Gravity Drop Carve (Kalai)

[entereidolon]

Since there appears to be a dearth of information on the new Gravity Drop Carve, I figured I'd post some of my impressions.

First I should preface that I wasn't looking for something to replace my Dervish, but I was looking for something similar. In a nutshell I wanted a stiffer symmetrical drop-thru for some faster freeriding/slopestyle/whatever you wish to call it. Call it my lack of skillz or whatever you like, but for me, the Dervish can feel a little sketch when going fast and sliding sideways standing (look ma alliteration).

With that in mind, I went with the stiffest "flex" for DH/fatties. Under my featherweight 120ish pounds it is pretty much rock solid. Your experience may vary depending on your weight, obviously. I imagine it's going to stay pretty stiff unless you're seriously husky. Weight wise it's got some heft to it, probably up there with some smaller DH decks, but still lighter than my bamboo Hellcat. There is a mild concave and slight camber as you can see from the picture.



I set it up with some Paris 180s and 70mm 83a Potangs (that's what the kids call it these days right?) After some riding and sliding, the concave does seem to be sufficient for me to stay locked on the board, and it isn't so extreme that it feels strange hanging my heels or toes off the board to apply extra leverage when sliding. I suppose the grip helps too, it's decently rough.

I suppose I can't make a valid comparison with the Dervish as I'm riding different wheels on the two setups, but I definitely feel more comfortable in my standups on this. I would attribute it to the rigid nature of the board that allows most of the force to be transferred to the board/wheels instead of being absorbed by flex.

In closing, the build quality is top notch. Holes are drilled and aligned correctly and the drop-thru cutouts are nice and clean. I can't speak for the lighter flexes, but if you're looking for the same things I'm looking for then this board is definitely one to consider. Yes it is a bit pricey at $160+, but that's up to you to decide if it's worth your monies. As for me, I am pretty satisfied with my purchase and it's fulfilled those things I was looking for. Any questions, feel free to ask.

[kjc6]

Oooh, I love it when you talk skate to me... lol

Nice review, homeboy - sounds like you picked a good deck for what you were lookin for. You gonna bring that sucka up to Berkeley this weekend?

[speshlspeclsteak]

the gravish actually looks to be a decent board

[Irrationalist]

the gravish actually looks to be a decent board

The gravish is honestly the only Gravity board I've ever wanted to buy. Is the Kalai as pretty in person as it looks online?

Are you using this primarily as a freeride slide setup?

How bout a pic of your final setup?

[entereidolon]

It is quite pretty indeed, and is meant to be my slopestyley setup. More pics as I have it currently setup.

[bladefan]

How do you like it now that you've had it for a while?? easy to nose manual??

[entereidolon]

It's still pretty bangin. Rode it all over Berkeley, probably coulda DH'd on it too. Nose manuals are doable, bit smaller of a nose than the dervish.

[akimaveur]

i like this board, a little because i want something dervish-y without conforming. but i like the look of the bamboo/maple combination. how's the stiffer version compare to a flex 1 dervish?

[WillJ]

how's the stiffer version compare to a flex 1 dervish?

the fatboy version was solid under my 180ish pounds

had just a touch of snap and was very responsive, would definitely be the one i'd ride out of the two flexes

loved it (disclaimer: i'm not a big fan of flexy boards)

[entereidolon]

Yea this thing is a completely different animal, at least with the fatty "flex"

I'm actually really curious now as to how the light or regular "flex" ride.

[Mile_High_Mark]

Regular is nice. It rides how I wanted the flex-1 Dervish to ride.

[bombhill91]

im a little late on the thread but if you see this i was just wondering if the boards light enough to do pop shove its because i do want to do some tricks but i don't want it to be too heavy to carry around if the need be

[WillJ]

im a little late on the thread but if you see this i was just wondering if the boards light enough to do pop shove its because i do want to do some tricks but i don't want it to be too heavy to carry around if the need be

homie.... to do a pop shove-it, you need a tail to POP

[Irrationalist]

homie.... to do a pop shove-it, you need a tail to POP

True story right there.

[artulefo]

Hey can any of you guys give me a short comparison of the kalai and dervish. I am 5'8 and i live in Florida (PRETTY FLAT) and i want a versatile board that can take me long disctances as well as learn to slide. Thnx

[artulefo]

im 130 pounds and 15 years old.....i want a board to learn how to slide and travel long distances....which do i get the kalai light flex or dervish >

[entereidolon]

I imagine they will both serve you pretty well. Flip a coin.

[BobLoftin]

Well, I'm very late on this thread, but today I rode my friend Sean's Kalai complete, from milehigh. "regular" flex.

This board is much much stiffer than a Dervish. I own a "hard flex" dervish, and at 210 pound I have no problem bottoming it out. on a tight turn I can sometimes hit my heel on the ground. The Kalai normal flex is stiff enough that there is no way I could do this.

My buddy is way stoked on this board.

Other than its appearance, it is nothing like the Dervish. Completely different.

[WillJ]

Other than its appearance, it is nothing like the Dervish. Completely different.

very very true

[xjweezyx]

artulefo- if your shoe is bigger than like size 9 i would go for the kalai cuz the derv is pretty narrow. even if your foot is small i wouldnt reccomend the derv, its just way too flexy for me and the dervish has almost no cave which SUX for sliding. just my opinion (i hate the derv)