Vanguard Loaded Longboard Review

The first thing that will jump out at you is the hyper aggressive arch on the spine of this board, convex camber accents the gently concaved rails, giving the deck the appearance of a board ready to spring. The wheels, sit on trucks mounted at the very edged of the decks nose and tail, aggressive swept in rails meet the mounting points of the nose and tail, bringing to mind images of a drag pacer with its paws down to the ground gripping the pavement. Flipped on its back a simple graphic adorns its belly. The pricetag is $300 for a complete off the loaded website.

This board when it came out and even now is unique in so many ways, initially developed with oak it now is constructed with a vertical laminate, but this board; although green may be a consideration is actually a serious combination of thought and technique. The board itself was initially built around the truck and wheel setup that it first ran with, this gave the board a very unique and distinct riding style. A feeling of compression and grip allowed the rider an entirely new skating style. Coming in 5 flexes in two sizes give the many board rider body types, and flex preferences the chance to get exactly the ride out of the Vanguard they wanted. This propelled and advanced riding styles that few boards could or can emulate. The vertical laminate bamboo construction is sandwiched with triaxial fiberglass and the entire construction process is focused on waste loss and eco friendly methods. The earth friendly construction methods do nothing to dampen the boards progressive flex and do everything to let the rider know Loaded is doing everything to be kind to the earth and the stoke. The load on the earth is lightened and so is the weight of the board, the Vanguard for its size class is one of the lightest boards around. Loaded has a slogan “without love our boards would break” and this shows with Loaded riders. Loaded riders tend to be some of the most dedicated and enthusiastic skaters in regards to the products that Loaded delivers to them and their loyalty to them.

The Vanguard stands in the Top 10 longboards for bringing a truly innovative riding style to longboarding. In a market full of gimmick setups and throw away boards Loaded created something truly original and impressively inspired. When you step on a Vanguard you are met with a board that is willing to do whatever you want to, the streets the limit and the board is ready to challenge it. You are limited only by your imagination and cajones. The Vanguard has gone through minimal changed in its life, graphics and setup have been tweaked and the Oak was replaced with Bamboo. Nothing has changed in the quality, feel, and pleasure of riding one of the most unique boards available today.

Malakai Kingston is the mad genius behind the Silverfish Longboarding website, and has been sharing his expertise on longboarding and skateboarding for a long time.