I waited a bit to make this review because I wanted to sesh this deck a bit to get a good feel for it and also I didn't feel like doing reviews (reminds me of lab reports in review form lol). Lazily copied Xi's review format because I am an unoriginal dumb. Sorry Xi. Also, I would like to apologize for bad sentence structure (lazy per the norm) and for the terribad pictures. They do absolutely no justice for my Frost. Anyways, onto the review.
I ordered a custom Frost G3 deck from Chad Spradling, owner of Frost Fingerboards. I always wanted to try a Frost for a few years now, but I never got around to until now.
PackagingThe deck came in a bubble mailer in a plastic baggie wrapped with extra bubble wrap. It came with a sheet of Mob Griptape and a card with pics of the deck and a list of the ply combination (from bottom to top).
10/10Deck SpecsDeck Length: 100 or 101mm (Approximately)
Deck Width: 32mm
Nose and Tail: Both symmetrical
Concave: Medium (If you ride mellow concave decks like I did for awhile, the concave feels deep, but 1mm tape will mellow it out.)
Ply Construction: 5-ply, all maple I think (dyed and natural), top to bottom - Icy blue, natural, purple, natural, and purple
Kicks: Medium-mellow
Asymmetry: I don't really see it.
Kingpin holes: Yes
Wheelbase: 54.5 mm...ish
Weird angle shot and Dirty tape
Should've cleaned it.
Concavity
Transaction DetailsPrice: $20 USD shipped for a custom (I think it's an extra $2 for splits.)
Shipping cost: - (May be different for international buyers.)
Time to arrive: 2 weeks
Purchased on July 10th, took a few days for Chad to reply (-0.5) with a form for me to fill out the custom plies (It's now implemented in his website so this would not be a problem anymore). He shipped it on July 24th. So the custom took a week. Shipping took 6 days (July 30th) from Florida to New York. Not bad at all.
9.5/10First ImpressionsLoved the smell of fresh cured lacquer when I opened up the package. I was like "Holy, this deck is huge." I only rode 30 and 31mm decks for the past 2 years. Now that I have been using my Frost as my main, my previous mains look quite small to me now. I guess that happens to all fingerboarders who switch sizes.
CraftsmanshipTop, middle, and bottom plies are very vibrant. Lacquer is not too thick and not too thin. Some of the wood grain was still visible which is what I like. Very solid pop. I was a little worried of the concave because it felt deep but that soon changed when I put some foam tape on it which mellowed it out a bit but was still noticeable. "Frost" was stamped on top of the deck. The rails of the deck were completely straight and the rounding on the kicks were even. The kicks are round instead of pointy, and are symmetrical. The holes were nicely drilled and aligned. The countersinks still had some tiny pieces of wood left in the holes, but they were easily cleaned away. Setting up my board was no problem at all. Overall, I was very impressed in the hard work Chad puts in for each deck.
10/10Scuffs and cloudiness from use. It looks red, but the Sun and my crapcam is playing mind games. It has a tinge of purple to it.
PerformanceI set the deck up with stock Tech Deck 32mm trucks, 1mm China tape, and some G6e's. The deck reminded me of a Berlinwood NM (The only newest Berlinwood I've ever tried) only wider and with slightly lower kicks. Is that just what a regular Berlinwood Wide or Wide Low is? Idk. But I digress. Since my preference is medium-mellow kicks and mellow concave, it took me a day or two to get used to a deeper concaved deck. The pop from doing ollies is very snappy. The 32mm width and the concave allowed me to have more control of how fast or slow I want the deck to flip or spin, and the concave made it easier for me to flip out of a grind or slide. It also made switch heels a lot easier to do. But the only thing that felt was a lot different than my preferred decks was when I tried to do switch and nollie tres because the concave would usually snag or quickly flip on my middle finger. Thus, I would end up over- or under-rotating the deck (Nollie/Switch varial flips for example). I would have to change my finger positioning to find the sweet spot. I started to loosened my trucks and that helped improve my tres greatly. That was my only gripe about this deck which only came down to preference. But still the performance on this bad boy is ace. Man, if Chad had a mold with the same kicks and mellower concave, I would gladly pay for the same custom all over again.
9.25/10Overall Fantastic custom deck and for the cheap price of $20. If this is the type of deck you prefer, you will not be disappointed in the least. Hell, even if your preference is different but you still want to try something new, I suggest you get your hands on one. It will take little time getting used to, but you will love it.
9.6/10Where to Order:You could send a message to Chad on FBHQ:FBHQ:
Chad SpradlingBuy From Flatface (although his store is cheaper): http://www.flatfacefingerboards.com/frost/Buy directly from his shop:http://www.frostfbs.com/FrostFingerboards/Home.htmlAlso check out his company and Instagram for updates:Frost updates: Frost Fingerboards Company UpdatesInstagram: @frostfingerboardsSorry for the gigantic pics.
Thanks for Reading.