DLX boards now made in China

[Xen]

As a fan of single pressed/epoxy decks (DSM/NHS/Girl) bring on a dlx resin 7 style...

Perhaps they'll also have more control over having accurate dimensions...

All those Foxen trucks...just who is buying them? Where are they selling them? Where do all these no-name or 'off big brand' skateboard parts actually go?

[TwisT]

As a fan of single pressed/epoxy decks (DSM/NHS/Girl) bring on a dlx resin 7 style...

Perhaps they'll also have more control over having accurate dimensions...

All those Foxen trucks...just who is buying them? Where are they selling them? Where do all these no-name or 'off big brand' skateboard parts actually go?

People in asia who want a Jaws Toy machine deck

[Ok]

The bend that Ben Degros would like to flatten does serve as wheel well of sorts also. Something to consider. If the deck goes really flat there, your flick might improve but your wheels will bite way easier....

true. but.
on the huffer the flares are sick, but, i want flat.

[nopopnostyle]

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It's really rainy here still so there haven't been too many full sessions on the Newbies.
But so far they feel good. Since I was only able to skate flat lately I got the itch for a little smaller setup so I ordered an Antihero 8.25 Doobie made in China a week after the 8.4's.
First Impressions where the same as the 8.4:
Concave and Kicks between a III and IV, Edges a little to rounded for my taste and definitely too shiny (fixed that by sanding them a little). Other than that it's the exact shape like the standard 8.25, same Wheelbase, Nose- and Tail- Shape BUT not as wide as the BBS ones. Might now be a true 8.25 but I haven't had a chance to measure. I put a used 8.25 BBS next to it and the difference was noticeable. Put Venture 5.8's on and they felt a little too HotRod which wasn't the case on the BBS ones. But it doesn't feel too small and it felt really close to the BBS ones. In my opinion it could be a good thing if the width is consistent now and not all over the place like the old ones. We'll see.

How do they ride so far?

I had no problem switching over from the BBS made Boards.  I'm a multiple setup guy due to a case of madness and so I had two identical 8.4's, one BBS-DLX, one China DLX Side by Side to compare. Same Trucks and Wheels.

Right now I'm pretty used to BBS Boards, been on them since about 2009 if I recall correctly. Before that I rode a lot of Dwindle Boards, mainly Cliché and Enjoy.

At first the Pop on the China- Boards felt a little hard and plastic, but that went away after a short period on both. Pop is crisp and responsive. Flex comparable to the BBS which is very good, Dwindle was stiffer. I refer to Dwindle Boards because the way they are pressed, the way the edges are sanded and finished looks very comparable to them. Shape and Concave is 100% DLX. Both Boards hold up good so far, wear is normal.

So far I like them. I was really scared of this change because I'm old and I really liked a lot of the DLX BBS Boards I had. So scared that I have a huge stack (about 12 8.4's, 5 8.25's and a couple other Shapes) I collected just in case I wouldn't be able to get them in the future.
But right now I'm thinking of selling all the I's and II's out of that stack because the new flatter ones feel better.

[close]

I had meant to say thanks yesterday, but ran out of time.

This is all very interesting and I appreciate your info, details and perspectives.

Very much in the same situation and can relate to that last paragraph a lot.

Thank you for the feedback and you're welcome. I gained a lot of really good info from your posts as well, so thank you back. That's the way a forum like this should work.

[nopopnostyle]

It's finally sunny but really cold. Between -5 and -8 degrees Celsius.
Managed to have some sessions anyways and the 8.25 is still going strong even though it's in really harsh conditions.
Pop and flex are constant at this point. After the short initial stiffness in the very beginning it felt just right the last couple sessions.
While sitting on the couch yesterday evening I realized that I hadn't paid any special attention to how my board feels, just had a normal session and that's a good thing to me. That's also the reason I didn't take any new pictures.
Wear is normal, if not slower than BBS. The edges look pretty good for a lot of failed flip attempts on asphalt, seems like the Epoxy seeps into the pores of the wood and hardens it. This seems to prevent them from flaring up a little bit better.

So far I still like it, definitely amongst the better 8.25's I've ridden.

[Woodshop]

.

Just wondering if anyone else has bought and skated any other China made DLX boards and would like to share experiences?

Thanks.

[Mbrimson88]

.

Also wondering if there are China made boards in USA or only every other country too?

[JM]

.

Also wondering if there are China made boards in USA or only every other country too?

Meeee too.

I’ll post up if I see any.

[Esquivel]

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[close]

I had a Silvas board with that same sticker style/location and it was made in China. One of the best boards ever.
Have the same one in ice, I'll post a pic later.

[close]

Board arrived today. "Made in Mexico"
Nose and tail have concave! Is the China-made board completely flat on the tips? The Silvas I got is 8.25", 14" wb with almost equally long nose and tail. Feels perfect standing on it.

[close]

Stoked for you!

The China made boards I stood on had flat faces on the kicks and didn't have the "spoon concave" the way BBS does, so at least that should be a plus for you there.

I tend to go on about it a whole lot, but that is why I really only ride BBS boards, as they just feel like home for me now.

The other boards hold up fine and others really like them and yes I can even skate them if that was all there is, but I am very much a creature of habit and prefer something that is comfortable, over anything else, with even half the BBS boards I stand on being too steep for me, but I am used to picking and choosing, so never run short on wood.


* That board might be more popular now if he won SOTY as well, but I was going to say, get some more if you know they are what you want, for wood, shape, etc.

So, I did order two more decks from a different shop (UK-based, same as the other shop) and the boards arrived today.

These boards are actually made in China!!!

Some details:
The Mexico-made board is   8.25" width, 14" WB, 6.8" Nose and 6.7" Tail with 31.915" Length.
The China-made boards are 8.25" width, 14" WB, 7" Nose and   6.75" Tail with 31.85" Length.

All boards have the exact same graphic underneath, and seem to be cut using the same outline. The nose is not too square but not as pointy as I would prefer, with the tail having a normal taper. The nose is steeper than the tail. The China-made boards are thinner than the Mexico-made board (I could notice just by taking the boards out of the box).

Despite the positive comments by other posters on here, and despite the overall build quality which is absolutely amazing, I am a bit bummed on the China boards just because I want the nose and tail to be as similar as possible. I fear that these will feel slightly like an FA deck (steep shovel nose + small, pointy tail). To end on a positive note, all boards DO have a spoon-type nose and tail with a little concave and for this reason they DO NOT feel like toys when I step on them. Again, build quality feels perfect on all boards.
Below I added images of the decks and the stickers with the dims and location of manufacture. All other stickers in the packaging are exactly the same and are positioned in the same places, bar the loose Primitive sticker.

[Xen]

Primitive =/= DLX?

[GT]

Is the factory known? Could it be the same as crailtap factory?

[Mbrimson88]

Is the factory known? Could it be the same as crailtap factory?

Word is it is NOT the same as Crailtap, but that it is one of if not the biggest in China, so make of that what you will.


The big / main ones are DSM, Excel, Dalian Hauhong, Jeeping Wooden Industrial and a couple of others.


Also the difference between their usual China boards out of certain molds and these DLX boards out of very specific custom molds means that they are closer to the BBS shape concave, spoon like kicks, than the flat faced generic boards that have been coming out of most places, eg Dwindle concave, or Excel concave or even Crail board concave, etc.


@Esquivel thanks for posting those too!!!


* Yes it is the DLX thread, but it is relevant in terms of boards from China vs boards from BBS / Mexico.   That would also be really good in the Woodshop thread too, if you could post it there too?

[Esquivel]

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Is the factory known? Could it be the same as crailtap factory?

[close]

Word is it is NOT the same as Crailtap, but that it is one of if not the biggest in China, so make of that what you will.


The big / main ones are DSM, Excel, Dalian Hauhong, Jeeping Wooden Industrial and a couple of others.


Also the difference between their usual China boards out of certain molds and these DLX boards out of very specific custom molds means that they are closer to the BBS shape concave, spoon like kicks, than the flat faced generic boards that have been coming out of most places, eg Dwindle concave, or Excel concave or even Crail board concave, etc.


@Esquivel thanks for posting those too!!!


* Yes it is the DLX thread, but it is relevant in terms of boards from China vs boards from BBS / Mexico.   That would also be really good in the Woodshop thread too, if you could post it there too?

Primitive =/= DLX?

I originally posted this in the woodshop thread. Then I thought that primitive were BBS, so I panic-deleted from there and pasted on here 

Really looking forward to get done with some "civillian" commitments next week, and finally go skate these bad boys! Gonna report back on wear&tear and general performance. Just crazy that the same pro model in the same size can come from two different locations..

[Lou Strux]

I’ve finally moved on from the China deck, but only because I was over the comparatively shorter 14.25” wheelbase and longed to return to spreading my legs on a 14.5” wheelbase deck, so I recently set up another BBS made DLX 8.38”x14.5” jammers that have been working so well for me lately.

I’ve only managed 4-5 decent sessions on this set up in the few weeks I’ve been running it but here are my final impressions.

In the end, I did not mind the stiffness of the epoxy resin, though I for sure could feel the board’s lack of flex/give in my feet when landing hard, especially when I was deliberately trying to break it by with poor foot placement on landings. Same tricks that killed a PS Stix recently were unable to cause so much as a stress crack in this thing (photo of one of the attempts to snap the deck included for reference, so you know I was at least trying.)

I may, however, have caused a few stress cracks in my spine, but hey… that’s just aging w/ a skateboard.

The shape was faithful to the DLX standard so many have come to love, even if the dims were not quite ones I had ridden personally yet.

I actually really came to enjoy the relatively mellower concave & think that one of the bennies of epoxy is that you can run a milder concave but still retain strength/rigidity through the stiffness of the glue.
This deck had me wondering if Ben DeGros hadn’t been talking about these things when he was discussing concaves on the 9 Club last month.

I’m going to say that, given my drothers, I would probably go with the little extra give of the BBS wood for the sake of my bones, but if this wood was on a shop wall, in a size/shape I like: 10/10 would gladly do it again without worrying about my choice.
These things seem fine & fun.

Now I’m just left wondering if the North American market will ever see any of them or if that was my one brief fling?

[j....soy.....]

I’m wondering if the china ones are single board pressed or stacked….thats the one drawback of BBS boards are the variances….not all the concaves are the same…..vs. what chop chop does….

My impression was the Ben D ones were coming out of Mexico….

[Mbrimson88]

I’m wondering if the china ones are single board pressed or stacked….thats the one drawback of BBS boards are the variances….not all the concaves are the same…..vs. what chop chop does….

My impression was the Ben D ones were coming out of Mexico….

From what people have said, they are all the same each in a single press with epoxy glue, in the same way all the usual China boards are from other companies, compared to BBS in Mexico with four per press and some steeper and others more mellow.

They are also closer to a III or IV rather than a I or II which has also been noted (and has me a bit more happy) as I prefer mellow boards.


As to Ben D and his test and trial of boards, I would not have a clue where things came from, but at least it seems like they were in the process of making these boards from China, even if they were not from China for his test boards, if that makes sense.

He has had a few boards from China before, from Dwindle boards to those Canada Skate Shop steep and sturdy mold boards, that people had been talking about at one point - not sure which woodshop, but they seemed like other boards from Dwindle or Excel from what people were saying.

[Mbrimson88]

Now I’m just left wondering if the North American market will ever see any of them or if that was my one brief fling?

And thanks again, Lou for another good read (and visual representation) of the new DLX board.

I am also wondering if they make it to these other places first, then start to filter into the US market as well, if they get a good reception from elsewhere.  Very likely any which way, but I know with a change like this, I would not be rushing things in the good old U S of A, that's for sure!

[JM]

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Now I’m just left wondering if the North American market will ever see any of them or if that was my one brief fling?

[close]

And thanks again, Lou for another good read (and visual representation) of the new DLX board.

I am also wondering if they make it to these other places first, then start to filter into the US market as well, if they get a good reception from elsewhere.  Very likely any which way, but I know with a change like this, I would not be rushing things in the good old U S of A, that's for sure!

DLX surely has been looking at sales data to see if people can and will continue to pay $80+ for decks.

Maybe BBS stabilizes prices. Maybe they don’t. Maybe China press is the way for DLX to stay profitable and everything gets moved to China (including US).

Maybe the sales numbers really hasn’t changed much, and $80+ decks are just fine for the US market, and they keep using BBS because it’s closer.

[douchenozzle]

I dont fuck with anything but South Central. I used to skate PS Stix until they started messing with their shapes and concaves. Then I was skating BBS until I was breaking their boards almost every other week (I weigh around 155 fyi). Politic and my local's shop decks have kept me happy for the last decade.

[Frank and Fred]

Appreciate the review @Lou Strux and that's some hefty sprack on the board-breaker attempt. What were you trying?

[Lou Strux]

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[close]

Appreciate the review @Lou Strux and that's some hefty sprack on the board-breaker attempt. What were you trying?

I was trying to break the board!

No, seriously though… I don’t really recall what trick I was attempting here.
I had set up my phone to record video, hoping to capture the moment I defeated the inanimate laminate plywood plank, and the image shared is just a cropped frame grab of one of many attempts from that session. Whatever it was, I can assure you it wasn’t very tech. I’m old and scrawny & don’t present much threat to most decks, so make of this what you will, but I threw my all into busting this in the name of “science” and all I got were sore feet & a stiff back.  Your results may vary verily & for now, I’m right back on that sweet, sweet BBS wood.
Regardless; I’m going to choose to take your words as a compliment, and I thank you for the generosity.
Gracias, my King.

[JM]

Clearly just an anecdote- but my buddy ordered a krooked black dipped egg shaped board and broke it skating flat ground in 3 days.  It was pretty bizarre. Happens of course will all companies sometimes, but krooked I've never heard of it happening with, and the wood on the inside looked kind of weird. He got it on sale, so maybe sat for a bit.

Sat in water, and then dried out next to a space heater, prolly.

[JM]

The Ishod Burnout deck I just picked up here in TX, US of A had the “Made in Mexico” sticker and was 83.95 retail.

With 6.50 grip, I did a double take when the dude said that’ll be 97.xx.

DAMN!

still worth it.

That’s all… just reporting the latest US deck is made in MX for now.

[nopopnostyle]

The new DLX Spring Drop arrived in Germany last week and there's Mexico made BBS Boards.
At 95 € for an Antihero Grant Taylor reaching a new price high. It used to be 89 € before. So the China ones seem to be offered as cheaper option. And there's still BBS coming here. Maybe it alternates with each drop, couldn't get any info on this.

The China Bords are still in use and doing good. Will hopefully find some time soon to report a little more in depth on them.

[Mbrimson88]

.

All the new drop of the DLX boards are out now in Australia too, so there will be a lot of China made boards for people to go check out, at least so far I have seen them online in OCD and Fasttimes but I am guessing everyone else should have them soon enough too.


Note there are still BBS / Made in Mexico boards in there too, not just all from China now, so check the top stickers to see what is what, if you can look in person - the same colour sticker but either "Made in Mexico" or "Made in China" on them.

Most of the current pro graphics are China made boards, the exception with some specific riders and most of the bigger shaped boards, as well as the team AH eagles, Real ovals and Krooked eyes all on BBS wood still.

I am yet to go anywhere to check them out but I am pretty keen to see and stand on some, even if I don't need any more boards for myself at all, it is pretty interesting, to say the least.


* The giveaway for most should be the price, as the China made boards are still more a pre covid 2020 price when comparing, around AU $130 or so, but the newer BBS boards are all up there in the higher range, around AU $160 plus.  Bigger sizes so anything 8.75 and up is another $10 or so more, so around $140 China boards and $170 BBS boards.

That is Australian dollars, which is fairly normal for us, so not US or other usual prices.

[Mbrimson88]

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Update to that last post about DLX boards now in Australian shops.

The easiest way to determine where it is from is by looking at where the warning sticker is on the board.

The BBS boards still have the sticker above or up higher to show the number stamp, whereas the China made boards have the sticker right in the middle of the front bolts area.

Of course looking at the sticker in person you could see if it says "Made in Mexico" or "Made in China" but if you are shopping online and they have a top pic of the board, you can work it out from that, as per these images / links below:


BBS board

https://fasttimes.com.au/antihero-classic-oz-eagle-deck.html




China board

https://fasttimes.com.au/antihero-misregistered-eagle-wheel-wells-deck-270938.html

[nopopnostyle]

I just finished skating the first deluxe China board I got in December. So I guess it’s time for a little feedback. The 8.25 is still good, I just got annoyed by the long wheelbase as always after a couple weeks. The one I’m gonna talk about today is the 8.4 Harry Lintell Real board. I set it up on the 10th of December in the midst of the cold German winter. For first impressions see a couple posts above.
As I said there, shape wise, it’s a perfect copy of the BBS one. Concave and steepness wise I preferred it to the BBS ones I have set up at the moment. It resembles my perfect BBS pick. You know when you get the perfect stamped three where the nose is a little bit steeper than the tail. It’s exactly like that. And I just set up the second Chinese one and it’s exactly the same as the first one, had a perfect first session where all the flicks felt right straight away. This is a big plus in my opinion, because from the BBS ones I sometimes got ones where you couldn’t see it at first but then the tail was steeper than the nose or the Concave felt a little bit off on one side.  I think in this aspect, the consistency will be large plus.
Speaking of consistency, the way it flexes and ages is more consistent than the BBS ones. Although it is a little bit stiff and hard sounding the first couple sessions, it’s losing its crossbeam flex and overall pop very slowly. It’s also way slower to Razortail and the edges hold up way better than the BBS ones. I was skating some pretty rough ground and the sides of my nose and tail didn't spliss up the way I was used to. I attribute this to the epoxy that seals the wood. So the hardness has pros and cons too. It also doesn’t chip as easily and as far as the other ones. Had a pretty bad one and it only chipped for about an inch.

Let’s get to the cons:
The biggest one for me: It sounds rock hard and a little like really hard plastic. If you’re someone that gets triggered by the feeling and sound of forged baseplates this might not be for you. The first session is pretty bad because it feels rock hard too. Super stiff. But it gets better after 2-4 sessions. To give you a realistic and fair feedback on this I have to wait till it gets warmer outside, because everything sounds and feels a little bit stiffer when it’s really cold.

Altogether it held up super good, especially in this harsh conditions. I have it side-by-side with a similar BBS setup and most of the times I preferred the China one because of the steepness of the kicks. When I chose the BBS one, I had no problems going back-and-forth. In direct comparison, the BBS one feels a little bit more woody, but also a little bit more like a plank sometimes. The China one is a little bit more responsive.
To be fair, I had the years skating, Dwindle DSM epoxy boards, so the China DLX one might feel a little bit more accustomed and at home to me then to other people that don’t have this experience. 

Which one will I prefer in the end? I cannot tell you yet. At the moment I’m happy that they both exist, and that I most likely will have a choice to pick between the two in the future.
Adding the price factor, I have to give Deluxe a thumb up for this addition to the range. In my opinion, it fills the gap between the price point boards and the now more expensive BBS ones.
I’m excited to hear what more people will think about them in the future. For right now I’ll keep them in my quiver.


Here are some pictures, I included a couple from the progression of the 8.25 as well:

[rikki]

Thanks for the great info. Great to see you're on Ventures. Off-topic, because this is skateboarding: how do you feel about the 14.38 wheelbase with Ventures? And which Ventures are you riding?

[JM]

.

Update to that last post about DLX boards now in Australian shops.

The easiest way to determine where it is from is by looking at where the warning sticker is on the board.

The BBS boards still have the sticker above or up higher to show the number stamp, whereas the China made boards have the sticker right in the middle of the front bolts area.

Of course looking at the sticker in person you could see if it says "Made in Mexico" or "Made in China" but if you are shopping online and they have a top pic of the board, you can work it out from that, as per these images / links below:


BBS board

https://fasttimes.com.au/antihero-classic-oz-eagle-deck.html




China board

https://fasttimes.com.au/antihero-misregistered-eagle-wheel-wells-deck-270938.html

That sticker placement hurts me so much.

[JM]

I just finished skating the first deluxe China board I got in December. So I guess it’s time for a little feedback. The 8.25 is still good, I just got annoyed by the long wheelbase as always after a couple weeks. The one I’m gonna talk about today is the 8.4 Harry Lintell Real board. I set it up on the 10th of December in the midst of the cold German winter. For first impressions see a couple posts above.
As I said there, shape wise, it’s a perfect copy of the BBS one. Concave and steepness wise I preferred it to the BBS ones I have set up at the moment. It resembles my perfect BBS pick. You know when you get the perfect stamped three where the nose is a little bit steeper than the tail. It’s exactly like that. And I just set up the second Chinese one and it’s exactly the same as the first one, had a perfect first session where all the flicks felt right straight away. This is a big plus in my opinion, because from the BBS ones I sometimes got ones where you couldn’t see it at first but then the tail was steeper than the nose or the Concave felt a little bit off on one side.  I think in this aspect, the consistency will be large plus.
Speaking of consistency, the way it flexes and ages is more consistent than the BBS ones. Although it is a little bit stiff and hard sounding the first couple sessions, it’s losing its crossbeam flex and overall pop very slowly. It’s also way slower to Razortail and the edges hold up way better than the BBS ones. I was skating some pretty rough ground and the sides of my nose and tail didn't spliss up the way I was used to. I attribute this to the epoxy that seals the wood. So the hardness has pros and cons too. It also doesn’t chip as easily and as far as the other ones. Had a pretty bad one and it only chipped for about an inch.

Let’s get to the cons:
The biggest one for me: It sounds rock hard and a little like really hard plastic. If you’re someone that gets triggered by the feeling and sound of forged baseplates this might not be for you. The first session is pretty bad because it feels rock hard too. Super stiff. But it gets better after 2-4 sessions. To give you a realistic and fair feedback on this I have to wait till it gets warmer outside, because everything sounds and feels a little bit stiffer when it’s really cold.

Altogether it held up super good, especially in this harsh conditions. I have it side-by-side with a similar BBS setup and most of the times I preferred the China one because of the steepness of the kicks. When I chose the BBS one, I had no problems going back-and-forth. In direct comparison, the BBS one feels a little bit more woody, but also a little bit more like a plank sometimes. The China one is a little bit more responsive.
To be fair, I had the years skating, Dwindle DSM epoxy boards, so the China DLX one might feel a little bit more accustomed and at home to me then to other people that don’t have this experience. 

Which one will I prefer in the end? I cannot tell you yet. At the moment I’m happy that they both exist, and that I most likely will have a choice to pick between the two in the future.
Adding the price factor, I have to give Deluxe a thumb up for this addition to the range. In my opinion, it fills the gap between the price point boards and the now more expensive BBS ones.
I’m excited to hear what more people will think about them in the future. For right now I’ll keep them in my quiver.


Here are some pictures, I included a couple from the progression of the 8.25 as well:

Have a virtual gnar gnar because I haven’t evolved yet.

Awesome feedback, thank you. It seems that if it was ALL china wood everywhere then it really would be okay.