Tribute 29.5mm custom split-ply
Deck Review by Xi Jin
Deck Review by Xi Jin
About me and this board
I have been fingerboarding for about 11 years on and off although my involvement with the online scene is limited. I am sponsored by Close Up only and I hope people see this as an unbiased review for the deck. This Tribute deck is the 24th out of 25 wooden decks I have owned, not counting multiple decks of the same mold/size. I have been skating this deck set up with 4 Corner (China) tape, Close Up G4 trucks and wheels. I have been using the aforementioned board a main setup for over 2 weeks but have only used it indoors. This is my nineth fingerboard product review and I hope it is sufficient in detail and interesting to read. 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 have been fingerboarding for about 11 years on and off although my involvement with the online scene is limited. I am sponsored by Close Up only and I hope people see this as an unbiased review for the deck. This Tribute deck is the 24th out of 25 wooden decks I have owned, not counting multiple decks of the same mold/size. I have been skating this deck set up with 4 Corner (China) tape, Close Up G4 trucks and wheels. I have been using the aforementioned board a main setup for over 2 weeks but have only used it indoors. This is my nineth fingerboard product review and I hope it is sufficient in detail and interesting to read. 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.
Konata and Miku with the setup
Company Profile
Tribute Decks is a company established by Jacob Piller, from Las Vegas. The owner is an insanely good fingerboarder himself and a true enthusiast of the hobby. The decks strive to be very good without denting your bank balance. Standard decks are available in addition to custom orders.
The current status of the company is unstable. The last I heard from Jacob was that Tribute was closed. Better to contact him yourself to find out more up to date details.
Company website: http://tributedeckshop.weebly.com/index.html
Tribute Decks is a company established by Jacob Piller, from Las Vegas. The owner is an insanely good fingerboarder himself and a true enthusiast of the hobby. The decks strive to be very good without denting your bank balance. Standard decks are available in addition to custom orders.
The current status of the company is unstable. The last I heard from Jacob was that Tribute was closed. Better to contact him yourself to find out more up to date details.
Company website: http://tributedeckshop.weebly.com/index.html
Deck Statistics
Deck Length: 99mm
Deck Width: 29.5mm
Nose and Tail concaves: low
Rail to rail concave: low
Ply Construction: 5-ply, Top to bottom: dark/dark/light/dark/light-split
Kicks: medium
Asymmetry: Pretty much symmetrical
Kingpin holes: no
Deck Length: 99mm
Deck Width: 29.5mm
Nose and Tail concaves: low
Rail to rail concave: low
Ply Construction: 5-ply, Top to bottom: dark/dark/light/dark/light-split
Kicks: medium
Asymmetry: Pretty much symmetrical
Kingpin holes: no
Package contents
Transaction Details
Price: N/A - This is a review deck so there was no actual transaction.
Shipping: N/A
Time to arrive from Las Vegas, US to Yantai, China: N/A - This was posted to the UK and I had to wait until my Mum posted this from the UK to China, where problems occurred such as the package containing the package with the deck split open and then the Chinese customs holding it for a while. So yeah, I've got nothing useful to write here either.
Please note this deck was offered to me as a review deck. Customs are usually $15 shipped internationally and standard decks are $12.
It came in just a standard bubble mailer with the deck well protected. Even though it was just a review deck, Jacob was kind enough to write me an awesome message and even included extras! I was so happy, haha. I was not expecting anything like this at all and I've not got a great deal of things in China so this was a really nice surprise.
Price: N/A - This is a review deck so there was no actual transaction.
Shipping: N/A
Time to arrive from Las Vegas, US to Yantai, China: N/A - This was posted to the UK and I had to wait until my Mum posted this from the UK to China, where problems occurred such as the package containing the package with the deck split open and then the Chinese customs holding it for a while. So yeah, I've got nothing useful to write here either.
Please note this deck was offered to me as a review deck. Customs are usually $15 shipped internationally and standard decks are $12.
It came in just a standard bubble mailer with the deck well protected. Even though it was just a review deck, Jacob was kind enough to write me an awesome message and even included extras! I was so happy, haha. I was not expecting anything like this at all and I've not got a great deal of things in China so this was a really nice surprise.
Deck top
Craftsmanship
When I received the deck, I was impressed with a few things but also noticed some bad points.
The deck itself is of a really nice size, shape and suits my preferences. The top looks pretty nice and I wasn't even expecting a split-ply bottom so the split looks really well done. The plies are pressed really well and it's got nice smooth lacquer all around the deck. I also love the middle ply combination. The kicks are rounded really well and the rails are perpendicular (some camera angles might distort the image but they are fine). In fact, I'm really pleased with the kicks as it's a handmade deck.
As for the bad points, the first thing I noticed was the holes being a tiny bit imperfect. I tried mounting trucks with standard China chode screws first but I wasn't able to mount them. However, long screws are useful for when holes are slightly off and with my Close Up G4 screws, my trucks mounted fine. I'm satisfied enough with the holes but they could be improved for more compatibility with China screws.
Secondly, the holes are off-center; the front ones are 1mm to the right and the back ones aren't too noticable. However, this means the trucks don't align perfectly and are also off-center.
The deck is also about 1mm warped on one side. Jacob warned me about this before he sent it.
2 small spots on the top of the deck had the lacquer scratched off. I'm not sure if this was due to the craftsmanship or from the huge hassle from the shipping problems.
When I received the deck, I was impressed with a few things but also noticed some bad points.
The deck itself is of a really nice size, shape and suits my preferences. The top looks pretty nice and I wasn't even expecting a split-ply bottom so the split looks really well done. The plies are pressed really well and it's got nice smooth lacquer all around the deck. I also love the middle ply combination. The kicks are rounded really well and the rails are perpendicular (some camera angles might distort the image but they are fine). In fact, I'm really pleased with the kicks as it's a handmade deck.
As for the bad points, the first thing I noticed was the holes being a tiny bit imperfect. I tried mounting trucks with standard China chode screws first but I wasn't able to mount them. However, long screws are useful for when holes are slightly off and with my Close Up G4 screws, my trucks mounted fine. I'm satisfied enough with the holes but they could be improved for more compatibility with China screws.
Secondly, the holes are off-center; the front ones are 1mm to the right and the back ones aren't too noticable. However, this means the trucks don't align perfectly and are also off-center.
The deck is also about 1mm warped on one side. Jacob warned me about this before he sent it.
2 small spots on the top of the deck had the lacquer scratched off. I'm not sure if this was due to the craftsmanship or from the huge hassle from the shipping problems.
Side of deck
Concave
Penultimate picture
Performance
Tribute's been around for a while so I was expecting this to be quite good. I did mention the minor craftsmanship issues but I am pleased to the report they are not really noticable during performance. The holes being a little off is more forgiving on a wide (~29mm) deck. The width accomodates any minor misallignment and the board still rolls straight when using medium-tight trucks. Some spots of lacquer on the top of the deck wouldn't really affect performance and the minor warp was barely noticable when looking at it and is not noticable when skating it.
I really like the low concave and medium kicks on this deck. In fact, the shape is just about perfect for performing all types of tricks. I've been doing a lot of consistent hardflip and nollie back finger reverse impossible variations as it's got a suitable wheelbase and suitable kick size and height. Overall, the deck is very responsive. I can control the movements of the board just how I like to and most tricks are relatively easy to do on this deck.
All decks have differences in performance and to compare this deck to others would also have to take into account my personal preferences. As of now, I am comfortable riding decks that match the trucks. The 29.5mm deck and 29mm trucks are just about perfect for my preference of wide decks. Also, bear in mind that this was a custom deck made to suit me so it's another reason why I enjoy it so much. I personally do prefer this to most wide decks made by established companies. However, the only ones that do beat this deck are much more expensive and also have less craftsmanship issues.
Tribute's been around for a while so I was expecting this to be quite good. I did mention the minor craftsmanship issues but I am pleased to the report they are not really noticable during performance. The holes being a little off is more forgiving on a wide (~29mm) deck. The width accomodates any minor misallignment and the board still rolls straight when using medium-tight trucks. Some spots of lacquer on the top of the deck wouldn't really affect performance and the minor warp was barely noticable when looking at it and is not noticable when skating it.
I really like the low concave and medium kicks on this deck. In fact, the shape is just about perfect for performing all types of tricks. I've been doing a lot of consistent hardflip and nollie back finger reverse impossible variations as it's got a suitable wheelbase and suitable kick size and height. Overall, the deck is very responsive. I can control the movements of the board just how I like to and most tricks are relatively easy to do on this deck.
All decks have differences in performance and to compare this deck to others would also have to take into account my personal preferences. As of now, I am comfortable riding decks that match the trucks. The 29.5mm deck and 29mm trucks are just about perfect for my preference of wide decks. Also, bear in mind that this was a custom deck made to suit me so it's another reason why I enjoy it so much. I personally do prefer this to most wide decks made by established companies. However, the only ones that do beat this deck are much more expensive and also have less craftsmanship issues.
End
...and that's the end of the review. I hope it was alright.
Where to buy
Unfortunately, I am not sure if you will be able to buy one at the moment.
The website order form is here: http://tributedeckshop.weebly.com/order.html
You can also contact "Jacob Piller" on FFI.
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 in a PM. Please do give feedback on my review too. I try to be informative with all aspects and details of the product and would love to know what changes you think I should make. Feel free to request a review for anything I own unless you want to offer me a product to review.
Miaow.
Where to buy
Unfortunately, I am not sure if you will be able to buy one at the moment.
The website order form is here: http://tributedeckshop.weebly.com/order.html
You can also contact "Jacob Piller" on FFI.
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 in a PM. Please do give feedback on my review too. I try to be informative with all aspects and details of the product and would love to know what changes you think I should make. Feel free to request a review for anything I own unless you want to offer me a product to review.
Miaow.
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