Tech Deck textured plastic medium concave 26mm prototype
Deck review by Xi Jin
About me and this board
I have been fingerboarding for 11 years, finally picking up a sponsorship from Close Up in the last half year. I am involved with the online scene on FFI, FBHQ, SoldierBar.cn (Chinese FB community) and YouTube; Currently, I am a moderator on FBHQ. I have written fingerboard product reviews before as I am genuinely interested in fingerboard products and want to share the information. This is my 12th review and I hope the reader may see this as an unbiased review, despite my sponsorship.
As for experience with decks, I have had 31 different types of wooden decks and have tried many more. Furthermore, I have been an avid collector of Tech Deck products ever since I was introduced to them. My collecting habit generally follows a pattern of buying at least one board from each series/mold/shape. The following link is a picture of some of the series I have collected from and does not include any duplicate boards from the same series/mold/shape that I may additionally have, some packaged Tech Decks I have collected, Tech Deck obstacles and it does not include any other recent Tech Deck products I have received. To receive such a rare Tech Deck is a real privilege and I will surely treasure this deck.
Link to other TD boards I have collected:http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x440/nekoxi/Fingerboarding/DSC01973_ffi1.jpg
This board is a stand-alone prototype deck with no packaging, public announcements, name, release date or future plans for production. Many thanks to Noah & Lisa @ Tech Deck for sending me this deck, as well as other products, and thanks for the patience as I fulfill my obligation to review it.
The deck itself has been setup with unreleased, unbranded porous tape from Tech Deck, generic Chinese regular trucks & mounting screws, Close Up G4 metal core wheels and Redemption bushings & washers (originally with just plastic stock TD bushings). I have been using this board quite a lot as a travel setup; I take this board with me when I am out of my house as my Close Up main setup is now just for home seshing to save the tape from more wear.
I pretty much just copy and paste this same format for all my reviews to save hassle. I personally prefer text-based reviews as opposed to video reviews as the reader can choose to read it at their own pace instead of being forced to follow the speed of the reviewer and who can often trail-off topic. I like to write my reviews detailed with enough information for potential buyers to know everything about the product before purchasing.
Apologies for my low quality pictures, I intend to invest in better optical equipment in the future.
I have been fingerboarding for 11 years, finally picking up a sponsorship from Close Up in the last half year. I am involved with the online scene on FFI, FBHQ, SoldierBar.cn (Chinese FB community) and YouTube; Currently, I am a moderator on FBHQ. I have written fingerboard product reviews before as I am genuinely interested in fingerboard products and want to share the information. This is my 12th review and I hope the reader may see this as an unbiased review, despite my sponsorship.
As for experience with decks, I have had 31 different types of wooden decks and have tried many more. Furthermore, I have been an avid collector of Tech Deck products ever since I was introduced to them. My collecting habit generally follows a pattern of buying at least one board from each series/mold/shape. The following link is a picture of some of the series I have collected from and does not include any duplicate boards from the same series/mold/shape that I may additionally have, some packaged Tech Decks I have collected, Tech Deck obstacles and it does not include any other recent Tech Deck products I have received. To receive such a rare Tech Deck is a real privilege and I will surely treasure this deck.
Link to other TD boards I have collected:http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/x440/nekoxi/Fingerboarding/DSC01973_ffi1.jpg
This board is a stand-alone prototype deck with no packaging, public announcements, name, release date or future plans for production. Many thanks to Noah & Lisa @ Tech Deck for sending me this deck, as well as other products, and thanks for the patience as I fulfill my obligation to review it.
The deck itself has been setup with unreleased, unbranded porous tape from Tech Deck, generic Chinese regular trucks & mounting screws, Close Up G4 metal core wheels and Redemption bushings & washers (originally with just plastic stock TD bushings). I have been using this board quite a lot as a travel setup; I take this board with me when I am out of my house as my Close Up main setup is now just for home seshing to save the tape from more wear.
I pretty much just copy and paste this same format for all my reviews to save hassle. I personally prefer text-based reviews as opposed to video reviews as the reader can choose to read it at their own pace instead of being forced to follow the speed of the reviewer and who can often trail-off topic. I like to write my reviews detailed with enough information for potential buyers to know everything about the product before purchasing.
Apologies for my low quality pictures, I intend to invest in better optical equipment in the future.
Original setup
Company Profile
Tech Deck is a large international franchise specialising in producing miniature skateboard toys with licensed graphics from well known skateboard companies since the late '90s. The boards are designed to have an authentic skateboard feeling with their licensed graphics, die cast trucks, griptape and all their interchangeable components. They appeal to skateboard enthusiasts and toy collectors as well as making fingerboarding accessible to younger children with their affordable price. With sales and recognition worldwide, they really help people get into fingerboarding before they wish to invest in more premium products. I'm sure if you're reading this on a fingerboard forum, you'll need no introduction to Tech Deck.
Website: http://techdeck.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TechDeckBoards
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/techdeckboards
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/techdeckvideos
As for the on-going controversial debate about the competition between mass produced Chinese fingerboard products and handmade products from other countries, I am not going to say much about it in this review. I personally believe that the purchasing psychology of fingerboarders leads them to buy many fingerboard products for multiple setups, which may include both Tech Deck and other branded products, rather than exclusively buying and using one setup. The comparison is made to skateboarding where people usually only have one setup and occasionally an additional spare deck, cruiser or longboard.
This is not to be confused with the related controversial topic of fingerboard distributors that may re-brand, overvalue and distribute other Chinese fingerboard products.
Product Overview
I started with the Product Overview section in my Expert Sk8 review although there's not too much to be said for this product. As I stated earlier, it's a prototype. I wasn't even expecting to receive this from Tech Deck, or a lot of the other things I received, so it was a surprise when I thought I had seen everything inside the box and found this loose deck at the bottom. My first impressions of the deck was that it had an amazing shape as well as being a 26mm deck as they are rarely produced these days. The texture on the board looks really awesome too and it really stands out from all other decks as well as appearing to have a really good shape to skate.
Noah says that this is probably unlikely to have a release.
Deck Statistics
Deck Length: 100mm
Deck Width: 26mm
Nose and Tail concaves (dips): medium
Rail to rail concave: medium
Ply Construction: it's plastic! Appears to be molded with 2 halves lying on top of each other
Kicks: medium height, medium length, very slightly pointy
Asymmetry: it is symmetrical
Kingpin holes: it has an entire recess area for each truck, however no spaces for kingpins
Wheelbase: 50mm axle to axle with TD trucks
Graphic: no graphic but the plastic appears to be very finely textured
Note: All measurements/statistics are approximate.
Tech Deck is a large international franchise specialising in producing miniature skateboard toys with licensed graphics from well known skateboard companies since the late '90s. The boards are designed to have an authentic skateboard feeling with their licensed graphics, die cast trucks, griptape and all their interchangeable components. They appeal to skateboard enthusiasts and toy collectors as well as making fingerboarding accessible to younger children with their affordable price. With sales and recognition worldwide, they really help people get into fingerboarding before they wish to invest in more premium products. I'm sure if you're reading this on a fingerboard forum, you'll need no introduction to Tech Deck.
Website: http://techdeck.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TechDeckBoards
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/techdeckboards
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/techdeckvideos
As for the on-going controversial debate about the competition between mass produced Chinese fingerboard products and handmade products from other countries, I am not going to say much about it in this review. I personally believe that the purchasing psychology of fingerboarders leads them to buy many fingerboard products for multiple setups, which may include both Tech Deck and other branded products, rather than exclusively buying and using one setup. The comparison is made to skateboarding where people usually only have one setup and occasionally an additional spare deck, cruiser or longboard.
This is not to be confused with the related controversial topic of fingerboard distributors that may re-brand, overvalue and distribute other Chinese fingerboard products.
Product Overview
I started with the Product Overview section in my Expert Sk8 review although there's not too much to be said for this product. As I stated earlier, it's a prototype. I wasn't even expecting to receive this from Tech Deck, or a lot of the other things I received, so it was a surprise when I thought I had seen everything inside the box and found this loose deck at the bottom. My first impressions of the deck was that it had an amazing shape as well as being a 26mm deck as they are rarely produced these days. The texture on the board looks really awesome too and it really stands out from all other decks as well as appearing to have a really good shape to skate.
Noah says that this is probably unlikely to have a release.
Deck Statistics
Deck Length: 100mm
Deck Width: 26mm
Nose and Tail concaves (dips): medium
Rail to rail concave: medium
Ply Construction: it's plastic! Appears to be molded with 2 halves lying on top of each other
Kicks: medium height, medium length, very slightly pointy
Asymmetry: it is symmetrical
Kingpin holes: it has an entire recess area for each truck, however no spaces for kingpins
Wheelbase: 50mm axle to axle with TD trucks
Graphic: no graphic but the plastic appears to be very finely textured
Note: All measurements/statistics are approximate.
Deck & tape
Transaction Details
Price: -
Shipping cost: -
Time to arrive: -
I cannot really comment on a purchase of the product since I acquired it directly from Tech Deck in the US. Noah and Lisa were nice enough to send me many Tech Deck things to China where I am currently working.
Normally, Tech Deck products can be bought in stores and other online retailers. As this is a prototype that is unlikely to go to retail, I have nothing to say here besides from this fact.
Price: -
Shipping cost: -
Time to arrive: -
I cannot really comment on a purchase of the product since I acquired it directly from Tech Deck in the US. Noah and Lisa were nice enough to send me many Tech Deck things to China where I am currently working.
Normally, Tech Deck products can be bought in stores and other online retailers. As this is a prototype that is unlikely to go to retail, I have nothing to say here besides from this fact.
Deck top
Deck bottom
Deck top after being set up
Deck craftsmanship
With Tech Deck producing so many products, you would expect them to be vigilant about quality control. My previous experience with Tech Deck is that although the products are mostly fine, I have personally experienced minor QC issues on some of the boards such as graphic misalignment, huge oily fingerprints on boards, oil leak on griptape, scratches on deck, trucks not being straight.
This is a prototype so I would not expect perfect craftsmanship or QC but it is actually pretty decent quality.
The rails are perfectly parallel.
The kicks are perfectly shaped, round and slightly pointy.
The mounting holes are countersunk and fits Chinese chode screws with some effort.
The bottom deck texture is perfectly applied and not misaligned.
It is pretty much perfectly symmetrical.
The application of the deck texture is different from anything I have seen before from Tech Deck. It seems quite fresh considering the current market in fingerboard decks dominated by normal wooden decks, splits, real wear wood, normal TDs and hand painted wood.
There are two very minor issues with regards to the craftsmanship. Firstly, the mounting of trucks was made challenging by the smaller countersinks and thickness of the deck, despite there being recess areas for the trucks. As I was using mass-produced Chinese "chode" screws, this issue would probably not happen had I had any Tech Deck screws to use. After spending some effort mounting the trucks, I discovered that the recess areas are actually a little larger than the standard TD/China bases. This means that even when I have mounted the trucks, they can still wiggle a little bit. I have not attempted to mount other types of trucks.
An aesthetical issue with the deck is that it bears mold marks along the edge (rail) of the deck. There are also two small bumps from this. The mold mark could probably be sanded down and it doesn't really affect performance when doing railstand/primo tricks.
There is no graphic but there is a textured pattern on the deck. After all the general use and rough transportation of the board, the texture as well as the deck in general have retained its good condition rather well. Under careful examination, there are no signs of use whatsoever; I can't even see any signs of pops at the edges of the kicks.
It is not needed for this review but I would also like to note that the unreleased TD foamtape has similarly retained its very good condition under the same use and abuse from being transported loose in my pocket all the time.
With Tech Deck producing so many products, you would expect them to be vigilant about quality control. My previous experience with Tech Deck is that although the products are mostly fine, I have personally experienced minor QC issues on some of the boards such as graphic misalignment, huge oily fingerprints on boards, oil leak on griptape, scratches on deck, trucks not being straight.
This is a prototype so I would not expect perfect craftsmanship or QC but it is actually pretty decent quality.
The rails are perfectly parallel.
The kicks are perfectly shaped, round and slightly pointy.
The mounting holes are countersunk and fits Chinese chode screws with some effort.
The bottom deck texture is perfectly applied and not misaligned.
It is pretty much perfectly symmetrical.
The application of the deck texture is different from anything I have seen before from Tech Deck. It seems quite fresh considering the current market in fingerboard decks dominated by normal wooden decks, splits, real wear wood, normal TDs and hand painted wood.
There are two very minor issues with regards to the craftsmanship. Firstly, the mounting of trucks was made challenging by the smaller countersinks and thickness of the deck, despite there being recess areas for the trucks. As I was using mass-produced Chinese "chode" screws, this issue would probably not happen had I had any Tech Deck screws to use. After spending some effort mounting the trucks, I discovered that the recess areas are actually a little larger than the standard TD/China bases. This means that even when I have mounted the trucks, they can still wiggle a little bit. I have not attempted to mount other types of trucks.
An aesthetical issue with the deck is that it bears mold marks along the edge (rail) of the deck. There are also two small bumps from this. The mold mark could probably be sanded down and it doesn't really affect performance when doing railstand/primo tricks.
There is no graphic but there is a textured pattern on the deck. After all the general use and rough transportation of the board, the texture as well as the deck in general have retained its good condition rather well. Under careful examination, there are no signs of use whatsoever; I can't even see any signs of pops at the edges of the kicks.
It is not needed for this review but I would also like to note that the unreleased TD foamtape has similarly retained its very good condition under the same use and abuse from being transported loose in my pocket all the time.
Side of deck compared with a late 2011 TD
Deck performance
I have been championing 26mm decks for a long time and even just upon seeing this deck, I knew this would be an amazing deck. As for all the dimensions of this deck, it is incredible. The medium concave, length, height and roundness of kicks, length of deck, wheelbase and general feel of the deck is outstanding.
The concave of the deck is greater than standard Tech Decks but less than the Concave and Wood Concave series. Being in the middle of these other boards, I think the medium concave provides a really comfortable feel of the deck without being too flat or too hardcore.
The length of the deck is slightly longer than standard TDs but I like it to be slightly longer. At ~100mm, it is at a very usable length and is probably within most people's favourite range. In addition to the length, the wheelbase and kick lengths are suited to it. Considering its length, the placement of the truck holes are in the perfect position for optimum pop and in turn, the lengths of the kicks are also perfect for the wheelbase. The problems with some decks that have too long kicks that require very careful popping or decks with too short kicks that require more effort when popping do not occur on this deck. It is very responsive and the board is very easy to command.
I have been championing 26mm decks for a long time and even just upon seeing this deck, I knew this would be an amazing deck. As for all the dimensions of this deck, it is incredible. The medium concave, length, height and roundness of kicks, length of deck, wheelbase and general feel of the deck is outstanding.
The concave of the deck is greater than standard Tech Decks but less than the Concave and Wood Concave series. Being in the middle of these other boards, I think the medium concave provides a really comfortable feel of the deck without being too flat or too hardcore.
The length of the deck is slightly longer than standard TDs but I like it to be slightly longer. At ~100mm, it is at a very usable length and is probably within most people's favourite range. In addition to the length, the wheelbase and kick lengths are suited to it. Considering its length, the placement of the truck holes are in the perfect position for optimum pop and in turn, the lengths of the kicks are also perfect for the wheelbase. The problems with some decks that have too long kicks that require very careful popping or decks with too short kicks that require more effort when popping do not occur on this deck. It is very responsive and the board is very easy to command.
After 2 months of use
Overall Conclusion
Overall, the shape of the deck can not be improved. Tech Deck have really designed a really good shape for a 26mm deck despite the majority of experienced fingerboarders preferring wider decks. The only drawback of this deck is that it is made of plastic. As it is plastic, it has slightly less pop than wooden counterparts. You require a tiny bit more effort to pop tricks and the feel popping plastic decks is slightly less enjoyable than wood. Nevertheless, these differences are not huge and it is still a very enjoyable deck.
It does sadden me that this deck is unlikely to have a release. Its shape is awesome and performs much better than any other plastic TD as well as some wooden decks. They could have easily used these decks in a similar kind of marketing as the X-Concepts G11 Tech Decks. For those that aren't familiar, the G11s had a normal TD but also included an extra plastic deck with different contours on it. I like the shape of this deck so much that I would consider buying their mold for it, not that this would be feasible.
I must mention that this review is just what I think about the board. Reading/watching multiple reviews by different people is definitely recommended. No other reviews of this deck exist as far as I am aware, however, I would like to feature a very interesting post written by Kerry of Unitefingerboarding. His Thursday Thoughts #6 talks about the development of fingerboarding and in particular, the increasing widths of decks. It features a nice comparison of an old 26mm deck and his new 32.5mm Blosom deck. View this post here:http://www.unitefingerboarding.com/2012/04/thursday-thoughts-6.html
Where to purchase
I AM SELLING THEM FOR $1000000 EACH! Just kidding. This deck is a prototype and Noah said himself in an email that it is unlikely to go to release. The recess feature on the deck also suggests that this prototype was developed at least a year ago.
You may use this review and pictures, in part or in full, as long as you credit it to me and get permission from me.
If you have read this review and it was useful, please reply! Review threads don't always get a lot of replies, even if they are read. If you didn't like this review, please tell me why so I can improve!
Miaow.
Overall, the shape of the deck can not be improved. Tech Deck have really designed a really good shape for a 26mm deck despite the majority of experienced fingerboarders preferring wider decks. The only drawback of this deck is that it is made of plastic. As it is plastic, it has slightly less pop than wooden counterparts. You require a tiny bit more effort to pop tricks and the feel popping plastic decks is slightly less enjoyable than wood. Nevertheless, these differences are not huge and it is still a very enjoyable deck.
It does sadden me that this deck is unlikely to have a release. Its shape is awesome and performs much better than any other plastic TD as well as some wooden decks. They could have easily used these decks in a similar kind of marketing as the X-Concepts G11 Tech Decks. For those that aren't familiar, the G11s had a normal TD but also included an extra plastic deck with different contours on it. I like the shape of this deck so much that I would consider buying their mold for it, not that this would be feasible.
I must mention that this review is just what I think about the board. Reading/watching multiple reviews by different people is definitely recommended. No other reviews of this deck exist as far as I am aware, however, I would like to feature a very interesting post written by Kerry of Unitefingerboarding. His Thursday Thoughts #6 talks about the development of fingerboarding and in particular, the increasing widths of decks. It features a nice comparison of an old 26mm deck and his new 32.5mm Blosom deck. View this post here:http://www.unitefingerboarding.com/2012/04/thursday-thoughts-6.html
Where to purchase
I AM SELLING THEM FOR $1000000 EACH! Just kidding. This deck is a prototype and Noah said himself in an email that it is unlikely to go to release. The recess feature on the deck also suggests that this prototype was developed at least a year ago.
You may use this review and pictures, in part or in full, as long as you credit it to me and get permission from me.
If you have read this review and it was useful, please reply! Review threads don't always get a lot of replies, even if they are read. If you didn't like this review, please tell me why so I can improve!
Miaow.
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