Original Arbiter 36 (Rider Review)

Original Arbiter 36 Longboard Review

(Rider: Adam Hill from Perth, Western Australia)

 

Freeride/Slide: 8.5/10

 Downhill: 8/10

Freestyle: 3/10

Cruise/Carve: 5/10

 

 

Today we bring you guys a rider review of the Original Arbiter 36 longboard.

Check out what Adam H rated the board and what his thoughts on the deck were.

1. How is the board for freeride/sliding?

The Arbiter was quite surprising for freeride when I start skating it. From looking at it, the concave looked incredibly mellow, and didn't look as if it would lock me in, but once you hop on it, it will keep you locked in! With wheelbase options for most riders, it will be freeridable by all. The hard rail is surprising good for toesides, I learnt toeside checks in a few days on my Arbiter as well as Blunt slides using its Tub concave kick.

 2. How is the board for downhill?

 I was always excited with the prospect of skating an Original board for downhill, but their just wasn't the right board yet. I got a chance to head to some local hills a few weeks after I got it, and it was super comfortable to rail corners with. The hard rail means you can really dig your toe in if you need some leverage around a corner for a quick check or predrfit. Ive taken it to around 75km/h so far and hoping to push it even further. This deck has all the features of a great DH board.

 3. How functional is the tail for freestyle and tailslides?

 A Tub concave ending in a Cereal bowl kick? Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Yeah that was pretty much my reaction when I first saw this board in September. It's a great idea and a very practical one at that. I love the little kick on the Original Arbiter. It is very usable on the innermost mounting brackets, and can be used like any kick. Shuvits are no problem when freestyling and I managed to learn blunt slides in a week using the Arbiter's unique kick. Its functionality is unreal and unexpected when you see just the picture of it, compared to the actual deck.

 4. Describe the concave.

 Tub Concave hey? Stood on a Sayshun board with it and couldnt say i fancied it all that much. I always found W and rocker concave to be all you really needed. But I can now see the benefit of a tub concave. It has just the concave right at the edge and almost flat on the platform, so your feet are flat but still remain locked in by the tub. It held me to the deck far better than I had thought it would as it looked mellow and wouldnt be able to hold in my humongous feet, but it magically did.

 5. What is your favourite feature of the deck?

 Definitely the Cereal bowl kick. That thing is awesome and has made my skating steezier. Its such a nice and different feature to have on a Downhill and Freeride board and definitely creates a rival for the Sector 9 Daisy! (Also a competitor for the Nelson Stingray!)

 6. Any problems or dislikes about the board?

It's durability has been alright, nothing special, but it hasnt been any different to any of my other maple decks like my Saltflat, Dragula or Freeride. Maple decks chip and dent when curbed, which has happened to my Arbiter. Doesnt effect the ride at all.

 7. Anything else you want to tell us?

 USE THE INNER MOUNTING BRACKETS! It makes the board 100 times nicer! You get more turn, more use of the kick, and even the nose for some shuvits here and there.

 8. Shoutouts?

 

Shoutout to Scott Imbrie for the hook up, and Lindsay Jean for getting me and my mate (Development team) our Arbiters ASAP with the Original proto grip.

There you have it, a rider review of the Original Arbiter 36. Hope you enjoyed it! Like our Facebook page so you will be notified when we hold giveaways in the near future!