Ok so I've had a few sessions with the DLX 8.5 x 14.25 now. As I might've mentioned earlier, haven't skated this particular shape before, and I gotta say I absolutely love it. The length, the width (a bit under 8.5 in reality for sure which is actually really nice), the wheelbase, the proportions, all kinda just clicks.
My expectations were mixed as someone compared the shape to the Baker b16 which I ended up not liking at all, but this one's just way better. Maybe it's the steeper concave and the kicks (although mine is just a IV stamp), as I hated the pretty extreme mellowness of the Baker shape. This, on the other hand, is kinda perfect. The kicks are just THERE and my feet find their place on the board intuitively. The tapering of the tail worried me beforehand, but hey, no problems whatsover in that regard. Oh, and my ollies feel right. They certainly don't feel like that with every shape or at least I gotta do a whole lot of readjusting. Not with this one.
Yeah, late to the game, but I do understand now why people keep coming back to this shape.