Rode one of the 8.3 april shapes a few years ago, good nose and it had the right dims i want for an 8.3, tho back then I was worried it too long.
Reynolds is a small / average dude (standing next to him anyway); I'm taller and probably have a bigger inseam. He's also way better than me 
Back to vents tho; @tzhangdox you don't find the 14.4 (essentially 14.5) wb too long for vents (cast or forged?). Leaning towards cast for the extra height/bigger wheel/pop since I've jsut been boosting over shit lately instead of flipping and destroying my shins).
Cast hollows, dont push wb out as much as forged and a lil lighter than standard ventures.
I mean, some things don't work quite as easily, a couple 180 flips on flat come to mind. A couple ledge flip ins also maybe feel like they take a little more effort but honestly there hasn't been anything that I can do on shorter boards that I can't on this longer board.
I think the slightly flatter longer kicks plus the wb which is just a smidge more than 14.38 make it feel a bit more nimble than most generic bbs 8.5 14.5s
The added comfort and stability make it well worth it, can skate a little faster by default. Slip out a lil less too.
Personally my tre flips have always been better on long boards, especially fakie. When the board is too short I have to be really careful not to overdo it. Same with couple other tricks like sw shuvs, most 180s etc
I also am 6ft5 size 13 feet with pretty long legs so if anything these big boards are proportionate to me, and shapes like the navy eagle shape I used to skate a lot were just too small to be all round versatile for me, as nice as they were for certain things