Today I took my brand new setup out for its first session. Switching down from a 9 “to an 8.25 “deck, the difference in weight and maneuverability was immediately noticeable. While cruising to the spot, the shorter wheelbase was much more apparent than the width.
Shape And Size
During the warmup, the lesser weight was noticeable right away, and everything felt snappier in general. The kicks are quite steep, which is also great in my book. The shorter wheelbase did turn-based tricks like 180s feel weird at first, but after getting used to it, the board’s length started making sense. I completely forgot how Kickflips could feel on smaller boards. Being so used to doing them on my 9 “boat, I approached my first kickflip attempts the same and accidentally almost double flipped.
Wheel Impressions
I don’t know if it’s because of the shorter wheelbase, new wheels, and bearings, or a combination of them all, but holding a manual feels super comfortable. Speaking of the wheels, the Ricta Clouds made a great first impression. They are slide-friendly but not slippery and provide you with an incredibly smooth ride on rougher surfaces.
Polaroids
As with almost every other session I attend, I bring my Polaroid camera and take a few photos. Today I shot two pictures; the first one shows my brand new, unused setup and customized shoes. My girlfriend took the second one, and I wanted to manual for the image. She hesitated and got a rather unusual but funny shot.
framing the memory-maker 
no stunt
Closing Thoughts And Video
Overall this setup provided me a great first experience, and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be able to do once I got used to everything and maybe relearned some long-lost tricks.
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