Photos of the packaging


About me and this board
I have been fingerboarding for about 10 years on and off although my involvement with the online scene is limited. I've had dozens of Tech Decks ever since I started fingerboarding and I have now become a collector of different Tech Deck shapes, molds and series. This board is a complete built with the original parts in the pack. I have used it only indoors as a non-main setup for less than a day but decided to write a few sections first to edit later. This is just for the purpose of a heads up. I've not done any silly pictures with anime figures this time for this review. This is my sixth fingerboard review and 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.

Board setup - original parts from the Wood Competition Series (G2)


Company Profile
Tech Deck is a big fuck-off international franchise specialising in producing miniature skateboard toys with licensed graphics from well known skateboard companies. The boards are designed to have an authentic skateboard feeling with their licensed graphics, die cast trucks, griptape and all their interchangeable components. They appeal to skateboard enthusiasts, toy collectors as well as making fingerboarding accessible to younger children with their affordable price. With sales and recognition worldwide, they really help people get into fingerboarding before they wish to invest in more premium products.

This board in particular shows product development based upon actual feedback from fingerboarders that wanted a better deck shape and foam grip.

Website: http://techdeck.com/
Foam Grip Concave Wood Competition Series: http://techdeck.com/app/website/articles/news?id=The-Skitchin-Insider-Exclusive-Preview-Foam-Grip-Concave-Wood-Competition-Series

Deck graphic


Board Statistics
Deck Length: 97mm aprox
Deck Width: 26mm (measuring the curve of the concave is 28.5mm)
Nose and Tail concaves: medium
Rail to rail concave: medium
Ply Construction: 5-ply - natural, dark brown, red, dark brown, natural
Kicks: medium
Asymmetry: Holes for front trucks are placed 1mm further back from the concave, compared to the back truck holes.
Kingpin holes: none

Truck width: 26mm
Axles: Single axle; fixed to hollow wheels

In this pack, you also get:
2 sets (16) 5mm mounting screws
4 extra white bushings
3 rubber risers
1 mini sticker sheet
1 yellow TD tool

Top of deck


Transaction Details
RRP: $7.99 - Different for different retailers internationally
Shipping cost: -
Time to arrive: -

The boards should eventually be easy to get in many toy stores and retailers worldwide so I won't go into detail here as it's likely to be different for everyone. I personally got mine from eBay since new TD stuff takes months or years to arrive in the UK, I also had some left over money from other things I sold.

Another angle of the top


Packaging
I have to comment that the packaging is well designed as you can clearly see everything included in the package before you buy it. There is even a back window so you can view the top of the deck. The plastic also protects it hopefully ensuring you get it in good condition no matter where you buy it from. The plastic was partially crushed when I got it in the mail but all the parts are perfectly fine.

Deck shape from side & wheel graphics


Set up with foam tape


Deck Craftsmanship
As you will know, Tech Decks are mass produced like fuck in China but that will also mean the decks are consistent and well made with perfect shape and holes. Tech Deck do sometimes have quality control issues so there may be minor flaws with boards.

With my board:

The rails are perfectly perpendicular.
The kicks are perfectly shaped and round.
The lacquer is adequate and covers the entire board. There's only a tiny spec on the graphic side where there are a few dots where there is missing lacquer and a tiny bit of excess lacquer hanging over the nose. These issues are tiny and nothing to complain about though.
The mounting holes are countersunk, able to fit the included screws and any Tech Deck screws. I did notice the back holes are about 0.5mm off center as the back wheels stick out just past the deck on one side but not the other. This is a minor issue and not noticable when skating it.
The bottom ply is printed with an authentic Flip Sk8 Dice graphic. Although the graphic is applied perfectly fine, I wish it was applied the other way as most people like me are right-handed and I prefer having the left side of the graphic as the nose. With this, the "F" die on the graphic is on the tail. I really do love this graphic though and it's quite a recent one as I've seen skate catalogues with this Flip deck this year. Flip is my second favourite skate company after Almost and have British roots.
The top ply is very clean and smooth. It is also branded with a Tech Deck logo similar to other premium fingerboard decks.
The plies are done nicely and are more colourful than the previous generation.

G2 Wood Competition Series with a Black Dipped TD


Differences to standard Tech Decks:
These Wood Competition Series decks are marginally longer and wider than the standard Tech Deck. The kicks are the same height, rail-to-rail concave is higher than standard TDs but there is slightly less tail/nose concave. Even though the truck holes are much further apart on standard TDs, due to the Competition Series trucks being slightly off-set like skateboard trucks, the wheelbase is actually pretty much the same.

Difference to Competition Series:
The original Competition Series boards were plastic, shorter and thinner than even standard Tech Decks and had no concave at all. The original pack also came with an extra set of Competition Series trucks with smaller wheels and show the single axle at the top of the hanger whereas you cannot see the axle at the top of the new hangers.

Wooden Collector Series/G2 Wood Competition Series/G1 Wood Competition Series


Difference to Wooden Collector Series:
The first wooden decks by TD were so ridiculously flat as they had such low kicks and came with standard trucks.

Difference to Wooden Competition Series (G1):
The G1 decks still had quite low kicks, have about the same nose/tail concave but very low rail to rail concave. They came with the same trucks/wheels but with yellow bushings. They also had less spare parts in the pack.

Concave prototype/G2 Wood Competition Series/Concave Series


Difference to Concave Series:
The plastic concave TDs are obviously cheaper, with griptape and standard trucks and wheels. The concave on the plastic ones had much sharper angles compared to the concave on the G2 Wood Competition Series which feels much rounder.

Foam Tape
This is one of the main new features with the Competition Series and I did want to try it out. With first impressions, it looks and feels quite similar to No Comply Foamy Greatness tape in that it has very small holes making up the foam tape. However it is much thinner and less grippy than Foamy G and the adhesive isn't as sticky. Although it does feel smooth and has adequte grip for fingerboarding, it's the dimensions of the tape that dissappoint me. The tape is only about 22.5mm wide but the deck is 26mm wide so you have a gap of 1.75mm on the edges of the board. I prefer to have tape close going up close to the edge of the board, if the tape is too narrow, it makes the whole deck feel narrow. As is it a concave deck, having narrow tape kind of defeats the point of having concave as it negates some of it.

Foam tapes of TD Wood Competition Series and Close Up G3


Trucks & wheels
(most of this is from a rant in my review for the G1 boards but I have made a few changes)
Tech Deck have marketed these trucks and wheels combinations with their Indy and Ricta branding but compared to the actual skateboard products, I'm afraid to say the Tech Deck counterparts are a huge disappointment. The wheels are fixed to the axles. What the flying fuck, Tech Deck? Sure, the wheels might be somewhat smoother than the standard trucks and standard wheels but the old standard white wheels from the X-Concepts era really weren't that bad and I'd much rather have those than the Competition Series trucks.

Another criticism is that the wheels are hollow with no back. They might claim this is to reduce weight but I really can not tell much difference between standard wheels and these. The wheels will easily crack and I believe it is another ploy to make it easily breakable in order to get more sales for replacements.

The branding on these trucks also seem very useless. With the last generation, the wheels were marketed as Ricta wheels but I am glad they have dropped this as they didn't resemble Rictas at all and didn't do the brand justice. I still have complaints about the wheels though. I swear the wheel graphics have seriously gone backwards since X-Concepts days and are much blurrier than the old wheels. These also cut off part of the graphic. They're supposed to be a Flip HKD graphic but some of the text is cut off. As for the Independent branded trucks, it is only really a logo stuck on. As a skateboarder, I know what real Indys look like and these trucks look nothing like the shape of Indys. They have no engravings on the baseplate either. Even when X-Concepts made Indy branded trucks for their handboards, they were quite accurate. For these trucks, it's just a dodgy logo stuck on but the logos aren't even applied straight or centered so it looks ghetto as fuck and not like an authentic truck. The axles and wheels also make it seem more like a cheap toy than a miniature scale skateboard. Although these axles came a bit loose, they ride normally. All my previous Competition Series axles came loose very easily and made riding it very bumpy, horrible and very off-putting when you are focusing to pop a trick.

Bottom of trucks - recycled picture from last review but they are the same shape


In the picture above, I noticed that the baseplates have a giant hole in them, much larger than the holes on your standard China trucks. Pivot cups probably won't work on them.

Although I like that the trucks and wheels match the deck width, the wheels may extend by about 1mm from the side of the deck and I assume this was for making the axles easier to install.

The kingpin does not stick out but this is standard these days.

Difference to Competition Series:
The Competition Series came with 2 sets of these trucks & wheels. One set had smaller, white wheels with a coloured ring on them on Indy branded trucks. The other set had larger wheels branded with a board company's graphics and unbranded trucks. They also had a hole in the hanger so you could see the axle going through it from the top.

Difference to G1 Wood Competition Series:
No difference except the bushings were yellow in the G1 trucks, white in the G2.

Screws & Risers
I'm actually very happy they decided to give an entire extra set of these long screws. The previous Competition Series packs only came with a few spares but this time you get 2 sets of screws. These 5mm long screws are also really good as longer screws make decks with slightly bad holes still usable. If on other decks, mounting holes are slightly off, you can angle the long screws to mount the trucks and tighten it as normal; you can't do this with normal short screws. Also, they are useful for decks with inadequate countersinking.

I had problems with getting the risers on the G1 board even though they had long screws; I'm not sure if these G2 screws are longer but it was really easy to install the risers this time round. Although the risers were really easy to put on, I thought it made it a bit too high so I took them off. I guess it's all about preference but the option is there for people who want it.



Overall Performance
Bear in mind, I've had this for less than a day. I remember all the things I hated with the last Competition Series decks and with the news ones, everything is significantly better. The kicks are of decent height and size this time and much easier to skate. I did notice that the wheelbase is quite small though, even smaller than Close Ups. After a short while of getting used to it, it is alright to skate. Having longer kicks has sacrificed some of the wheelbase and I'd prefer a few more millimeters but as it's mainly marketed to kids, this is probably quite suitable. Apart from that, the deck size is quite nice, the pop is good. After skating bearing wheels and urethane wheels for a while, I notice that these wheels are grossly inferior and kind of lets the entire setup down. They've improved the other things but not the trucks/wheels. Even though they're smooth, there's just something about the feel of them that makes it seem cheap. The only difference about the white bushings are the colour, they're still hard and static. The deck is the main stand-out feature and I would probably consider using just the deck with other components. This board is so much better than the last one and I think kids will really enjoy it and hopefully be aware of the much wider fingerboard scene where there are lots of great companies making great products.

TD Wood Competition Series G2 vs. Close Up G4


Tech Deck/Close Up
I notice these new Tech Decks are becoming increasingly similar to Close Ups since they both have a lower priced complete board featuring 5-ply wooden concave real-wear decks, foam tape and branded trucks and wheels. This why I will make a short comparison section here. The Close Up G4s have 27mm decks and 29mm trucks so there's more room for control and stability. The TD is lighter but the Close Up gives a more satisfying pop when I pop it. Close Up's tape actually goes fits close to the edges compared to the TD. Close Up trucks are single axle but in the traditional shape, the TD trucks don't even let you switch wheels. Whereas the TD wheels are smooth, they also seem cheap and plasticky; the Close Up urethane wheels are smooth with lots of extra grip, which I love. Close Up actually have bushings that let you turn the trucks and conical washers to protect them and prevent them deforming. The TD bushings might not easily deform but are only good for riding rock hard tightness trucks, which isn't the best idea. As you can tell, I prefer Close Up G4s to the TD but Close Ups are also more expensive. I'm only comparing the Close Up because of the similarity but there are plenty of other companies out there who are great.

I must mention that this review is just what I think about the board. Reading multiple reviews by different people is definitely recommended. I have not managed to find another review on this yet :/

If you want to read an in-depth review of the G1 Wood Competition Series, I wrote a previous review here: https://fingerboardhq.darkbb.com/t4623-tech-deck-wood-competition-series-g1-review

You can buy Tech Deck Wood Competition Series boards from a shitload of places.

You may use this review and pictures, in part or in full, as long as you credit it to me and get permission from me in a PM.

Nice review man, but it doesnt really look like it has concave just bent up on the sides if you know what i mean..

brilliant review!
i always read every bit of your reviews, they actually help me decide what to get, its as if i trust them aha
keep them coming, awesome stuff man!

Jeez, that's the best review I've ever read

my mate has tat flip graphic deck fo real

Excellent Review. Tech Decks are astonishing.

Xi=review master!

Tech decks are finaly up to standards.Think about it,wooden deck,wooden ramps:)

Tech decks are finaly up to standards.Think about it,wooden deck,wooden ramps:)

^^^^^

Not really, They're still mass producing and not giving a toss about the scene.

But in some ways they're catching up to it. They just need to think before they act. Like do votes and stuff like that, ask us what we really want, instead of producing loads of shit quality produce. Who here has ever bought a TD with your preference's?

Techdecks are actualy quite trying to step up their game the foamtape looks so tiny and looks quite shit to me

DavidAntonsen wrote:

Nice review man, but it doesnt really look like it has concave just bent up on the sides if you know what i mean..

Well that's pretty much what concave is, isn't it? If you feel it with your fingers though, it does seem to be constructed nicely.

welshsnakehips wrote:

brilliant review!
i always read every bit of your reviews, they actually help me decide what to get, its as if i trust them aha
keep them coming, awesome stuff man!

Thanks. Glad there are people reading my long ass rants about flaws lol.

Finn S wrote:

Jeez, that's the best review I've ever read

Thanks. Have you read my others?

chiller123 wrote:

my mate has tat flip graphic deck fo real

Yeah. It's such a sick graphic. I've seen this in a skate catalogue and like how they're using recent board graphics. Flip is also my second fav team after Almost. I also love the idea of Sk8 Dice and it would be so sick for fingerboarding too.

Forgiven wrote:

Excellent Review. Tech Decks are astonishing.

Thanks. TD still has its improvements to make but it's huge progress from their last deck.

mrjacobburke wrote:

Xi=review master!

Naw. Kerry is.

Peter.A wrote:

Tech decks are finaly up to standards.Think about it,wooden deck,wooden ramps:)

Well, I wouldn't say up to standards yet. The wooden deck may be close to good now (the only thing I'd change is the wheelbase/length ratio) but the grip is the wrong size and could have better adhesive, trucks and wheels are quite stupid and the bushings are rock hard which don't turn. As for the wooden ramps, I can't really comment if I've not tried them but I think I'd prefer a Winkler mini to the TD mini as the Winkler seems to have less steep walls and knowing TD, their scale will be too small. The funbox thing seems OK except the tiny rail. I won't be buying any of those though since I already have a Winkler Dos and a plastic TD funbox kind of set.

James.P wrote:

^^^^^

Not really, They're still mass producing and not giving a toss about the scene.

But in some ways they're catching up to it. They just need to think before they act. Like do votes and stuff like that, ask us what we really want, instead of producing loads of shit quality produce. Who here has ever bought a TD with your preference's?

Well technically, that isn't true. TD have sponsored the Fast Fingers events in Germany, held events and contests all around the US including the current US Fingerboard Championships, they've held online contests to the US, they've got their own forum, they have 2 guys on FFI who post info, get feedback and also do worldwide giveaways. That aside, I know they could do a lot more, especially for the UK.

As for TD asking fingerboarders what they really want, they have done that selectively. Where else do you think the wooden concave and foam tape came from? Sure, it might seem like TD are just following a trend for money but kids did actually ask for this, hell, even I suggested this at some point on the TD forums. If you're wondering what else I suggested, I think it was a good topic: http://my.techdeck.com/orca/#topic/--2011-04-29-0.htm
They did completely ignore the general negative feedback of the Competition Series trucks/wheels though.

As for preferences, I actually like 26mm decks. The TD Wood Competition Series and the Concave Series are all 26mm wide. Although 99mm length is my preference, I am much less fussy about the length. There was also a time when pretty much everyone used a Tech Deck. It was the only preference.

Anyway, I have actually tried to post this to the TD forums but due to their different system, I can't enter BBCode and it's a real hassle to get it formatted correctly so I've just deleted it.

noelboy225 wrote:

Techdecks are actualy quite trying to step up their game the foamtape looks so tiny and looks quite shit to me

I think it's probably recycled from the Foam Grip Series (normal plastic TDs but with foam grip). I can see this fitting the plastic boards fine but it's too small for this, yeah. It could also do with a bit more grip and better adhesive.

Do you like the ''foam" tape?

Anyway brilliant review.
In my opinion you do the best reviews well most detailed anyway

best reviewer ever... hands down.

mrjacobburke wrote:

Do you like the ''foam" tape?

Anyway brilliant review.
In my opinion you do the best reviews well most detailed anyway

Well the material is not bad. I don't like thick tapes and this is probably the thinnest tape I've seen (apart from maybe Fusion). It's soft and smooth but the grip isn't as much as other tapes. I can still skate it fine though and the amount of grip people like really depends on the person. The main thing I don't like is that the size is too small. Overall it has good and bad points so I don't feel strongly about it in either direction.

Thanks jacob and nedim.

Yeah since I got a wooden set up I think that the td shape is way too small