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Skate<br />
Product<br />
Reviews<br />
By Adam Dorobiala<br />
adam@slugmag.com<br />
Saturday Skateboards<br />
McRight Art Series Bear deck (8.0), Misc.<br />
apparel<br />
www.saturdayskateboards.com<br />
Lesser known to the m<strong>as</strong>ses, Saturday<br />
Skateboards is a small town board<br />
company b<strong>as</strong>ed out of Charlotte, NC, but<br />
their product is anything but small town.<br />
The deck they sent is probably one of the<br />
better non-shop decks I have skated in a<br />
long time. The wood is super stiff, not to<br />
mention the perfect shape with the right<br />
amount of concave, it almost skates for<br />
you. It even became a little warped through<br />
shipping, but still maintained its pop. The<br />
graphics on this particular deck are from a<br />
limited art series run by artist Bill McRight,<br />
and since they clear-coat their decks<br />
instead of fully painting them, expect the<br />
board to slip and slide while the graphic<br />
stays relatively intact. Not only does<br />
Saturday make boards but they also have<br />
a wonderful selection of colorful shirts and<br />
hats to boot. I am pretty sure the only shop<br />
in Utah that carries their gear is Union,<br />
but don’t be surprised if you start seeing<br />
Saturday gear throughout the valley soon.<br />
Go to their website to look at all the cool<br />
stuff and purch<strong>as</strong>e is mandatory for anyone<br />
seeking a company that really is <strong>as</strong> good<br />
<strong>as</strong> the products look.<br />
Grind King Trucks<br />
Artist Series “Deli- Look Out” and “Dobson-<br />
Redhead” trucks<br />
www.grindking.com<br />
Everybody sees art on decks and it’s<br />
high time that trucks start to get the same<br />
special treatment. Grind King h<strong>as</strong> hooked<br />
up with a bunch of emerging artists to help<br />
design their new “Artist Series” trucks, and<br />
let me tell you that they are pretty sweet.<br />
At first I thought that because of the art<br />
wrap the trucks wouldn’t grind <strong>as</strong> well, but<br />
I w<strong>as</strong> wrong. These babies grind like the<br />
wind and look sharp too. Unfortunately<br />
the only problem is the fact that the art is<br />
bound to get marred <strong>as</strong> you skate them,<br />
ruining any chance of saving the design<br />
after a few months of skating. Although I<br />
enjoy the designs a lot, the fact that you<br />
Photo: Adam Dorobiala<br />
Photo: Chris Swainston<br />
need a special tool for the king-pin, becomes<br />
a h<strong>as</strong>sle in the long run, because most kids<br />
don’t have ready access to an allen wrench.<br />
The “Artist Series” should be out this fall, so<br />
if you are interested in purch<strong>as</strong>ing some go<br />
to any local shop and they are bound to have<br />
them, but be quick because these trucks are<br />
limited edition.<br />
Altamont Apparel<br />
Jimi Hendrix Lady Of The Night Tee and<br />
Hoody<br />
www.altamontapparel.com<br />
When I met Jimi Hendrix almost two years<br />
ago in Pittsburgh, he said nothing about<br />
his plans to get his artwork printed with<br />
a skateboard company. The lucky guys<br />
over at Altamont were able to get a hold of<br />
some never before seen (by the public),<br />
never before used drawings by the one<br />
and only “Voodoo Child” and every article<br />
of clothing in the series is quite amazing. If<br />
you’re looking for some new threads and<br />
comfortable ones at that, then you just found<br />
your stop because these shirts and hoodies<br />
feel like they are made out of Egyptian silk<br />
or something. Although the clothes are really<br />
comfortable, I noticed that the shirts have<br />
more tags on them than any other company,<br />
(when one could e<strong>as</strong>ily suffice) and since<br />
some of them are embroidered on they can<br />
get a little bothersome from time to time. This<br />
limited edition series h<strong>as</strong> been out for a while<br />
now and if you haven’t already gotten a piece<br />
from the collection, chances are you might<br />
have to live with the fact that you missed out<br />
on a once in a century event.<br />
VOX Shoes<br />
Brighton Series Mayday<br />
www.voxfootwear.com<br />
My very first impression of these shoes w<strong>as</strong><br />
that the sole looked entirely too thick to<br />
have any kind of control over the board, but<br />
man, w<strong>as</strong> I wrong. Never judge a shoe by<br />
its sole, <strong>as</strong> someone might have once said.<br />
The Mayday continued to impress me for the<br />
fact that I put them on straight out of the box,<br />
laced them up and went skating and there<br />
w<strong>as</strong> no awkward new shoe feeling. Expect a<br />
lot of foot protection too by the fancy “IRS”<br />
protection located in the heel. The shoes are<br />
super sleek looking, with black leather and<br />
a plaid printed cloth where the leather stops,<br />
almost enough to make your grandparents a<br />
little jealous. The Brighton Series is available<br />
on most of their other models of shoes and<br />
they have a style for every t<strong>as</strong>te. Look for<br />
them in shops soon. Otherwise, just go online<br />
and see everything VOX h<strong>as</strong> to offer to the<br />
general public.<br />
(19) <strong>SLUG</strong>
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