Loaded Slide Gloves

Features:

Removable EVA foam wrist protectionReflective Materials (Good for night riding)Breathable Mesh TopBallistic grade nylon construction with Kevlar reinforcementsVelcro palm, thumb and finger pucksHigh molecular weight finger and palm pucks

I’ve had the Loaded slide gloves for a few months now so I have a pretty good idea how well the gloves hold up over time.

Firstly when I first got these I wasn’t the best at sliding but I’ve now improved considerably thanks to the practice and confidence these things gave me. It’s easy to just chuck these on and not have to worry about them coming off when you need them most, like trying to bust a shutdown slide to avoid slamming into a car at the end of a run (theres a velcro strap that secures them nicely). The padded wrist strap is also nice to protect your wrist which I often found would end up scraping the road when getting used to sliding.

Slide gloves are primarily used for safety reasons since it’s a lot easier to slide out on your hands if you bail instead of ripping up your skin. The loaded gloves are solid construction wise as long as you keep the pucks on the road and not the softer material which will rip fairly easy. I’m definitely not ashamed to say that these things saved my hands on more then one occasion.

The pucks that Loaded uses work very well at creating as little friction as possible with the road but they do wear pretty fast compared to other pucks out there. I ended up replacing the pucks in mine a few times since I really got into sliding when owning these and was always out practicing.

This is no problem since you can get replacement pucks for $14.95 which are a snap to put on since the gloves use velcro. I do however feel Loaded could improve these pucks drastically and make them last longer especially for the $60 price tag.

Overall I would recommend the loaded slide gloves to anyone looking for an easy solution to get started at sliding and to be safer. Loaded certainly could improve certain aspects of the gloves, mainly durability and using thicker pucks. Lastly if the $60 price tag scares you away you can always look to build your own which I’m currently in the process of trying.

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Loaded: Dervish vs Tan Tien

I’ve been getting a lot of specific questions  about which longboard people should buy, in particular the Loaded Dervish and the newer Loaded Tan Tien.  The correct answer on which board to buy depends mainly on you!

You have to look at all the differences between the two decks and the similarities as well so you can know what your gaining or losing by choosing one longboard over the other. This video I found does a great job describing the differences you’ll find between the two decks and also goes on to give helpful tips with setting up your new complete optimally.

Do you want something to do tricks on easily like shuv its or boardwalking? Or do you just need to commute from A to B and want something easy to push/pump? These are all important questions you need to figure out before you buy a longboard.

Once you figure that out, the hard part is over since there’s so many great longboard decks out there, especially from hungry companies like Loaded.

Whether you get the Dervish, Tan Tien or some other longboard all together, enjoy the ride!

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Loaded Dervish Review

I thought I’d give my take on the ever popular Dervish by Loaded Longboards. The dervish is a drop-thru style, desgined to accomodate the Randall R-II, Paris, Holey, Bear, Gullwing Charger and Tracker Fastrack Trucks. The dervish is also available in two flexes depending on your weight. The guys over at Loaded Longboards really wanted to create a great all around, fun board when they created the Dervish and they certainly did a good job.

The first thoughts on riding the dervish was how similar it felt to riding a snowboard. I think that’s really what the design was going for and it feels extremely lively. The dervish can take on lots of stuff you throw at it, whether it be carving and cruising or sliding and a little downhill action. Keep in mind it is not a downhill board and the flex on it makes the Loaded Dervish very hairy at high speeds (45mph+). Sure there’s some people out there who have gone faster on one but there’s a reason all the best downhill boards are stiff. I personally took it to about a max of 35mph on one of my runs and although it felt fine, the Loaded Dervish definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable at a higher speed.

Anyway overall the board felt solid and was super easy to ride. The dervish sits nice and low thanks to its drop-through design, so pushing is a breeze. Speedchecking with 75mm Lime BigZigs was not a problem and coleman sliding was a blast. The board is definitely fun to just ride around and do some hard carving. Pumping around the neighborhood on the Dervish was really fun and the longboard just felt super lively under my feet. I did take it to a parking garage longboard session as well and it handled the 5-story garage no problem.

 Dervish Top

The setup I was on had Paris 180 trucks that were setup extremely loose with Venom bushings. I feel like the Paris trucks really make this board come alive with some aftermarket bushings. The Dervish is a bit on the expensive side with a complete running about $230 or so which is comparable to other high end longboarding manufacturers such as Rayne and Landyachtz. Also note that a drawback to the Dervish is it lacks a kicktail, so keep that in mind if your needing a board to ollie lots of curbs and ledges. I personally don’t own one but it would certainly be a nice addition to anyone’s quiver if your looking to carve, slide and just cruise around. The Loaded Dervish is a definite great choice for someones first board as long as their not looking to do serious downhill.

Check out this great video of the Adam’s brothers ripping it up and making it look easy on the Loaded Dervish.

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Loaded Bhangra Durability Test

Loaded thought they’d show everyone out there how they go about testing the durability of their new board, the Bhangra which is set to replace the older Loaded Dancer. You gotta appreciate a company that posts stuff like this and shows their having fun while doing it.

Testing consists of smashing the longboard into the ground sideways and everyway imaginable. They also run the board into curbs to test for splintering and all that fun stuff. Looks like a lot of fun, especially if your angry!

Loaded Bhangra Release News

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Loaded Vanguard Review

The Loaded Vanguard is an absolute carving machine. This board is hands down one of the most comfortable and energetic rides you can find out there today.

The new Vanguard sports a core full of bamboo goodness. This gives the board a snappy, responsive flex while reducing the overall weight as a bonus. As soon as you step on the Vanguard you’ll realize just how much flex the board has. Carving is awesome on this thing since the bamboo makes the board super snappy and responsive when coming out of turns almost like your snowboarding.

My Setup

Trucks: Randal RIIs 180mm
Wheels: Abec 11 Lime Bigzigs (75mm, 80a durometer)
Riser Pads: None

No riser pads are needed for the deck as the wheel cutouts on either end take care of any chance of wheel bite that you may experience. I’d recommend sticking  in the 66-76mm range for wheels.

For trucks I’d recommend sticking with the Randal 180mm trucks or Paris 180mm trucks.

This thing is super easy and enjoyable to pump along on the flats. Pretty much any longboarding style can be handled by the Vanguard. Whether your commuting to work dodging pedestrians or wrecking havoc pumping and carving that parking garage, the Loaded Vanguard can handle it all.

Now downhill is where the Vanguard starts to struggle. Since the board has so much flex the board simply can’t remain stable at higher speeds (30mph+). Although you might be able to ride the Vanguard at a higher speed, it simply isn’t as energy efficient as using a stiff board.

 Loaded Vanguard Flex

Sliding on the other hand is no problem for the Loaded Vanguard to handle. The board can break into a controlled slide no problem with Abec11 Bigzigs on my setup which means taking on those steep grade hills should not be a problem. Taking on bigger hills for me wasn’t an issue as speed checking and shut down slides were a breeze for the board to handle.

 Sliding On the Loaded Vanguard

Overall the Vanguard is a great freeride board and it should be treated as such. If your looking for a longboard with some flex and an extremely responsive ride, then look no further. The Loaded Vanguard is hands down, the most similar ride to a snowboard I’ve experienced.Carving, pumping and more carving is what this board is all about.

Amazing all around board. Definitely worth the $280-$300 hit to your wallet for the value you get with the Vanguard.

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