PRODUCT
PATROL
by Jake Phelps
Seeing how it is the dead of winter and many of
you live where it's cold and snowy, it seems only
natural that this month's column include
snowboards. I also have a few things in the skate
department to keep you stoked during the always-
too-long winter hibernation.
VISION
GRIP BRICK
Grip Brick
Vision, 1395 Lyon St.,
Santa Ana, CA 92705
The Grip Brick is
designed to clean
the muck and slime
that hinders riding
and takes the grip
out of your griptape.
It is a good idea, but
it didn't seem to work
too well for me.
Maybe I didn't try it
for long enough or
my dirt (Mission
Street's finest) was a
little too gnar for it. I
don't know how
much this block
costs but, hey, give it
a try. If you don't like
it throw it at someone
you hate.
"Fab" deck
Schmitt Stix, 1395 Lyon St.,
Santa Ana, California 92705
Paul Schmitt, as always,
keeps me abreast of the
things that come out of his
mind. The most recent
brainstorm is the new John
"Fab Fabriquer S4 skate
top. Paul is a smart guy; he
realizes that you have to
pump new blood into an old
body. His two new pros, Fab
and Danny Sargent, should
give him just the shot in the
arm to get him over the
winter slump that is often
fatal. Fab's top is a smooth
shape with excellent whole
body concave, with a foot
lock tail and an 8-hole front
truck pattern. Schmitt's
tradition of manufacturing
smooth, functional shapes
and excellent materials is a
combo that's hard to beat.
The deck is 32" long, 10%"
wide, with either 41/2" or
soon to be standard 5" of
nose, a 64" tail and a super
quick 143/4" wheelbase.
While I am talking about
Schmitt, Steve Douglas
redesigned his deck and it
too is awesome. It looks like
a water ski with the monster
nose and quality wood
stain job. Sluggo's
numbers are 3134" long.
9" wide, with
the same size nose
and tail and just a
little smaller
wheelbase (14½").
Ray Meyer
freestyle slab
Santa Cruz Skateboards.
4401 Soquel, CA 950773
Santa Cruz's Ray Meyer has
been redesigned for maximum
freestyle potential and it looks
killer. The metamorphosis
graphic is a sure eye-catcher
even if you don't freestyle. This
deck is flat and more tradi-
tionally shaped. It measures
274" long, 7½" wide, with 5"
of nose, and a 5" tail. Check in-
to freestyle and find out how
hard it really is.
Liquid Pak
IAO Corp., 1043 Grant St.,
Benicia, CA 94510
In my trinket department, I
often receive things that make
me ask myself, why? For in-
stance, this month I received
the Sports Pak liquid replen-
isher. It's a hip bag that contains
life-giving fluid for an athlete
on the go. Well, I have been
skating a long time and if I ever
saw one of my friends wearing
one or even contemplated wear-
ing one myself, I think I would
take up a new hobby, like row-
ing or hiking. Come on all you
Madison Avenue people: I think
that I speak for all skaters when
I say I stop skating when I'm
thirsty, quench my thirst, and
start skating again.
Eric Dressen plank
Santa Cruz Skateboards
At long last the new
Dressen from Santa Cruz is
here, looking quite similar to
his shape from Dogtown. It
features the same classic
pointed nose and wide tail
that made it a popular seller
before and should continue
to do the same. One thing I
did notice was that it looked
as though it was drilled on
the rise of the tail which
could cause some problems
(broken plates, sluggish kick-
turns). The measurements
are 312" long, 10%" wide,
with 44" of nose, a 61/2" tail
and a 15" wheelbase.
REBE
163
Avalanche 165 Damian
Sanders sled: Avalanche
Snowboards Inc., P.O. Box
634, Benicia, CA 94510.
The Damian model only
weighs about 12 pounds, but
remains sturdy under even
the most extreme cir-
cumstances. It's constructed
of vertical wood lamination,
with a laminated aluminum
top-sheet for mounting bind-
ings and extra strength, and
it's available with highback
or plate bindings. The pulled
nose and tail along with the
lively flex really makes this a
responsive board.
Burton Mystery Air/Craig
Kelly model: Burton, Man-
chester Center, VT 05255.
If you're looking for a
stable, consistent, hard
shredding board, this is a
AIR
BURTON
Kemper
BELAR
emper
Kemp
Kemper
FREESTYLE 165
great choice. With the vert-
ical laminated wood core
and sintered base (which
is said to be the most
resistant and quickest
base around), you're
guaranteed to get hours of
entertainment. You can
choose between highback
or plate bindings on this
one too. You'll stoke on it's
great edge control.
Kemper Freestyle 165:
Kemper Snowboards, 11
Polson St., Toronto, Ontario,
M5A1A4, Canada.
This is a pretty good board
considering it's only Kemper's
second year in the business.
They combine vertical wood
lam with Kevlar for supple
strength. There's a good kick
in the tip and tail, and
aluminum tip and tail guards
for extra protection from
delamination. The high-
back binding system
isn't bad, but they seem
to pop open easily under
heavy impact. A good all
around board but the
wide nose is more prone
to catching on those
gnarly air re-entries.
Other than that, the
Kemper freestyle is
coming along as a com-
petitive board.
Nortech 163 Freestyle:
Nortech, 850 Boul Des
Laurentides, Ville St.
Antoine, Quebec,
J7Z4N1, Canada.
Nortech has manu-
factured snowboards
for other people for
years, and now they
have produced one
of their own. For a
new name on the
market, Nortech.
sure has made a
quality product. It is
constructed of a
vertical wood laminated
core, bi-directional fiber-
glass and, most impor-
tantly, a laminated alumi-
num top sheet, which
adds extra strength in the
binding mount and
throughout the whole
board. Keep an eye out
for this one. If you like
Sims you'll love Nortech.
It's a very flexible and
that makes for a great
freestyle board.
Well, that about wraps it
up this month. Drop me a
line and let me know
what's in your mind. Next
month, Harley Davidson
shoes and some stuff from
Dogtown and Alva, two of
the bad boys of skating.
Thanks for your time.
105