Powell Peralta have a series of boards designed by Steve Caballero, the series is simply called 'Caballero’. And the Mini Cab Dragon II  is the baby within the series, a little shorter and smaller than your average skateboard, measuring 8 by 30 inches. The size and lightness makes it a very good city board. It's not too big to take on a train and lug around under your arm. 

First thing to announce and get out of the way is that this isn't a cheaply made board. The top of the board is totally coated in grip tape, the middle is made up of sandwiched birch wood and fibre construction, the bottom of the board houses the two trucks and an original graphic is printed on a block colour signed by Steve Caballero (in print). It is very deserving of the $70-$85/ £60-£80 price bracket and takes a rather good stab at surviving high impact events.

The Powell Peralta Caballero Mini Cab Dragon II  has a K12 concave flat deck and a maximum wheel base of 14.5 inches but comes with 13.3 inch default. The SBA Formula wheels measure 53mm in diameter and 32mm in width. The wheels are 90a durometers in hardness, for a cruiser that sounds like too much on paper and translates into being too hard when riding if you're light in weight like me. However if you are a little bigger in build, these wheels will be perfect and regardless of your weight more grip with the ground is achieved and therefore the ride is a little more solid but isn't as enjoyable from the harsh feedback.

The first thing I noticed when stepping onto this board is that the deck has absolutely no flex, it's very rigid. Combined with the shape, makes learning and performing tricks very responsive and definite. The trucks however do allow for a little hasty flex, making cornering and cruising very definite too. It's a skateboard that replies immediacy. The overall cruising experience is the killer feature, it's fast, controlled, well balanced considering the length and sustains admirable speed. But the ride is sharp when hitting bumps and textured surfaces.

The Powell Peralta Caballero Mini Cab Dragon II Skateboard is a great first board to learn on due to the response, of course an experienced skater will also admire this. It's a well made at the price point and offers a compact design that has the DNA of a good cruiser.