Review: Skull Fingerboards 34mm Pro Complete
The Pizza Xpress Deck Caught My Eye while Researching Accessible Fingerboarding — does it hold up to the pros?
Katter Reviews is a Katter.haus series where KC reviews whatever KC wants, today we have another Fingerboard that has been recommended to us as the primo first board.
Contents from the Skull Fingerboard 34mm Pro Complete from Amazon
A comprehensive review of fingerboards that are available for purchase easily online is necessary for more beginner fingerboarders to get into the hobby with little judgment. While the boards and completes we are reviewing for now are mass produced by companies (you can change that by contacting us), we are writing about fingerboards in the hopes of inspiring others to buy quality boards to first start off in their fingerboarding career.
I have heard a lot of great things about Skull Fingerboards, and many fingerboarders deep in the scene recommend these as your first complete if you have to buy one. So, like any good fingerboard reviewer would do, I went ahead and picked up the design that spoke to me the most — the Pizza Xpress 34mm complete definitely has won my heart over as a solid beginner board for any fingerboarder.
Skull Fingerboards, better known as the Worldwide Fingerboard Store is a fingerboarding company based in West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. While not much is known about Skull Fingerboards history, from quick research it is indicated that they have been making boards since as early as 2011.
Ordered this board on Amazon for about $18, and I will say right now that this is better than most of the beginner boards I have tried.
Now, there is an enhanced version of the board available on Skull Fingerboards for about $68, but this board we are reviewing here does not include the premium upgrades like the engraved grip tape, 68D urethane wheels, or premium bushings.
I am confident in saying that this is probably the best fingerboard you can get on Amazon for under $20, perhaps even $30.
Parts Analysis
The 34mm Complete for Skull fully assembled after its ride test.
Skull Pro Trucks - These standard trucks are hollow and do not have the satisfying metal click when it hits a rail. However, I feel like the Skull Pro trucks are a solid shape and are well made. The bushings can be considered soft in tune in addition to bubbly, then these specific trucks have black hangers and white baseplates which adds some steeze.
5-Ply Maple Deck with Pizza Xpress Design - I am absolutely in love with this design and the colors look great on the board (the photos do not do it justice). Now, I like the shape of the board as well as the quality of this heat transfer graphic is awesome, now it does scratch easily if you are into shredding up your decks — I’ll recommend rails if you are not however. The concave of this board is not too sharp and the angle is perfect for practicing kickflips and heelflips for my riding style personally. The inner plies of the deck give a yellow look, sort of looking like a lovely pizza crust.
CNC Single Bearing Wheels - Bearings are casual wholesale as well as the wheel shape itself. These wheels remind me of the wheels that come with the Spitboard completes (review on those coming soon), although these have more of a bevel shape.
One piece of Royal Tape - Grip tape included in the Skull Fingerboards Royal Tape. Personally, I had trouble cutting the grip tape to fit on this board, however the material feels quite sticky and soft once adhered on. I also have travelled with this board a bit and the grip tape is staying fresh.
Tuning Tool - Regular wholesale tuning tool with the Skull Fingerboards logo printed on. I appreciate the branding on the tool since it is difficult to stand out on your tuning accessories.
Riding
The board has a good weight to it, but since the trucks are so light, that’s going to be a sore spot in this setup. If the trucks were slightly heavier I feel like this would have the perfect weight to the board.
The bearings on the wheels are getting stuck and sometimes requires to be pulled off the hanger to better spin around the axle. A wheel/bearing upgrade would also be in the cards if you are going to go more technical on this board. Some grippier wheels (like something maybe 70d ish wheels?) would really upgrade the feel of this board.
The trucks are buttery on a bronze or stainless steel rail but the lack of mass makes me feel like my fingers are going to fly off. I have been able to successfully land a 50-50 then heelflip off of rails on this board, which is much more than I have to say to the P-REP board I reviewed a couple weeks back.
However, one thing that I have really appreciated about this board is the responsiveness of it. I feel like this board specifically was a little trickier to understand, but once you learn your placements you will be riding high. I have been comfortably flipping on and off flat rails on this boards consistently since I started riding it. I would like the angle of the nose and tail to be maybe a degree higher for the perfect flip, but alas I have to admit below.
I feel like I’ve been quite critical of this board, but honestly I’ve been nitpicky. The 34mm Complete from Skull Fingerboards does match up to more intermediate and light advanced boards. With constant deals on Amazon (some designs go on sale for as low as $12), this style of board from Skull Fingerboards might be the most solid setup in the value range.
Will it be a respected setup by seasoned fingerboarders? No, probably not.
Can you land a trick that would impress seasoned fingerboarders on this board?
Oh definitely, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
This board has been on an adventure of a lifetime and is still looking sharp.
I recommend this board to you if:
You value branding as this will probably be one of the more respected fingerboard brands you will get off of Amazon.
You are new to fingerboarding and want to try things out with a little more power. This board offers great stability for its price.
You’re looking for a board with a premium feel for a fraction of the price of premium boards.
If this sounds like the deck for you, you can go ahead and order it right here on Amazon.
