I like going through the archives from time to time, and re-connecting with favorite boards from the past. Here's a small sample of my expansive SMA (Santa Monica Airlines) collection:
I believe that this may have been the first of the Fiberlam Bennett Harada models. This came in for review, just as I was departing from Concrete Wave; the review actually ended up running at Skull and Bones, if I remember correctly. This Fiberlam shit is amazing stuff: I once came off of a backside grind on Bloomington's tight, 3' tall quarterpipes (that damn near go to vert), landed right on the flat, and bent the tail all the way to the ground. I thought fersure that I'd broken the fucker... but, nope. No damage at all! So weird, man... this one's got 60mm 95a Bullets, and the ever-present (these days) Independent 169/Krux bushing combo.
An Uncle Tim. I don't know where, or how, Skipper comes up with his graphics ideas... I'm just glad enough that that he does. I brought this as my "rider" to my second or third ASR, just to get from the hotel and back every day. It originally had 60mm 92a NOS Bullets, but I used this as my "hack" to test the reissues. As you can see, I much preferred the OG's, as these only saw a few sessions. With the Indy 169's, again.
Ahhh... a classic! The much-beloved "High Roller" model. I spent so much time on this, and I had sooo many of these... always with the pumpkin-orange Bulldog DubCons, and the 169's... I mean, what else are you gonna do?! This is the Cadillac of skateboards, right here. The smallish tail makes it a handful to pilot around... but if it weren't for the occasional "challenge", skateboarding would get pretty boring, wouldn't it...? And, this thing oozes "style"... so, "challenge" definitely has it's perks, too. A great, great board for those that can cope with it...
Like the Uncle Tim, I swooped this one from the now-defunct (?) Z-Sports Distribution. It's a Bindy Baggs longboard, with 169's and Bennett [84a 71mm] Alligators. Dead flat, long as hell, and with a whale of a tail on it... it's just been great to have around. I thought that the graphic treatment was pretty creative... very unlike most longboards on the market, even today. Skipperboy's a genius like that, y'know...
... and, lastly, my pride-and-joy: A Stigmata! With the OG Kevin Ancell artwork, and the jet-black background... oh, man, she is just beautiful! The rocker concave... a big-ass, mellow kicknose... and, a tail that's pushing 8" long... this board actually excels at big-terrain bowlriding, believe it or not. Lots of control, and all sorts of leverage is available here. It's even nimble enough to tackle smaller transitions, too... again, whether you believe such things is entirely up to you. Not that I'd ever lie to ya about shit like this... but, I can't do your thinking for you, either. Life's short. Try that shit out for your own damned self, or die losing. The choice is yours.
