Skateboard Review: Real Skateboards Low Pro Deck

Except for the free deck, I was not compensated for this review.

The fine people at DLX in San Francisco, CA just sent me a Real skateboard featuring their new Low Pro technology.  I am a big fan of anything put out my DLX and having just returned from Afghanistan and not being on a skateboard in a year, I was pretty excited to give this deck a try.  I was especially interested after reading the description of what Low Pro decks offered.  It is actually somewhat physics related, so I thought it would be better if I just transcribed the description that DLX sent me with the deck.

“Board Control REALized.  Low Pro decks are built using a slight nose to tail rocker starting in the center of the deck.  This rocker lowers the deck’s center of gravity for more control and allows for a quicker pop off the nose or tail.  Low Pro decks increased strength and reduced weight come from a slightly tighter radius side to side concave that strengthens the board and allows for custom milled thinner plies to be used to lower the weight without sacrificing strength.  All Low Pro decks also utilize exclusive, new black seal water resistant glue that you can see, which increases the deck’s strength, stiffness and life.  More control, a quicker pop, strong, light and 100% bad ass.  Just skate ‘em – you’ll get it.”

I actually had to read that a couple times to see what I was getting myself into.  I am pretty wary of gimmicks in skateboarding and usually laugh them off.  Plastic truck sliders, embedded holograms, aluminum decks, Kevlar plies…  It’s not my thing.  I don’t even go for colored wheels and trucks with hollow axles.  I’ve ridden nothing but Independents since I started skateboarding in 1988 and with a few exceptions, I’ve not strayed from riding Spitfire wheels for nearly as long.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

However, I put that aside because I fully trust and support Jim Thiebaud and Tommy Guerrero and the rest of DLX not to put out some half-cooked concept.  Plus, this concept was just about altering the deck’s construction a bit and not reinventing the wheel.

After opening the box and reading the enclosed description, I looked at the plies since that seems like it would be the most obvious thing I would see.  Sure enough, the plies are about half the size and there was two colored plies that easily illustrated this.  I didn’t see the black seal glue, but at the same time, I didn’t really know what I was looking for.   Outside of the plies, the deck appears to be just like any other board.  However once I set it up, I could definitely feel the difference.  The board is extremely stiff and as odd as it sounds- it actually does feel more solid and strong.

Now, for this quicker pop and increased control….  These were the two things I was most interested in.  I skate street almost exclusively and having just spent a year off my board, I was really interested in the idea of having more control.  In addition to that, I like to skate fast and my neighborhood isn’t too skate friendly.  I’m always having to dodge something, go between something or try and quickly ollie something that just got in my way.  After popping a few ollies, I could definitely feel the difference.  There is a quicker pop, but there is also more of it.  It’s not just the feeling of skating a new board either, where the deck has that nice crispness, this actually feels like the board has a lot more response than your average deck.  Where I really noticed the difference though was in spinning tricks, like 180s and shove its.  The board responded to me more and simply did what I wanted it to.  One of my “go to” tricks is a nollie backside shove it.  So often with that trick, the board wants to go into a nollie backside heelflip though.  That’s not the case here.  The deck popped really hard off the nose and every time the board turned just 180 degrees, even when I played around with my foot placement.  That lower center of gravity seemed very apparent here.

Overall, this is a great deck.  The most obvious thing I noticed with the Low Pro features was the lower center of gravity and the quicker pop.  The only detractor, and I say this in jest, was the graphic.  I’ve always joked about how Real is no frills and it shows.  The Since Day One video was nothing but pure skating.  Most of Real’s graphics are just some slight tweaks to their iconic logo.  This board is no different except the graphic was in this awful tie-dye pattern.  If you recall my article comparing metalheads and hippies, I am sure you know my feelings on tie-dye.  But seriously, who cares about the graphic when the board is at this level of quality and is just going to get scratched off in the first session? Which is exactly what’s going to happen this weekend when I take this board on a four day skate mission through Louisiana with some friends.

Check these boards out – they should be hitting your local shop any day now! For more information visit RealSkateboards.com.