Finally got to try out Bones STF 99a V5 55mm. Got them on clearance for like $23 which is pretty nutty. It was on my rain deck, so I didn't really get to try to do much on it, so take this all with a grain of salt. The other wheels I will be referencing are Spitfire F4 99a Radial Full 56mm and F4 97a Conical Full 54mm.
+ Rides shitty streets noticeably better than my Spitfire F4 99a, despite being much thinner.
+ In general feels faster than my F4 99a (but might be due to being thinner)
+ Doesn't feel bouncy or muted like F4 97a feels. It still feels hard.
+/- Looks plasticky, I know some people care about how the wheel looks.
- Definitely slides worse than F4 99a, and maybe even worse than F4 97a as well?
I will have to give them another session to figure out how to make them work with slides, because aside from that I'm really liking the wheel. I was expecting them to struggle with crusty streets just as much as F4 99a did, but honestly it handled them more in line with F4 97a. I was really impressed by that.
If you don't give a shit about powerslides, and want a hard feeling wheel that can handle crust better than F4 99a, maybe look into Bones STF 99a. I think I might pop these on my main setup next time I skate, because they are reminding me why I love Bones wheels with the speed they bring to the table. Its nice that they have a street wheel that isn't foot-numbingly hard like their STF 103a.
If they could somehow retool these STF 99a to slide better, they would be the perfect wheel. Until then though, the lack of slide is a pretty massive issue for me.
Side note: Modus Blue bearings felt great straight out of the package first ride.