MAUILINE HOLOMAMA LONGBOARD REVIEW

Faithfully submitted 21 Rocktober 2002 by Douglas C. Niedermeyer
(okay, really it’s Momona Boe!)

First off, let me confess that I am a solid wood longboard snob! I started skating in ’75 and have seen them all. I’ve had Yard Stix, a Vision longboard(the cool one with the picture of Sid on the bottom!), various Powells ( Bones and Roses, No Ka Oi, and Pele) and have ridden Sector 9’s and various other laminated decks and haven’t been very happy with them. Now I’m no lightweight (240lbs, I don’t know what that is in “Stone”, but suffice to say-it’s a lotta rocks!) and consequently, these boards were WAY too flexy for my tastes, some more than others, but some felt as if they were going to give way at any time! It seemed like the board companies just told their blank makers to give them the same wood, just make ‘em longer. No engineering seemed to have taken place. I am also biased as I have worked at Longboards by Fatboy Inc.(note the lack of shameless plug for website!) since it was founded in ’98, but even before that, during the prototype years. I started making my own boards in ’76 when my Dad and I got a piece of oak that was to be a stair tread, and made my first Logan Earth Ski copy. Laminates were great for ramps and parks, but for a longboard, only solid woods felt good to me.

Having said ALL that (sorry, just wanted to qualify myself, I take this seriously!), I had exchanged a few emails with Dino at Mauiline and liked what he had to say about boards, life, stuff, etc. I remember when LBF Inc started, we were happy to get ANY orders, so I figured I’d help out a fellow “starving artist” and place an order for a deck. Now before you go pointing any fingers and screaming “favoritism”, I paid full pop, $219 including shipping to Jersey! I really didn’t think I was gonna like it, but what the F?

So, a coupla weeks later, I get this package from Hawaii (OK, I’m biased again, I was born in Hawaii!) and I open her up. I was not prepared for the work of art inside! All maple ply with a bottom layer of carbon fibre and a top layer of Koa. Holy S!!! I just stared at it for awhile, and rubbed and touched the deck like a mental patient. The quality of the board is phenomenal! Even after I shelled out two Benjamins for a deck, I felt like I got the better of the bargain! I built it up with eXkate trucks and Glo-in-the-Dark wheels and then proceeded to look at it for two weeks while it rained incessantly!!! Then Sunday, it finally broke. It was a beautiful fall day, 60 degrees and sunny. Today was the day to put it to the test. Again, I knew I wouldn’t like it, it was a lam, but I gotta at least SAY I rode it before I put it up on the wall like the artwork that it is. I was already tryin’ to figure out how I was gonna let Dino down easy while still being encouraging. So I dropped her and jumped on, hitting my favorite testing run and looking at my watch, trying to figure out how long this one run was gonna delay the rest of my day. But I had to give him one run before I gave him the bad news, right?

Well, an hour and a half later I was STILL ridin’ the hill, with only my hunger and lack of daylight keeping me from continuing!!! What a spectacular ride that ‘Mama is! There’s not enough O’s in smoooooooooth! And responsive like your Mom when she smells liquor on your breath! I just THOUGHT about going in that direction, and I was there before I knew it. Just the right amount of flex for cushioning, but no wet noodle here! Let’s give it a powerslide while grabbing the rail……… NICE! I was trying turns at speeds I never tried before. I could slalom pump at will, and at full bomb speed, she was as stable as a railroad car………well, not the LIRR but more like the PATH!! I couldn’t stop riding it! It was like I was stationary and the ground was moving! Just for a comparison, I pulled out my signature Momona Boe multiwood board and gave it a comparison run. It felt every bit as stable as the solid deck! (uh…….don’t tell my colleagues!) Can you tell? I love this board!

I’m sure you folks have been following the progress of the board through Silverfish, go back and take a look at the construction pics and you’ll get a feel for the workmanship that goes into these things! No small task at all! (insert link here)

Is it worth two bills? Yep, ‘fraid so! You want a super high quality, hand built to your specs, strong like bull, sexy like Liz Hurley, fantasy deck? Shut up and pay the man! Can I nitpick? Sure, at first I didn’t like the full grip top. It IS clear, but it convolutes the grain of a fine slice of Koa. Of course, I like the way it feels when I ride it, your feet are glued to the surface. Maybe I’ll get another one and we’ll try a different configuration. I also like a deck with a Barbra Streisand kinda feel, y’know, sorta fuller in the nose. But in Dino’s defense, I gave him nothing to go by, I said make what you like, I never thought I’d actually RIDE the thing! Again, it’s custom, so I coulda had it anyway I wanted, my bad! See what I mean about nitpicking! Nothing wrong with the board, just crap I shoulda specified myself. And for the record, Dino, I ain’t giving it back!

I foresee a great future for Dino and Mauiline. All you Silverfish folks with special requests should look him up and have him make you a special “friend”! Again, please make special note of the lack of shameless plug for my employers!!!!!

Cheers,
Momona Boe