The Arbor Hybrid longboard is built to give wide support and smooth ride for poolwork, cruising and even more technical tricks. The Arbor Hybrid longboard is shorter than the other Arbor cruiser boards, enabling you to cut and carve almost anything. Use Arbor's Koa wood finished stiff deck for that shape, and add Randal trucks and custom Kryptonics wheels, and you get a nice ride. However, being in the middle makes the Hybrid an oddly specialized longboard.
Basic Specs
The Arbor Hybrid longboard is 38" long by 9 1/4" wide at it's widest point. The board is made from 7 plys of rock hard maple, with a final ply on the top of Hawaiian Koa, the traditional wood of surfing. Koa has an incredible diversity of colors in its grain, and the board is covered in clear re-grip so you can enjoy the colors of the Koa wood.
The Arbor Hybrid complete longboard comes with
Randal reverse pin trucks set with a 24 inch wheel base. These trucks are great - the reverse pin idea is brilliant. They add to the balance of the board. I feel these are some of the best longboard trucks on the market right now.
The wheels are 65mm Kryptonics Hawaii Ks with a 78a durometer. These custom wheels are crystal blue with a darker blue swirl effect inside. The effect is more than sweet. The bearings within the wheels are basic ABEC 3s - you'll want to replace these, but there's no rush. And if you don't ride aggressively, you won't need to change anything at all.
The Bottom Line
The Arbor Hybrid rides nice and smooth. The Randal trucks and Kryptonics wheels give a nice, smooth ride and the wide deck provides a great stance for carving through the flow of skate parks and pools. The Arbor Hybrid longboard is also a great size for trying out tricks that you might regularly do on your smaller skateboard. One of our testers did a kickflip with the Arbor Hybrid longboard on his first try. For being a cross between a longboard and a trick board, the Arbor Hybrid works out fairly well.
The drawback would be that this really is a middle-of-the-road sort of board. It wasn't long enough for me to feel comfortable bombing hills on it, and it has the wrong shape to really carve. It's not bad for these things, the Hybrid simply isn't the best. So, for most people out there who are looking for a longboard to cruise with, to carve with, or a regular skatedeck to do tricks with, this isn't the board for you. If you are looking for a board to hit pools and parks with, the Arbor Hybrid Longboard might be just the ticket.
