Generally speaking, I try to shy away from reviewing anything that could be considered "hokey", "gimmicky", or "some sort of freakish novelty" here at Everything Skateboarding. So, you'll probably be asking me in just a second (or less) why in the hell I'm reviewing... of all things... a fingerboard...? Well, the reason is pretty simple: This little thing impresses the shit out of everybody that sees it. Even the most hardcore of hardcore skaters can't help but "ooooh" and "aaah" over this little bugger. I know, because they keep asking me if they can check it out. So I figured that if it's "core" enough for Indianapolis' hardcore elite, then it's probably "core" enough for everybody else, too:
If you've read my Evansville article, then you probably remember that I got this little toy at Killer's Second Anniversary party. It's cool, because it's got the same exact graphic that Killer Skatepark puts on their shop decks, right on the fingerboard. This is actually something that's available to most shops (and companies) through No Comply. If I were a skateboard company (or shop), I'd definitely be all over this shit. Because it would absolutely be the coolest promotional item ever, bar none.
Unlike most Tech Decks, this doesn't use the standard "griptape". Instead, it's covered in a thin foam that resembles (and feels like) neoprene. Which is the stuff that surfing wetsuits are made out of, if I'm not mistaken. This stuff is fairly soft, but it grips sort of like sticky rubber on your fingertips. It works, and it works great. And it's far easier on the fingers than griptape is.
No-Comply's attention to quality and detail is nothing short of amazing. This is, quite literally, a perfectly scaled-down miniature skateboard... waaaaay over-and-above the typical Tech Deck. Examples include: The laminated, 5-ply maple veneer deck that's actually pressed in a miniature little press (go figure that one out), and the lathed wheels that actually have teeny tiny little bearings in them. No, I am not shitting you one bit! There really are bearings in there! It's insane, I know. But it's also really, really impressive on some nerdy, geeky level. The bonus, of course, is that the wheels roll really, really good.
The wheels are even available in a number of styles and sizes. "Awww, man... are you serious...?!" Yup, I sure am. This Killer deck came with what they called "1993-Style Bearing-Cover Wheels"... and they do look just like the real thing. Of course, if finger-speed is your need, then you might wanna go 1995 or later with your rolling stock.
Compared to a "regular" Tech Deck, the No-Comply is a little bit wider, and a smidge longer. The nose and tail kicks are noticably mellower, while the center concave is quite a bit deeper. All in all, it looks a lot more like a "real skateboard" than the Tech Deck does. If it weren't for the neoprene-griptape-dead-giveaway, you'd probably be pretty hard pressed to discern it from the real thing in the photos.
Another comparison view, better illustrating the width of the respective boards.
I knew damn good and well that nobody was gonna believe me when I told them that the wheels had real bearings in them, so I requested (and recieved) an extra set of wheels from Todd Cuzzort, the guy that makes these little skateboards. The pen gives a sense of scale. These bearings are tiny...!
These little skateboards, and the components that they're built out of... they're all totally handmade. I almost forgot to mention that part, thanks for reminding me. Except for the trucks, which look like the "big" ones that came on Tech Deck's "old-school" series from a few years back. But besides that, the making of the decks and the wheels, and assembling them into a complete board... that's all done one little skateboard at a time.
If you're interested in seeing more of these, check out No-Comply's website at www.nocomplyfingerboards.com. Which brings me to my only two complaints. The first being that the website doesn't even do these things any sort of justice at all. It really doesn't surprise me much, considering that these things were nothing short of an absolute bitch to photograph... but still, it might be a good investment to get better photos up on the site.
Secondly: The pricing strctures on the website are all over the place, and confusing as hell. Here's what I know: I absolutely insisted on paying full price for mine at Killer, and that "full price" was fifteen bucks... sixteen and change, after tax. And because I demanded that I not get any sort of discount, I'm assuming that I actually paid full price for it. Which is pretty damned reasonable, given all of the miniature detail involved, and the fact that it'll probably last next to forever.
And it's so fucking cool. That pretty much justifies the price, all by itself.
