Mentality Skateboards Review - Clothing, Decks, Wheels, Team, etc!

Mentality Skateboards is a newer skateboard company that makes clothing, decks, wheels and more. They have an established skateboarding team, and actually make good quality gear! Skateboarding companies pop up here and there all the time, and it's rare to find a skateboard company that does well enough to stick around, let alone make good stuff that I would actually want to buy!

Mentality skateboard decks are good quality 7 ply Canadian maple, made in the USA. They are priced at around 50 US dollars, but come with free grip tape, a free wallet and free shipping! They have several choices for graphics, most of which currently have a communication-style theme going, with radio towers, or a crazy dude watching TV or reading the paper. The deck that I tried out for this review is called the Mentality Scramble, a wider deck perfect for park riding. I have no complaints about the strength and pop. The graphics feature a white top with Mentality right at the usual logo spot above the back trucks. The bottom graphics feature the name Mentality jumbled in black over a red background, with the a large white Mentality Logo in the center. The Mentality logo is pretty sweet - it looks simple and yet iconic.

Mentality skateboard wheels are all made of high quality urethane, thin cut and hard (duro 101). The wheels have a tread, and come in 50mm, 52mm and 54mm sizes. The wheels come with a free belt and free shipping. Mentality likes to toss in these freebies, and the free shipping is a great idea. You know exactly how much you are spending, and even with all this free stuff, these wheels and decks come out costing about the same as other brands.

I was easily satisfied with Mentality's skate gear. The deck didn't shoot lasers, and the wheels don't make you skate better or anything, but you should really ignore most claims like that. If you want good skate gear, then buy quality.

Mentality shirts are 100% cotton, well made and even feature a little M logo tag on the bottom side. The question is, do you like how they look? That's up to you. I like the one that says, "Skateboarding saved my mentality", and the one that features the Mentality logo (I really like that logo!), but I didn't fall in love with all of them. It's all up to you. But to put your mind at ease before you buy them off the internet - they are well made, 100% cotton, and should keep your body covered. Plus, Mentality T-shirts come with a free belt and shipping from the Mentality website!

I also tried out a Mentality hoodie, and liked it. Again, it's just a hoodie, but it's a good quality hoodie. In fact, it is so good that one of my friends "borrowed" it. Without asking. In some countries, they call that stealing. But for you, hopefully that tells you it's a good hoodie! I got the one with the big M logo. Go figure. The hoodies also feature the crazy Mentality free shipping and come with a Mentality wallet.

So what about these free wallets and belts? I love the wallet. It's simple, with the M logo on the corner, has a zippered change pocket, Velcro, a windowed spot for your license, and is tough and well stitched. The belt is one of those cotton webbing belts with a flip metal buckle. I don't like these kinds of belts, but if you do, you'll like this one. It has a metal tab on the end, has the iconic M logo and will even hold your pants up.

Mentality doesn't just make clothes, they have a real skateboarding team. The biggest pro on the team is Dan MacFarlane (check out the Dan MacFarlane pro skater bio). You might recognize his name from the Skateboarding Explained DVD that he made. The team has three other notable members - Jason Barr, Jonathan Bastian and Chris Cope. You can check out video clips of these guys pulling off several different tricks on the Mentality Team site. You can also check out more about Mentality on the Mentality MySpace page.

The whole Mentality concept is worth taking a look at. A lot of companies out there just come up with a clever name and logo, some fancy graphics and then hope you'll buy it. But some companies actually have reasons for their names, like Fallen, or Element. Mentality is like these. The whole concept is that you can really do anything you set your mind to. So much of skateboarding is about believing you can do it - picturing it in your mind, trusting your body and going for it. The logo, "Skateboarding saved my mentality" isn't just clever - for a lot of skaters out there, it's just true! The whole relationship between your mind and yourself, your outlook and world view, how much you believe in yourself, and where your mind is at - that's all wrapped up in your mentality. Thus, the name!

Mentality Skateboards is in some ways just another skateboard company. So, why would you want to buy stuff from them? There are several reasons - to be different, to support skaters and not mega-huge corporations, because you like the message behind the company, or because you like the gear. Plus, Mentality does a good job in trying to pull you in by giving away so much free stuff. Buy a few things, and you'll have extra belts and wallets to give you to your buddies. Free birthday presents!

In all, I'm very happy with the gear that Mentality Skateboards has to offer. They've made sure to make their stuff high quality, and then give it to you at a good price with free shipping and bonus gear. I'm still using the deck and wheels, and the clothes, and would easily recommend this stuff to anyone.

Ask for Mentality skate gear at your local skate shop, or buy it online at MonsterSkate.com. Shops can order Mentality stuff from Rax distribution, or Break Free Distribution in Australia.