Loaded Dervish Bamboo Longboard Review

The Loaded Dervish is a bamboo longboard designed to get you the most dynamic, all-around action possible. With the Dervish's flex and low center of gravity, combined with a clever truck mounting design, you can really dig in and bend this board to whatever it is you want to do. Bowls to hill bombing, and even tricks, the Loaded Dervish really does it all.

Loaded has produced several different styles of longboard carvers. The Dervish is easily one of the best they've produced to date. A lot of thought went into this baby, and you can see it just by looking at it! But, let me break down the technical side of the Loaded Dervish for you:

• Length - 41.5"
• Width - 8.5"
• Wheelbase - 33"
• Weight - 7 pounds complete (2.75 lbs deck only)
• Deck is a vert-lam bamboo core between epoxy and tri-axle fiberglass layers
• Available in two flexes, to cover riders from 100 to 230 pounds
• Deck works with a variety of trucks

The complete Loaded Dervish board that I received came with Gullwing Charger trucks, Lucky 7 bearings and BigZig wheels. However, if you buy your Dervish from the Loaded website, they can tweak and change options like this around for no extra cost.

I want to talk a little more about the deck design. It's a bamboo board, and built with a strong convex to it, which really lets you dig in. The trucks also drop through holes on the nose and tail of the board, but they've designed it so that you can attach a wide variety of trucks to this deck.

In every way, the Loaded Dervish is a middle-of-the-road board that does will in whatever environment you want to ride it.

Test riding boards is easily one of the coolest parts about writing up a review! For the Dervish, I had JT help me out. He's ridden longboards for quite some time, and had a lot of fun with the Dervish. For hill carving, he thought it was perfect, especially with the flex and the way the trucks that came with the board handled turning. JT has been riding a Sector 9 bamboo for a while, but he reports that the Sector 9 had no where near the same flex as the Dervish. With the upwards curve of the Loaded Dervish, you can dig in so much more.

For cruising, the Loaded Dervish was good and solid. JT couldn't think of anything bad to say about it at all. For me, I thought it was one of the most comfortable rides I've ever enjoyed. I really enjoyed being able to spring in and out of turns. Since I usually ride a regular skateboard, it's things like this that really set apart longboards and cruisers for me. If I'm going to be riding this board to get places, or to enjoy a soulful slope, I want to feel the board respond to me. The Loaded Dervish does just that.

And, from what I've seen from the Loaded team, the Dervish is perfect for play. The board is just the right size for all kinds of tricks and longboard dancing moves. Personally, I can't pull off much when it comes to tricks on boards this size, but if you want some inspiration, check out the Whirling Dervish video short.

The Loaded Dervish is a beautiful board. I always feel shallow and lame when I talk about how a board looks, but honestly, it's important. Skateboards have always been about more than just pulling off tricks and having fun - they've been about expression. They're artistic.

So, when I see a board with simple beauty, I have to point it out. The Loaded Dervish has the simple bamboo lines in the deck, giving it an earthy, comfortable look. The bottom design is relaxed and intricate, and doesn't distract from the wood. It's like a tattoo on someone who stays in shape. In test riding, the Dervish caught plenty of attention.

I would easily recommend the Loaded Dervish. To anyone. The way it can be ridden comfortably and confidently on just about anything makes it a board for pretty much any rider.

The only way I wouldn't recommend a Dervish is if you are shopping for a board to do one particular thing, and that thing is flying down hills at ludicrous speeds. In that case, you would want a larger, more stable board. Or, if you want to only ride in skate parks and pools all the time, then you might want to get a regular skateboard (I was going to say "something smaller", but honestly, just get a regular skateboard!).

But for a good all-around longboard, I don't know of another board to recommend above the Loaded Dervish right now. You'll love it.