BobbyGanoosh
05-28-2007, 09:55 AM
Krooked Skateboards is a deck company out of San Francisco, created by Mark Gonzales and Distributed by Deluxe. Mark Gonzales creates the artwork for almost all of the decks. The skaters on the pro team sketch it out, then The Gonz Finishes it up on the deck. The Pro team consists of Bobby Worrest, Dan Drehobl, Van Wastell, and of course, Mark Gonzales. Krooked also has guest riders, in which The Gonz can choose any skater he likes, ask him if they want a guest deck, and he will make it! The specific deck I will be reviewing is the Krooked El Nino Team deck. This review will apply to all team decks, but, unfortunately, not the guest decks.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked1.jpg
Look/Style - The style of Krooked decks are amazing. All of them are amazing. Mark Gonzales is an amazing artist. But Mr. Gonzales is not the only person that makes the graphics. The same way Krooked has guest skaters, they also have guest artists. Anyone from Chocolate’s artist to Baker’s artist can paint for Krooked. Krooked boards are very flashy, bright, and, for most of the boards, there is a lot going on at once. Krooked uses cubistic, surrealistic, and all around crazy graphics for each of their decks!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked3.jpg
Shape/Concave/Feel – The shape of all Krooked pro boards are pretty much the same as your average skateboard deck. Let’s just say that it’s not winning any awards for “Most Creative Shape.” Basically, the tail is narrower and slightly smaller than the nose. Unlike a few deck companies (i.e. flip and creation), the nose is not wider than the width of the middle of the board. In other words, directly after the concave, the nose does not bulge out. Instead, it slightly curves in and around. Like I said, it’s not winning any awards. Speaking of concave, Krooked’s is extremely similar to Habitat. If you’ve never had a Habitat, the concave is medium, which means you don’t have to flick extremely hard for the board to spin. Krooked has a very familiar feel. I’ve had two Krooked decks now (not in a row) and each time I had one, it felt like I was riding the board I previously owned. So, if you need a board right away (Tour, Contest, Etc.), Krooked is the board to pick up.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked2.jpg
Pop – Built by Deluxe, it uses the same type of wood as Real and Anti Hero. The wood is built very stiff but not too stiff that it gives no feel. The pop is magnificent. When you pop your first ollie on a Krooked, it feels like there are springs attached to the tail of your board! Now, I bet you would expect this not to last, but the great thing about Krooked is that the pop stays! Even with razor tail, board abuse, and long usage, the pop will be there for you in your times of need.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked4.jpg
Durability - Where other decks disappoint, this is where Krooked shines. As I stated with the pop, Deluxe wood is great and keeps its pop and concave. In the three whole months I had this board, the only thing that let me down was the gigantic pressure cracks coming from underneath the trucks. These cracks started coming after about one month of skating, which made me somewhat worried that my board would break after any little thing. Only one chip came about, but that was my fault, not the board’s (I abused my board. Tisk Tisk Tisk). However, three months with one board is a very long time for me and many other skaters.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked5.jpg
Overall – Krooked isn’t a very popular company, however, if they were as popular as they are great, they’d be in the top three deck companies. The graphic alone would be a good enough reason to buy this deck, with crazy artwork, you just can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a board with bad durability, terrible pop, mellow concave and terrible looks, Krooked is not the deck for you. Krooked, so far has been my favorite deck, and I plan on getting many more. No one I’ve met has been disappointed with their Krooked and neither will you!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked1.jpg
Look/Style - The style of Krooked decks are amazing. All of them are amazing. Mark Gonzales is an amazing artist. But Mr. Gonzales is not the only person that makes the graphics. The same way Krooked has guest skaters, they also have guest artists. Anyone from Chocolate’s artist to Baker’s artist can paint for Krooked. Krooked boards are very flashy, bright, and, for most of the boards, there is a lot going on at once. Krooked uses cubistic, surrealistic, and all around crazy graphics for each of their decks!
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked3.jpg
Shape/Concave/Feel – The shape of all Krooked pro boards are pretty much the same as your average skateboard deck. Let’s just say that it’s not winning any awards for “Most Creative Shape.” Basically, the tail is narrower and slightly smaller than the nose. Unlike a few deck companies (i.e. flip and creation), the nose is not wider than the width of the middle of the board. In other words, directly after the concave, the nose does not bulge out. Instead, it slightly curves in and around. Like I said, it’s not winning any awards. Speaking of concave, Krooked’s is extremely similar to Habitat. If you’ve never had a Habitat, the concave is medium, which means you don’t have to flick extremely hard for the board to spin. Krooked has a very familiar feel. I’ve had two Krooked decks now (not in a row) and each time I had one, it felt like I was riding the board I previously owned. So, if you need a board right away (Tour, Contest, Etc.), Krooked is the board to pick up.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked2.jpg
Pop – Built by Deluxe, it uses the same type of wood as Real and Anti Hero. The wood is built very stiff but not too stiff that it gives no feel. The pop is magnificent. When you pop your first ollie on a Krooked, it feels like there are springs attached to the tail of your board! Now, I bet you would expect this not to last, but the great thing about Krooked is that the pop stays! Even with razor tail, board abuse, and long usage, the pop will be there for you in your times of need.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked4.jpg
Durability - Where other decks disappoint, this is where Krooked shines. As I stated with the pop, Deluxe wood is great and keeps its pop and concave. In the three whole months I had this board, the only thing that let me down was the gigantic pressure cracks coming from underneath the trucks. These cracks started coming after about one month of skating, which made me somewhat worried that my board would break after any little thing. Only one chip came about, but that was my fault, not the board’s (I abused my board. Tisk Tisk Tisk). However, three months with one board is a very long time for me and many other skaters.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p261/BobbyGanoosh92/Krooked5.jpg
Overall – Krooked isn’t a very popular company, however, if they were as popular as they are great, they’d be in the top three deck companies. The graphic alone would be a good enough reason to buy this deck, with crazy artwork, you just can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a board with bad durability, terrible pop, mellow concave and terrible looks, Krooked is not the deck for you. Krooked, so far has been my favorite deck, and I plan on getting many more. No one I’ve met has been disappointed with their Krooked and neither will you!