiss chocolate to be some of the best and most decadent.
But they didn’t stop there. The Swiss have broken into the longboard market with BamBam, a new slide puck and glove company right out of Switzerland! Following closely after Crema Fire, BamBam reworked their design and production process for flint-impregnated slide pucks which spark and fire up during slides due to abrasion with asphalt. The result is bright, hot and dangerous (well, not really, the sparks are cool to the touch).
4 Colors of Packaging
Packaging Close-up
Spark Pucks
Sliding 1
Sliding 2
Sliding 3
Sure, those pucks look super uber-cool, but the best part about BamBam is their gloves. Their gloves are some of the best we’ve seen so far, hugging every crevice of your hands, all the while being supremely flexible and comfortable. One of the riders we talked to said that he forgot he had them on at one point! These gloves come with built-in knuckle protection and a thick but breathable leather skin, so you can have confidence that these won’t fail you in the worst of falls! The strap is made of durable plastic straps, so you won’t have to worry about them falling off mid-slide.
BamBam Gloves
Also from BamBam, these quirky little tail pucks for your kicktails so you can spark up your bluntslides! These aren’t available in North America, unfortunately. (We’re just as sad as you are.)
BamBam Tail Pucks
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Double-kick quiver-killers have been the fad of the decade. Having a board that can freeride, downhill, and also kick around and do some freestyle all in the same session is definitely one attractive prospect.
Through the years, many board companies have tried and tried to create their best interpretation of the quiver-killer. And Bustin Boards is not an exception- the Shrike has been a part of the Bustin arsenal for many years. However, this year, Bustin really knocked it out of the park by solving many common problems with their new Thermoglass construction. Thermoglass includes fiberglass topsheets coupled with urethane bumpers and kicktails. It’s the epitome of durable board technology.
With their new lightweight, fused fiberglass construction, the Shrike is newly advantaged for freestyle and dancing tricks- a lighter board means that airtime is increased and the setup is more responsive. When doing freeride and downhill, rider input is amplified.
The new 5-0 urethane bumpers are incredibly resilient and are able to take the worst of beatings- Will Royce is no saint to his boards and the shape and layout of the urethane bumpers focus on strength more than aesthetics. A truly utilitarian philosophy previously unseen in longboard production.
Bustin Shrike Topsheet
Thermoglass Construction
Bustin Shrike Custom Graphic
Bustin Shrike Complete
Bustin Shrike Concave
The new Bustin Thermoglass Shrike. Get it before it gets away!
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At LNV, we like and appreciate smaller board companies who are always innovating. Because they are smaller, small-time boardmakers have more wiggle room, being away from the prying eyes of critics and consumer bases. Instead, they have a clean slate to test their creations and work towards something unique that works.
Many starter companies however, begin producing boards without a strong base and footing in skateboarding and skateboard technologies. These companies never take off, as their constructions aren’t strong and they run into problems while operating the board. Shawn is an exception- a skateboarder for 7 years, Shawn at Voxel Boards knows how important it is to have a strong, tested construction and core before you can experiment with concaves and shapes.
We paired up with Shawn over the weekend and did a little interview with him to really get into the mind of a amateur-turning-professional boardmaker! Check it out below.
LNV: What prompted you to start making boards?
Voxel: The things that prompted me to make boards were all very personal. I had lots of experience growing up around tools, and I knew how to make things. I first wanted to make boards when I was about 14. It took me till I was 20 to realize “Okay, now I actually have the ways and means to do this. I’m not in school, my job sucks…Let’s do this.”
LNV: What do you think is your greatest selling point?
Voxel: I think our greatest selling point is that at our current size, doing limited releases and small batches let’s us improve quickly, and let’s us do weird and niche things that other companies can’t cater to. We have some really cool ideas for limited releases in the future, and the idea is to make sure that something stands out to you in every single one.
LNV: What sets you apart from other boardmakers in the industry?
Voxel: I think what really sets us apart is how we handle our graphics. We have more artists than we have board makers or business people in the company. So, when you go to order a board from our site, we prompt you with options for selecting your board. You’ll be able to choose “Custom Graphic” from those options, and actually work with our artists to commission something that goes onto your board. We also give people the option to upload their own image for use, but I haven’t seen anyone else approach it quite the way we have yet.
LNV: What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to upscale production?
Voxel: Well I recently got a job, and so far, it’s changed my life for the better. It’s also shifted my career to be more around woodworking, and craftsmanship. You’re going to see me trying a lot of new things within the coming months. Lots of unique materials and new construction. In terms of production, we currently only stock the 3310 on the site, so we’re going to be doing re-releases of a few of the old boards pretty soon. Lots of redesigns! I’m also going to be implementing a lot of changes to the manufacturing process, so we’re going to get higher quality, and hopefully try to get more recognition in the community.
LNV: What was your greatest inspiration for the 3310 and its shape?
Voxel: The inspiration for the 3310 came a lot from my desire to do better. I was on the like, 5th mould revision on another deck, and I knew that if I didn’t switch projects, I would get burnt out. I had a lot going on in the company at the time too, so I spent time sorting through that, and working on the new design. It took me a few days to design the mould, then I designed a shape. I spent a whole week just making the mould, and when I was done with it I slapped on the veneers a few layers at a time. Finally after two weeks, we had this giant, rectangular double-kick blank. It felt a lot like holding a certain, indestructible phone in my hands.
The Voxel 3310, as the name suggests, is one tank of a board. It’s been curbed, slapped, hopped and smashed, and yet the rails stay pristine as ever. The slightly square-ish, rounded off figure is utilitarian- maximizing the effective foot platform and increasing the amount of kicktail that has an effect on flip tricks.
The 3310 has a hefty tub concave which flattens out near the street-inspired kicktails for a high pop and ollie-able capability. The back comes with a minimalist, stylish wood-grain graphic with a stain to keep it clean and stickers an absolute possibility!
Voxel Boards 3310 Bottom
3310 Bottom Profile
3310 Griptape and concave
Pre-order on Voxelboards.com now!
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Some of the most hyped up, anticipated wheels of 2017 have finally been released! After 4 years of rigorous development including failed wheels and the accidental birth of the Mach 1 Cannibal which holds the world speed record on a longboard, the Hard In the Paint urethane has been released to the public.
The New Urethane Formula
If you’ve ever wondered how the Venom guys do it in their videos, laying down some of the thickest, chalkiest, whitest cocaine-esque lines in the pavement, this is how. Venom took chalky freeride to a whole new level- at their factory, they researched the softest, least durable slide wheel formula they could come up with, and formed it into their two best-selling wheel shapes, the Harlot and the Cannibal. Where both wheels in their original formulas last weeks and take ages to core because of their unlimited durabilities, this new urethane formula is one you can core in one day.
They come in two varieties- the 71mm Harlot, and the 72mm Cannibal. Both shapes retain their original values and dimensions, but here they are again in case you’re curious.
The 71mm Harlot
The 71mm Harlot has a contact patch of 32mm, which grows to 48mm as you wear them inwards, and are very offset for an incredibly drifty ride. They’re fitted with the legendarily fast Cobra Core, Venom’s proprietary wheel core.
HITP Harlots in Packaging
Harlot and the Cobra Core
Harlots on Rogues
Toeside!
Heelside!
Half-Pendulum!
Harlots on a Sanctum Collective
The 72mm Cannibal
The 72mm Cannibal is a bit different- it’s a downhill grip wheel shape that’s made with an abnormally slippery urethane, and that makes for one of the greatest hybrid wheels to ever be created- it’s fast, but it’s also incredibly slippery for holding out those long drifts. Best of all, you get to see the line that you took. They’re 60mm wide for more grip than the Harlot, but will get narrower as you ride them more. They’re also only slightly offset, so you’ll get that centerset grip that so many people love.
HITP Cannibals in Packaging
HITP Cannibals and the Cobra Core
Rolo busts a heel-squatter.
What Riders Think About Venom Longboard Wheels
Rider testimonies have been aggressively positive- they say that if you kickturn at the top of the hill, you will leave thane lines. They say that if you throw a Hard in the Paint Harlot at a friend, it will leave thane lines on their face. We’ve heard that Blacks’ Beach in California was covered in thane lines the day after the release of these wheels because everyone was coring wheels. There was so much thane in fact, that multiple people got stage 1 lung cancer. (Well, it wasn’t that bad, but it was comparable.)
Fact of the matter is, these are the thaniest wheels to be released in wheels, and you absolutely should not wait to get a set. But be aware- they won’t last long, so save them for when you really need to show off.
Want even more news about Venom’s longboard wheels and bushing? Subscribe to our list. We email you when we’ve reviewed new products from your favorite brands.
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