Copied from another thread, but I thought it might be interesting to put it all here too, seeing as it is relevant.
Anyone ridden both the Baker 8.38 and DLX that is same specs and have any clue as to how different they are? I thought they were the same and recently got an Anti Hero 8.38 and it feels atrocious. It's a II on the press and think I've mostly ridden III but that seems quite trivial.
After realising they were the same exact shape, I have since had lots of both DLX versions and all the rest, be it Baker or Birdhouse and at least four other BBS companies that used that same 8.38 x 32.25 with 14.5 wb shape, even though some were listed as longer and some shorter from their respective company spec sheets / info.
To look at them individually, some looked way more pointy and others looked way more round, mainly due to the graphic I think, but also partly due to the concave, but to sit them on top of each other then swap them over, they really were the same in every way from comparing top / bottom views.
BBS with their four per stack really means you do get a mix of them - half a dozen Baker 8.38 here all in a stack and some are way steeper than others, same as the other boards, even DLX sorted from I through to IV some are more mellow and some are steeper between the same numbers.
I am not proud to say but when I had the chance to get a really good deal on Element decks a few years ago now, I have had 14 of exactly the same board at one point and I arranged them from most mellow (which I preferred) to steepest so they fit well with the mellow on the bottom, but to put one of the steepest on the bottom it was such a big difference.
At one point I used to park the car on some steeper boards to flatten them out, as I just couldn't deal with the steep concave, but more recently (as I have too many) I have been just picking out the more mellow ones and riding them as is more than any others, but I find the mellow ones are easier for street stuff and the steeper ones better for mini ramp stuff.
If you got a steeper board, I can definitely understand how it might feel very awkward for you if you had a more mellow board or two before that one.
Edit:
To add it was interesting to see the Birdhouse deck from the Sale thread link from 2018 has a sticker on top that says "DREAMER 8.38" or something similar.
Same as DLX uses "Dreamer shape" for their boards, maybe from Kyle Walker, but then for all the 8.38 normal decks, whereas I once thought the Dreamer was the really mellow (almost flat) concave that he specifically rides.
https://westernskateco.com/products/birdhouse-ben-raybourn-dreamer-green-8-38-skateboard-deckExpand Quote
Ok so I'm not fucking insane- this anti hero has a 6.875 tail vs 6.625 and 7.25 nose vs 7.0625 on the Baker. I measured with the concave for both as this takes into account the steepness, but even measuring straight across they're different. The Baker ends up at 32 on the dot vs the Anti Hero at 32.25 (straight across).
I prefer, by quite a bit, boards 32 or less. Out of length, width, wb…length (once thought to be the least relevant) is the least fungible.
Dlx shapes have been too long, full, and steep for me…unless in skating an 8ish bird and then whatever works.
I’ve loved baker boards in the past, like few others. I swear the wood/molds are slightly different, but knowledgeable persons that I believe have the correct info assure me I am incorrect. I had some conspiracy theories about generator, bbs, generator-bbs…but yeah. Gibberish On my part. I’ve tried to not go down the tail length rabbit hole, but it’s difficult for me to ignore that tail lengths greater than 6.6 are pretty much out for me. 6.5 is better. Nose doesn’t need to be over 7, prefer less. This may be why I’ve started to like longer wb’s, but total lengths up to 32: shorter lengths for nose and tail. All I know is I don’t know shit.
But I’d rather ride a baker than a dlx
I think at the end of the day, there is always going to be some difference between boards, even between two 8.38 eagles, I noticed slight differences in length, width, concave and kicks, but that is what happens with boards that might be made in the same place, but on different presses or even different places in a press, but the same shape is cut with computer automation, then human hand sanded maybe some more or some less, etc. It has been said before the DLX boards have dedicated presses, but who knows. They definitely have different wood stain layups compared to other brands, so when they do them in bulk there will be separate processes right there.
Bolting four different brands together through the deck bolt holes in a stack, they were all the same size, shape, etc but that is not to say that this lot is the same as another lot of boards produced another time from the same location. Trying to take pics didn't really show enough or were clear with things, back when I did it with 8.5 boards and then with 8.38 boards. I used a Baker, DLX, Element and Birdhouse, then swapped them around with a couple of DLX at either end, just to mix and match.
Any which way I know with having so many of the same boards set up at the same time, each one feels a bit different, some more stiff, others more flexible, along with all the other variables as mentioned so I am used to that side of things.
I guess that is where companies like Dwindle whose product is so much more uniform are leading the quality control game, but I know I can't deal with the concave and feel of those boards, whereas others will only ride them, given every board feels exactly the same.
Edit:
I went and found seven of the 8.38 decks including Baker, Birdhouse, Element, Organica (Kayo / DGK era), Antihero, Real and Krooked so here is the pic from them all standing together, give or take less than a few mm all up, but really all the same.
NOTE: Although these are all within 1 to 2 mm, even just a .25" is not that much, only about 6 mm so they are still all around their listed lengths anyway, the average being about 32.2 all up, some at 32 even, some at 32.12 and others at 32.25 total length.
Again not doubting other boards are different, especially given only the DLX boards in this lot are from this year, all the rest from a while ago.
Poll
Topic: CURRENT WOODSHOP DIRECTORY 2024 + misc deck and board info, help, questions, etc (Read 165384 times)