Take the surf to the road with the Original Skateboards Pintail 40 Longboard.
This stylish yet traditional longboard made by Original Skateboards is perfect for carving through the long summer days. Unlike some pintail longboards we ride, this feels different - it's mellow and exciting. From the first push off the ground we knew we were in for a thrill. The deck and trucks have very liberal flexibility, allowing the board to glide in and out of carves. It feels like you're floating over the ground, it's a real contrast to ride a pintail board with a deck such as this in comparison to stiff plank-like deck constructions commonly found on pintails.
Original make this board in five lengths: 37, 40 (ours), 43 and 46 inches, each with its own brilliantly eye-catching individual graphic.
Our 40-inches in length and 9 inches in width (at its widest point) setup from Original came with 70mm 80a Orangatang 4President Wheels and Original S8 200mm carving trucks without risers keeping the board grounded; and the bottom of the deck has an amazing graphic produced by Jay Alders titled "Out of the Blue". The graphic is one of the most memorable we've seen on a longboard; it has a mild illusion, too, when you look into the wave, which makes you feel as if you're being pulled into it. It's wonderfully designed and is made from a sandwich of 7 ply Canadian maple which is the reason for the deck's exceptionally loose flexibility. We were very pleased with the overall construction and after many months of solid usage we've not seen any grip tape peel off or cracking of the deck. With its 40 inch length it has enough room to do cross-stepping, which was certainly a lot of fun on the Pintail 40 given its wavy motion.
The wide S8 carving trucks, however, make the board stable and responsive, which is brilliant for carving and effortless sliding. The carving experience is genuinely fluid and surf-like, full of satisfying thrills. The gentle concave keeps your feet fixed to the board and also makes the carving and sliding smooth and relaxed compared to some pintails we've tried before. This secure feeling is also helped by the creatively made grip-tape which has been cut out by lasers to give it a clean finish that makes sure the Canadian maple peaks through.
We loved the Orangatang 4President wheels equipped on our board, they are perfectly coupled with the S8 trucks and glide within slides. They also handle terrifically when just cruising around and the Bones Super Reds bearings keep even minimal speeds prolonged and smooth. Original have included cut out wheel arches so wheel bite is prevented, especially necessary for bigger wheels such as the Orangatang 4Presidents.
The highlight of this board is the surfy feel that you get, it's like no other pintail we've ridden. This is to do with the design of the board, as it allows for big turns and short quick carves and effortless slides, giving a similar motion to that of surfing. It's fun!
The setup it came with is superior for sharp corners, especially on the slopes, as the stability of the board makes it simply glide round. Steep hills are not this board's area of expertise, but it can tackle them accepting that speed wobbles will be prominent. As already mentioned though, slopes of a low to medium degree downward angle are blazingly fun to tear down with the breezy carving action. On the flat the Pintail 40 turns into a chilled out cruiser and is even suited for the sidewalk, as it can zigzag in and out of obstacles and people quickly.
At 8 pounds the Pintail 40 is relatively heavy for a longboard; not too big or hefty to carry around and store, but the weight does make tricks such as flips harder to accomplish, despite the overhanging nose and tale. These do serve a purpose when curb dropping though.
If you're someone who is looking to get into longboarding this is a good board to help master the art. We'd definitely recommend it to beginners, due to the response.
The Original Skateboards Pintail 40 is, without doubt, the most attractive pintail longboard we've ever had in our possession. But what we must applaud it for, is taking the iconic pintail shape and making it fresh, it really does set the bar for the pintail longboard.
