I know I write reviews of various longboarding products for Longboard Envy all the time and it seems that I’m always jumping onto different gear every week- you’d expect me to change preferences all the time as I go through seemingly better gear. Thing is though, I’ve been on the same downhill board for around a year and a half now- I’ve raced, freeridden, and whenever I’m on another board as I’m reviewing it, I always miss the familiar feel of a Rayne Exorcist underneath my feet. I’m so into it in fact, I have two, even though both of them are completely fine.
Some history for you- the Exorcist is birthed from a former Rayne board, the George Mackenzie (or GMack), pro-model board of western ripper and legend George Mackenzie! You can see him in the iconic Rayne video, Step Back to the Forge and the historic series, Greener Pastures. The Exorcist takes the intense concave features of the GMack and cuts away the extra meat to make a racy, sexy board.
The Exorcist’s concave is probably the most aggressive concave that I’ve ever spent an extended amount of time on- and that’s coming from someone who rode a Loaded Tesseract for a good 2 years. Some people might say that aggressive concave is painful to the feet and that it inspires terrible form, but I’d beg to differ, especially on the Exorcist. It’s a highly well thought-out board. It eliminates W in places where you don’t need it, while having it in places where it’s crucial.
The Exorcist has steep-ish tub concave which is supplemented by an equally steep bubble drop to create a true 360 degrees of concave surrounding your feet. There’s something to support your feet longitudinally when tucking, and something laterally when sliding. In addition to the deep tub, there are pleasure domes- islands of W in the middle of the board which don’t impede foot placement during a tuck, but are there for use during slides as soon as you lean back to initiate.
The shape of the board is utilitarian- it’s probably one of the only un-choppable boards on the market, because it’s practically a G-Mack without any of the extra meat on it. People have tried to cut it directional, but it seems that every square inch of the Exorcist is meant for some purpose. But that’s not to say that it’s small or cramped! I feel like I have tons of room- I’ve never had trouble adjusting slides to get tighter for drifts or spread out for shutdown slides.
In terms of auxiliary features, the Exorcist comes with Rayne’s signature fatbottom construction, which means that there is effectively a 1/8th inch of riser built into the board. The result is a slightly higher ride height, but it’s barely noticeable for most people. I’ve never had much trouble with wheelbite- I have been able to run 80mm Kegels without any worry about bite! The Deelite board is much lighter than the regular version, but there’s no difference in concave or shape and both versions will do any skater well. My one gripe is the weight, but that’s nothing compared to the positives of the concave.
Check out this comparison between a regular construction and fatbottom construction by longboardism.com from a few years ago!
All in all, the Exorcist is to date, my favorite board. It’s durable, stiff as a rock, and an all-around joy to be on. The concave has never fit my feet as well as it does- the width is great for my size 8 feet (it’s not easy to find great downhill decks at such small widths), and Rayne is one of the most wholesome companies that I know and love. Get one and see for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.
| Specifications | Rayne Deep Sea Exorcist |
|---|---|
| Length | 34in / 86.36cm |
| Width | 9.5in / 24.13cm |
| Wheelbase | 24.25 – 26.25in / 61.5 – 66.68cm |
| Concave | Rocker, Radial |
| Flex | Stiff |
| Shape | Symmetrical |
| Mount | Top mount |
| Features | Fatbottom, Sharp Edges, 3D Wheelwells, Microdrop, Pleasure Dome |
| Material | Bamboo, Fiberglass |
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