Shipping
The deck took around 4 days to get to me. Not bad considering it came from Vermont to California. You also have to remember that the owner can't control shipping times, it's USPS that handles it.
9/10
First Impressions-
I was really surprised by the split ply, it looks really clean, and pretty nice considering he just started making split plies. The split is composed of very nice colors, it goes light to medium to dark. It was nicely pressed, and the laquer was smooth.
9/10
Craftsmanship-
The deck is really nicely pressed, very consistent shape. It's about 32mm at its widest point. The top ply was a nice darkwood, then maple, darkwood, maple, then the split ply bottom. The holes were drilled really nicely, however it could be slightly cleaner in my opinion. The split was very flush, you can barely feel the transition. The shape is pretty unique, rounded tail, pointy nose. I'm not the biggest fan of the pointy nose, but i guess that's what makes his cruisers unique. The sides of the deck could be sanded to be a little more even, a little better rounding around the edges. The laquer job is consistent and nice, still in pretty good condition after a lot of use. The deck doesn't flex at all, super solid, and you can tell a good amount of craftsmanship went into it. The rounding can be fixed a little bit, clean up the holes, otherwise pretty nice. 8.5/10
Performance-
The performance of the deck is pretty nice. The shape is unique, however it doesn't deter from performance. I could still do every single trick that i could do on a normal deck. The shape has medium kicks and a nice concave, so it really flows nicely during switch or nollie tricks in my opinion. Great pop, really fun to use. The performance i got out of this deck is some of the best i've ever gotten out of a deck from a smaller company. 9.5/10
Overall-
Overall, the craftsman ship can use a little bit of work, but the performance of this deck is great. It's currently my main, until my next deck purchase.
I've been using this deck all week, and it seriously is one of my favorite decks at the moment. For my own input, i would mellow out the point nose a little bit, perhaps evolve this shape into something that looks a little more flowy. With a few improvements, these decks will no doubt be incredible. I can't wait to see how these decks turn out once his stock drops.
I give this deck overall a solid 9/10
Really pleased with the deck, Ian. Good job!
If anything new about this deck pops up, i'll edit the post and make revisions to my review if needed. Go check out Deep Forest Decks!