The setup


About me and this board
I have been fingerboarding for about 12 years, finally picking up a sponsorship from Close Up in 2011-2012 and my only current sponsor, Ace Fingerboarding for tape. I have been involved with the online scene on FFI, FBHQ and YouTube, with lesser activity in other places. I have written fingerboard product reviews before as I am genuinely interested in fingerboard products and wish to share unbiased information. This is my 18th review and I hope the reader may see this as an unbiased review, especially as I represent no deck company.

As for experience with decks, I have had 51 different types of wooden decks, not including duplicates of the same model/mold/shape/size and have tried many more.

This deck has been set up with Aphlikshun tape and Tech Deck longboard trucks and Close Up bearing wheels. I have definitely been slacking in writing this review as I have had it for about a year now. This does, however, mean that I have had a lot of experience with the deck. I also later changed the trucks to Ytrucks X4s. I have only had it for indoor use.

How did I come across this deck? Phil contacted me directly on YouTube after seeing one of my videos and was extremely generous in offering me a free Snookie obstacle and a deck. When the package arrived, it also included a pack of tape and some stickers.

I pretty much just copy and paste this same format for all my reviews to save hassle. I personally prefer text-based reviews as opposed to video reviews as the reader can choose to read it at their own pace instead of being forced to follow the speed of the reviewer and who can often trail-off topic. I like to write my reviews detailed with enough information for potential buyers to know everything about the product before purchasing.

Apologies for my low quality pictures.

Company Profile
I haven't actually consulted with Phil, the owner of Aphlikshun, to write this so I will just try to write this section the best I can. Aphlikshun is one of the top fingerboard distributions in North America, along with Flatface, No Comply and Blackriver US. I personally believe Aphlikshun are very underrated as they have brilliant and unique products at great value prices, however, I hope you'll come to the same conclusion yourself.

Aphlikshun makes a very large range of decks with different molds to suit different people's preferences. They come in 32mm width, the current standard, but I believe some may be available in other widths. In the last year, they have also introduced graphics on their decks.

Their other area of notable mention are their wooden obstacles. Again, there's a huge range and plenty of obstacles that aren't widely made by other companies. They are at extermely good prices and have really great craftsmanship too (I own one AFX obstacle and have used another). There are also stone obstacles and rails.

Besides their decks and obstacles, they also sell No Comply wheels and other pieces of tuning.

Webshop: http://www.aphlikshunfingerboards.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PhilBwankenobi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aphlikshun-Fingerboards/154036394613150

Product Overview
Well, it's hard to say exactly what you will receive when you buy a deck. Personally, I got a free package with other things. I believe all AFX decks will come with a sheet of tape and stickers are pretty standard as free extras at all fingerboard companies.

Deck Statistics
Deck Length: ~102mm
Deck Width: 32mm
Nose and Tail concaves (dips): very low
Rail to rail concave: low-medium
Ply Construction: 5-ply, assumedly maple, top to bottom - light natural, dark natural, red, dark natural, yellow
Kicks: low-medium height/short length
Asymmetry: Appears pretty much symmetrical
Kingpin holes: No (but are available by request)
Wheelbase: 45mm
Graphic: Blank yellow dyed bottom ply with APHLIKSHUN stamp

Note: All measurements are approximate

Transaction Details
Price: - (normally costs $24.95)
Shipping cost: - (normally worldwide shipping is included)
Time to arrive: - Just over a week from US -> UK.

I cannot really comment on a purchase of the product since this was part of a free package that was a gift from Phil. However, I'm very pleased with the responses in communication, fast dispatch and fast and safe shipping.

Packaging
There wasn't any fancy packaging for the deck. It came in a small cardboard box that also housed the Snookie obstacle and other things and everything was secure arriving in good condition.

Deck top


Side/concave


Side


Deck craftsmanship
Aphlikshun have a huge range of products so by extension, I assume they also have very good experience in making products. With my deck, the craftsmanship is near perfect.

The rails are perfectly parallel.
The kicks are well shaped and rounded.
The lacquer is adequate and covers the entire board uniformly.
The mounting holes are centered, countersunk and fits screws well.
The bottom stamp is applied well and is not misaligned.
The top ply is very clean and smooth with a professional stamp, also aligned nicely.
The combination of plies is a nice choice.

The only tiniest negatives of the craftsmanship are the mounting holes and the rounding of the kicks. It is possible to identify that the holes are not perfect so they're probably hand-drilled but they are as good as you'd be able to manage and I had no problem with mounting trucks (See "Deck top" picture). The kicks have the tiniest bit of asymmetry on the rounding. Again, I must stress that these two things as so minor that they are barely worth mentioning. I aim to spot areas for potential improvement and these are all I can come up with.

I do like the stamp placement and size on the top as it means you can cut the tape around it to easily identify the tail.

Bottom


Grip


Deck performance
Overall, the performance is quite good. As a fingerboarder, I have reached the stage where I can adapt to any fingerboard. Relatively quickly, I found the deck very easy to use.

The features that stand out about this deck are its very short kicks coupled with a slightly longer than average wheelbase. Also very defining is its very small dips in both length and depth. It's quite unlike any dips I've seen in any other deck I've seen.

Starting with the short kicks and wheelbase, I believe this is the main drawback of this particular FX mold. I'm unable to comment about other Aphlikshun decks but the others probably have different combinations of kick and wheelbase sizes. As a long-time rider of Close Up decks, I was accustomed to long kicks and a short wheelbase. However, even with my reasonable ability to adapt to different decks, I still consider the kicks to be too short. One of my current main decks is a Blosom 32.5, a brand I've always considered to have short kicks, but this Aphlikshun FX has kicks about 2mm shorter than a Blosom. That is not to say that its short kicks make this deck anti-fun. It is still very useable but I believe it would be better with slightly longer kicks.

The most positive thing I found about this deck is its pop. Despite short kicks, the construction of the deck was great and has made the wood quite responsive. I am able to perform all of my standard tricks on this deck without much more difficulty than normal. I should also note that this was my first 32mm deck I used as a main and it was a positive experience.

The main advantages of a 32mm deck as opposed to a 29 would be the greater level of ease to land tricks and greater control in flipping and catching tricks and also the control riding transition. There is a tiny bit more effort required to flip a wider deck but you will get the greater control. Freestyle remains better with thinner decks due to the need to cycle through various tricks in one combo, especially with railstands and primos being easier when you are closer to the surface.

I've only used the deck indoors but my fingerboarding style includes a mixture of street, tech, freestyle, old school, unrealistic, vert/miniramp and it's been pretty decent in all of these aspects.

A terrible rushed picture comparing the Aphlikshun FX (middle) with a Blosom (top) and Close Up G5 (bottom)


Setup


Setup


Overall
As my first proper venture into 32mm decks, I rather enjoyed it. My personal opinion about its short kicks may not apply to you. This is just how I feel with my personal preference. I have tried a lot of decks though.

I would definitely recommend an Aphlikshun deck, for its great craftsmanship and service. If you like decks with short kicks and low-ish concave, perhaps this is the deck you should try. If not, there is a huge range of Aphlikshun decks available for you to choose from. There are also graphics available now and I believe you can also ask for a custom width if you don't like 32mm decks.

In my opinion, Aphlikshun are very underrated but all the UK people who have tried this deck when I have taken it to events have had something positive to say about it.

A small note I'd also like to mention is that the Aphlikshun tape is actually really good. Although the pack is quite expensive, it's a very durable, responsive, smooth tape that doesn't really need wearing in.

I must mention that this review is just what I think about the deck. Reading/watching multiple reviews by different people is definitely advised. I highly recommend watching this excellent and informative review by Snoboardinchick aka Courtney. She is sponsored by Aphlikshun, however, it's still a great review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXue5YHGo4E

Where to purchase
I think these decks are only available at Aphlikshun. The webshop was already linked in the company profile section above but here is a link to the deck directly:
http://www.aphlikshunfingerboards.com/FX-Deck-AD-018.htm

If you have read this review and it was useful, please reply! Review threads don't always get a lot of replies, even if they are read. If you didn't like this review, please tell me why so I can improve! If you would like a product reviewed, you should contact Kerry Williams; he does great reviews on his Unitefingerboarding blog.

Real nice review 0_0 Long ass poo as always!

I recommend people start sending you more products to review because they are crazy detailed!

"(M&S advert voice with slow music in background) It isn't just a review... it's an Xi review)"

Every time I saw a topic or a post made by Xi, I tell myself : at least someone who know how to tell everything in a big text.

That review is awesome. As always, but the deck feel a little long in my taste, I don't have 12 year or FB in my fingers, only a little more than 3 (2 really into doing it with tricks)

nice review Xi! i had a very hardcore aphlikshun deck a while ago, but i'd love to get one of these, because they look super nice!