Just The Facts:
Width: 10.125"
Length: 31.875"
Nose: 5.50"
Tail: 6.75"
Wheelbase: 15.375"
Construction: Powerply (7-ply maple), .375" thick
Made In: China. Says right on the shrink-wrap barcode.
Graphics: Heat transferred.
Concave: Linear double-kick, no rocker.
The Set-Up: 60mm 92a NOS Bullets, Indy 169's (Stage 9), 1/2" risers, Mini Logo bearings and griptape. If I were using contemporary wheels, I'd probably use Speedlab's "Time Flies" series.
Bought it at: Rhett Skateboarding in Bloomington, Indiana. Support the independent retailer.
The cost: $56.00, with grip
The Good:
There's a lot to like about this deck. It's big, for those size 13's (like mine). It's roomy and stable, with that super-long wheelbase. It's comfortable enough. It's fairly tough wood that can take a lot of abuse. The graphics are both killer, and classic.
It has a nose that I would call "semi-functional": It's long and steep enough to keep your front foot from inadvertantly sliding off the front of the deck, but not quite long enough for comfortable and confident nosegrinds, reverts, etc. But all in all, in this regard, it is still a substantial improvement over the originals.
I also like the fact that NHS is one of the few companies that is totally up-front about where their stuff is made. The prominent "Made In China" on the barcode is a nice, honest touch. It shows integrity. Which is something that I wish more skateboard companies had these days.
But really, the main reason I bought it is that it's "The Meekster". It's really hard to deny The Meekster, and that definitive, always-rad Jim Phillips styling.
The Bad:
Like most mass-produced-and-imported decks these days, it feels "immediately disposable". It's not the classic, quality builds that the OGs were. Torsionally, it's wussier than a wet noodle. The paint practically falls off on it's own, and the deck stress-cracks at the slightest agitation.
But the really remarkable oversight of the re-issues... and this is a long, long-standing complaint... is the fact that they still don't use the much more "original", and far superior, Cruz Missile Concave on these re-issues. Which is doubly strange, since Santa Cruz went through such great (and successful) pains a couple years back to re-engineer (and modernize) the Cruz Missile Concave for their excellent "Dead Pool" model (which also won our informal "Deck Of The Year" Award in 2011).
So they've got the great shapes, the great riders, the killer graphics, and the groundbreaking (and still world-beating) concaves... but, they can't get them all together on one deck...? How strange.
Given that the "Dead Pools" are also made in China... presumably, at the same factory... then it becomes an even bigger mystery why these aren't pressed in the same convave, too.
Seriously: They'd be much, much better products if they were.
The Final Verdict:
They're fine, for what they are. They're basically fair-to-good riders. I certainly wasn't bummed. And the kids at the park loved it.
But if Cruz ever caved in, and made the switch to the new and improved Cruz Missile Concave for these, and the rest of their reissue lineup...? They'd instantly become truly excellent decks. If not the very best in the entire industry.
