Rayne Phantom review.

I've spent most of the last year riding my Dangerous Decks SE10, learning the art of downhill slide. Sometimes though I feel the need to ride something a bit bigger, but don't want to break out my DH setup (truthfully this is because I haven't yet progressed my tech-slide style onto softer wheels and bigger boards)... So I bought a Rayne Phantom, which if you've never seen one before is basically just a big skateboard. 

Dangerous Decks Shin Kicker review

I've been riding a custom shaped Holesom Sex Kitten for nearly a year now, but recently as I've started to try to do stand up slides at ever greater speeds, I've noticed a problem; my feet have a tendency to fly off at inopportune moments. So, for the past month I've mainly been riding a gloriously pink DD Shin Kicker- their newest top-mount speed board designed with input from team rider Gav.

Consider yourself spanked hill

Basically, it's a beast- the kind of beast that rears out of the ocean and then proceeds to flatten Tokyo or New York. The concave manages to be both aggressive, and comfy; feet are locked in and aren't going anywhere (especially with the addition of a couple of PSD outside foot-stops at either end). I've already more than conquered the fearsome right hand hairpin that is the top half of my local hill, without needing to put a hand down. This is something I've not managed before now. In fact the whole experience was so relaxed and easy I was soon pushing to go even faster and slide even further. My lovely girlfriend informed me I was "zooming", but it felt so laid back I might as well have been cruising.

Yes... Buying this board has actually made me a better skater, and it'll probably do the same for you as well.

At 35.5" long and 10.5" at the widest point, the Shin Kicker is a fairly compact board. It also has an impressive choice of wheel bases... From 29" to 25"- enough to suit any taste. While the 10.5"width may sound massive, that is just the widest point, at the trucks it's a more reasonable 9.5" which is just right for my size 6 feet. The concave and the routed wheel wells will also accommodate large wheels - I had (briefly) some 76mm Hesher Snowballs on the board without wheel-bite.

Construction is what I've come to expect from Dangerous Decks; basically rock solid and well crafted. Will takes pride in the decks he sends to people, and it shows. The price is reasonable as well, posted my Shin Kicker came in at under £100 and Will did it in pink just for me... What's not to like?

It's usual in reviews to list the pros and the cons of the item in question, but honestly I can't think of anything wrong with my Shin Kicker. True it's already looking a bit battered, but that's only because it's inspired me to skate harder than I have before, and it's not like I haven't abused skateboards twice the price in an even shorter time before now.

Basically, if you like compact top mount speed boards there is no reason I can think of why you shouldn't buy this deck, it's epic in every sense of the word.

Dangerous Decks SE10 review

At the end of last year I finally had a go at tech sliding and realised how much fun it was... There was nothing for it, I had to get a tech slide board. I knew pretty much straight away that I wanted a Dangerous Decks SE10, and after months of making do with a set up that I'd swapped for unwanted skate gear I finally got one.

look at the shiny

My first thought when I first opened the package was “ooooooooh pretty!”

I had spent a bit more on a board with a carbon fibre layer on the bottom (pink carbon fibre no less) and the finish was beautiful. In fact I know how much effort went into it as Will, the guy who builds them, spent a few extra days re-doing the finish because he wasn't happy with it. Now that's craftsmanship.

The SE10 is 34” long, 9” wide, and has wheel base options from 15.5” to 17” adjustable in 3/4” amounts. There are decent sized kicks (7” with the shorter wheelbase) and an aggressive tub concave. The cave flattens out at the kicks so you have really nice pockets to lock your feet in. The board was designed around Indy 169s, I wasn't able to get any because I'm extremely poor and I had to swap more unwanted skate gear to get some suitable trucks. I ended up with a set of 9” Gullwing Mission 1s, which are slightly taller that the 169s, but seem to work fine set up without risers. For the wheels I went with the ubiquitous Earthwing Slide A in 62mm... Which are epic, somehow managing to combine (possibly through witchcraft) zero hookup with a lovely smooth (and fairly quiet) slide. Like I said... Witchcraft.

no hand HS drift

The deck is very stiff with minimal to zero flex and had a decent about of pop, and as mentioned the combination of aggressive concave and kicks really locks your feet in when your going sideways. Basically it inspires confidence to try new stuff, first time out I was managing to do hands down 360s without even thinking about it. Early grabs magically improved as well... the usual pathetic couple of inches was magnified to over 6... Yes size does matter, especially when it comes to getting air. I also tried a lot of stuff I would never have attempted soft wheel sliding, like laybacks, switch colemans and even hands down blunt slides. Admittedly they all ended badly and I now have a nice collection of bruises, but I was trying.

Nathan trying a blunt slide

The SE10 is also fun away from the hills, the kicks mean you can do all manner of flat land tricks and there's even enough space to do some board walking (I managed a peter pan, but failed at cross stepping). Stick some soft wheels on and it's great for cruising round town or going on a beer run to the local shop. Speed was also handled well, I never felt out of control and the board felt solid under my feet when foot braking.

Overall the SE10 is a solid deck, it may have been designed as a tech slider, but it's certainly versatile enough that you'll want to use it all the time, and certainly with soft wheels it makes cruising round town a lot more fun. This said there were a few down sides... The carbon fibre, while looking pretty, is already pretty shredded (I have abusive relationships with my skateboards), in hind sight I think the plain birch version would be the better choice (it's also the cheaper option). I also managed to delam the nose attempting a kick flip. It's nothing serious and easy to fix but worth mentioning. Despite these minor issues I still love the deck and would gladly hand over more of my money for a new one when this one dies.

Clutch PTG Review

So as you know I recently got a super sexy Clutch PTG, well I gripped her today and took her out and here's a very quick review.

Check out the custom grip job!

She has been shredded! Actually, she's been shredded a bit more than intended as I hit a pot hole while doing a coleman and flipped her into a curb. ooops! The concave is really nice, in fact I'd go as far as to say it's lovely and with some super coarse grip tape your feet aren't going anywhere soon. 

  

With the bushing set up i have in the randals (88a purple sabre barrel boardside and an 83a reflex cone road side) she's quite turny and pumps like a dream, I actually think that on the shorter wheel base and with grippy square lipped wheels you could experiment with a bit of slalom. She certainly feels nimble as hell when skating around.

  

The cult converters still aren't properly broken in yet, so stand up steeze is currently unavailable (i can do stand up steeze on the board i've got my cult classics on), however for hands down slides they slide a very looooooooooooong way…about twice as far as classics at a similar speed. Once they're properly broken in and starting to cone I imagine they'll be ace for freeriding and sliding.

  

All in all a fantastic board and I love her! ♥

She'll also be absolutely bitching for Boarder X…now if only someone in the UK would run a comp!