Check out this new video featuring the Rayne Longboards team tearing it up on the west coast. This video has sliding, carving, bails and some gnarly downhill runs. If you can longboard like this your officially steezy. Riders include Chris Dahl, Adam Auger, Kevin Reimer, Kyle Martin and Mark Short to name a few.
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Loaded Vanguard Review
The Loaded Vanguard is an absolute carving machine. This board is hands down one of the most comfortable and energetic rides you can find out there today.
The new Vanguard sports a core full of bamboo goodness. This gives the board a snappy, responsive flex while reducing the overall weight as a bonus. As soon as you step on the Vanguard you’ll realize just how much flex the board has. Carving is awesome on this thing since the bamboo makes the board super snappy and responsive when coming out of turns almost like your snowboarding.
My Setup
Trucks: Randal RIIs 180mm
Wheels: Abec 11 Lime Bigzigs (75mm, 80a durometer)
Riser Pads: None
No riser pads are needed for the deck as the wheel cutouts on either end take care of any chance of wheel bite that you may experience. I’d recommend sticking in the 66-76mm range for wheels.
For trucks I’d recommend sticking with the Randal 180mm trucks or Paris 180mm trucks.
This thing is super easy and enjoyable to pump along on the flats. Pretty much any longboarding style can be handled by the Vanguard. Whether your commuting to work dodging pedestrians or wrecking havoc pumping and carving that parking garage, the Loaded Vanguard can handle it all.
Now downhill is where the Vanguard starts to struggle. Since the board has so much flex the board simply can’t remain stable at higher speeds (30mph+). Although you might be able to ride the Vanguard at a higher speed, it simply isn’t as energy efficient as using a stiff board.
Loaded Vanguard Flex
Sliding on the other hand is no problem for the Loaded Vanguard to handle. The board can break into a controlled slide no problem with Abec11 Bigzigs on my setup which means taking on those steep grade hills should not be a problem. Taking on bigger hills for me wasn’t an issue as speed checking and shut down slides were a breeze for the board to handle.
Sliding On the Loaded Vanguard
Overall the Vanguard is a great freeride board and it should be treated as such. If your looking for a longboard with some flex and an extremely responsive ride, then look no further. The Loaded Vanguard is hands down, the most similar ride to a snowboard I’ve experienced. Carving, pumping and more carving is what this board is all about.
Amazing all around board. Definitely worth the $280-$300 hit to your wallet for the value you get with the Vanguard.
Sector 9 Longboards
We all know how popular Sector 9 longboards are these days. Based out of San Diego, CA, they have been manufacturing longboards since the early 1990s. In addition their the biggest longboarding brand in the game and have a large variety of boards that cater to all the disciplines. Whether you want to carve or cruise or downhill, Sector 9 probably has a board for you.
It seems they have gotten a somewhat tarnished image recently from being so commercialized and being available in all the malls. Just because a lot of people have them doesn’t make them bad boards. Every Sector 9 I’ve used is great and I have quite a few buddies who rip theres no problem. One of my buddies has the Sector 9 Kommi which is an awesome downhill board and is really great at carving. If your a beginner looking to longboard you can’t go wrong with picking one up.
One of the models I really enjoyed was the Goddess of Speed which is part of their carving series. Its nice and long and the concave is great keeping you locked in for hard carving and slides. It’s one of the many pintail style boards Sector 9 has and it’s an extremely responsive board. If your looking for something shorter in length definitely look into the Joel Tudor model or the Cosmic Sun. Both are great for city riding where you need to make tight turns to avoid those pedestrians.
Now I’m going to be honest here and say I’m not a huge fan of Sector 9’s wheels. There are some that are great such as the race formula series and the goddess of speed. When it comes to choosing longboard wheels I’d try and stick with some Zigzags/Bigzigs or even the recent orangatangs by Loaded. Also if you picked up a stock setup from a store like West 49 or something, definitely think about changing out the bearings for Bones Reds or something of similar quality. Decent bearings along with wheels will really help improve your ride.
Overall it’s hard to find bad things about all the Sector 9 longboards I’ve tried. If your a newbie looking to get a board check em out because they are cheap yet good quality. It’s a great buy if your not totally sure about longboarding yet and don’t want to drop the money on a more expensive brand.
Sector 9 Cosmic Rider
Sector 9 Kommi
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