Carve Boards are one of the hybrid skates out there that seek to emulate the feel of ocean surfing on land, and they come with a load of surf cred behind them: they’re a project of Joe and Brad Gerlach, out of Leucadia, California. Whether they’re carving asphalt and pavement or off nailing the big waves (Brad Gerlach was the winner of the 2006 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards) these guys and the crew of hardcore riders working with them are into carving. So, it was with some interest that we took possession of two Carve Boards, the Longstik and the SurfStik.

Both of these boards are part of Carve’s urethane-wheeled, “CarveStik” line and they became a common sight on the hills used by The Longboard Consortium. Instantly popular with actual surfers, they generated mixed reviews over a course of months that had us shred two sets of wheels while carving, sliding, cruising and even garage racing with what we now believe presents a benchmark in the “hybrid” deck market.

Purpose-Built Appearances. Both decks appear sturdy and designed to accommodate the deep-turning trucks with narrow ends. They feature deep-toned stains, with nothing lacking in the coat. The grip job is a series of staggered swoops with the Carve logo in the middle. The decks each have a wide foot base with tapered, upturned nose and tail. The trucks are very sturdy in appearance (and this proved to be true), with the springs that give the deck its extreme turn very visible. An American flag decal is set into the trucks with the company name beveled into the hanger. The trucks mount to the deck with allen-keyed, flattop bolts. Carve makes a tool just for them, but we used our trusty Craftsman set, instead. The truck design, itself, is very unique to the Carve system and is easily recognized compared to traditional conventional truck systems.

The rail edges on both boards are rounded. Each deck has a slight concave in the middle of the deck and a rocker-effect with the upturned nose & tail. Even with the extreme turning angle of the trucks, wheel bite is not possible against the deck, although more than one skater wound up stepping on a wheel if they had their feet up on the nose or tail. One of the most noticeable things about the Dakone wheels, besides their opaque blue hue, is their conical shape. They’re pre-formed with an extremely coned profile, in order to maximize lateral traction.

Carving some Concrete. We broke both Carve boards in with a series of large skate sessions in the darkened halls of Banana Bay, our prime, 7-floor parking garage. With several riders trading for each board, we surfed the long slopes, then got down to racing floor-to-floor, as we are wont to do. A seasoned surfer commented that, although the stance was different and took some getting used to, there was a definite surf feel in the riding position and carving technique. Another rider charged the session and was swearing up and down that, as a seasoned snowboarder, he was going to get a Carve for off-season training.

Now, the Carve boards come specced to match riders weights, using increasing numbers of plies for heavier riders. Both of our boards were aimed at “average rider weight”, so we had an 8-ply Surfstik and a 7-ply Longstik, each set for about 175lb of skater. Our lighter riders really had no complaints, as the boards turn so deeply that any “missing flex” they were unable to take advantage of was simply translated to deeper turns. Our heavier riders did find the boards a little too flexy, particularly when he were charging for lane position in a garage or scooting across town. Both are available in a stiffer setup than we’ve been riding.

Without a doubt, the Longstik was our favorite. Foot placement options on the Surfstik are limited, and when our evaluators had an opportunity to ride both boards, the longer one always drew preference. A classic example of the comparative analysis is as follows, “[N]ext, I tried the LongStik. I liked this one better than the Surfstik because it was more stable. I had to get used to the arched deck at first, but I noticed I could dig into it when I turned more than with the SurfStik. This is the best board I tried! It responded quickly to turns. I had more control while riding it.”

In regard to the benefits of the Surfstik, one tester remarked, “…insanely agile, like a contortionist midget this deck twists and spins with very little effort.” Adding, “I still liked the trucks, but I found the deck to be a little small for my liking. On drop-knee carves, I really like the room to stretch out my back leg and this shorter didn't give me the room to do it on.” Another pair of riders wrote, “We found both Carves to be very easy to slide-steer. Once a skater gets the hang of these boards, it’s easy to scrub speed on steeper grades. The Dakone wheels will release quickly, so weight control is essential with these decks! This decks wiggle is like no other. You can just slip that back end out on every carve if you want! It’s very fluid and the low-slung deck helps to cradle you during these slides.”

Alternative Speedboard Use? Of course, neither of these are speedboards and we’re not likely to see them in an IGSA race real soon. The very nature of ultra-turny, undamped spring trucks is just about the opposite for what we’d want when things turn straight downhill. However, we found another option for serious speed with both Carve decks and can assure you: they handle deep, hard carving with aplomb. On of our Ninja Bomb Squad riders was the first to really push the Carvestiks as hard as the makers had suggested us to. He wrote us, “[t]here are some steep roads near my house that can be seen from miles away. Not a day goes by that I don't pause briefly to admire and fantasize about riding them. I set myself to the task of negotiating this mountain without the benefit of slide gloves. The LongStick served me well with its ability to turn as sharply as I dared without going over the top. The dropped deck, super-wide and agile trucks, and coned wheels provided me with an altogether glorious experience quite unlike anything that conventional skateboards are capable of. This road is perhaps the most challenging and intimidating ride I know of and anything less than total commitment to each cutting line resulted in a dangerous increase in speed! Twice, I found myself forced to break the wheels and put the board into a standup, heel-slide while gripping the outside rail and, although I lost some fabric from the seat of my pants, I left no skin on the road and the flow of my ride went uninterrupted.”

After the Ninja’s run, we began doing similar stuff (with gloves, thank you) on the Surfstik, too. The general remarks we received at big sessions, where anyone can ride any board in the evaluation quiver, tended to focus on the extremely tight turns possible with both boards. With an almost 45 degree shift in deck level, both can hit the smallest pockets and 360’s are even quite simple given the decks’ ability to turn on a dime. They also slide very, very well, much to the dismay of the wheels, themselves. Adept riders were often seen throwing massive standup drifts into the end of the carves, and we nearly “de-coned” one set of wheels doing it.

Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea. Neither of these boards really turned out to be great cruisers and they caused mayhem on more than one occasion when Consortium Riders tried to stack them against the side of a lecture hall or classroom – you can’t! Neither board extends past its wheels, so you’ve got to flip them on their back or find someplace to stash them on their side. This led to some “unpopularity” within the classroom… As cruisers/commuters, the Carvestiks are rideable, of course, but far less than optimum for regular transport. They’re literally too turny and the widely set wheels are a hazard for the even a moment’s inattention on the push. We also received regular comments about the weight…you’ll get strong hauling these back up the hill! Finally, some riders found the inherently unstable, super-turny feel of the trucks to be disconcerting. There were also some observations that focused one one aspect of the truck system: hitting any massive gaps or holes tends to be shocking as the lack of dampening in the trucks reverberates with the impact. Each of these issues are legitimate, but we don’t find any of them to affect the intended focus of the Carvestik line: carving, carving and more carving.

Carving, Cross Training and Cranking It Out. When you’re taking a look at hybrid decks, it’s important to find the truth behind the advertising. In this case, both the Surfstik and the Longstik definitely provide a very carvey ride; flowing or powdery-- that’s all up to you. The decks provided a good feel of edge control and deemed durable and up to the tests that we threw at them. If you are looking for a flat day or summertime cross-trainer, check out the Carve system. It may be what you’re looking for.