Unboxing a LandYachtz Bamboo Pinner Longboard

       Again, another one of those posts which I should have thrown up a day or two after the event happened. Buuut, time isn't always so permitting, and I'm only just having the time I wanted back in August right now. The post regarding the unboxing of the Land Yachtz Switch has turned out to be the most popular post on here to date, most likely on account of how many people probably look for unboxings of things. I'm throwing another one of those posts up after the fact so everyone can see what you get in a box from LandYachtz, how it all comes packaged, and I can attest that the Switch came in the exact same sort of packaging as the Bamboo Pinner.
       Before I send you all headlong into the pictures, I guess I should explain why I was opening a second longboard box from LandYachtz at the end of August. It took me about 2 months (one where I wasn't boarding at all) and about 24 hours of practice to make me decide that longboarding was something I was going to be able to pick and stick with. I liked it a lot, but didn't have any friends to go boarding with. I opted to pick up a second, less expensive board so I could take friends out with me so I wouldn't be skating alone, and decided to get the flexy top-mount pintail since it would compliment the stiff dropped-deck board I was already riding on. Here it is, with some impressions at the end...

 All wrapped in foam and paper.

 Nice and secure so those trucks don't get jostled around more than necessary.

 I like the magazine, always thought it was a nice touch, Switchback and Royal Boardshop do it too.

      So.... no pictures of the board in all of it's unboxed glory, but visit the LandYachtz website and you'll see it for sure. I didn't end up riding this one very much, and didn't get particularly amazing on the LY Switch while I owned the Pinner to be able to dole out a good comparison review. What I can say about this board is that it felt a lot more like what I expected a longboard to feel like than the Switch. The Switch felt like I was swinging in a cradle when I first got it and tried leaning back and forth. This one definitely felt more like it leaned with me when I was going to make a turn. It obviously felt a lot higher than the Switch which made me feel a bit like an elephant on a Dixie cup, and it was waaaay more responsive. It was quite shocking actually, the first time I took it for a spin was both terrifying and thrilling. I'd never known such responsiveness with the Switch, and didn't for another month after that since I'd never tried loosening the nut on the kingpin. I gotta say, loose trucks are a lot of fun! I have opted to sell this board though, and it will be leaving my loving arms for those of someone new in three days. I now know that I favor the dropped decks, drop throughs, and double drops, but I wholly intend to pick up another pintail again some day since they are a whole lot of fun, perhaps then I'll look into something from the Original line-up. Money is an issue right now, though, so I need to be riding things that work best for me!

A General Review of Urban XT Footwear

       I've decided it's high time I get around to giving this blog the life saving defibrillation it needs to keep afloat and have chosen a short but sweet review as my means of doing so.

       This experience with a pair of Urban XT Shoes from Shoe Warehouse dates back to August 20th. It was a very beautiful morning, and I think I remember it as well as I do because the 20th was my birthday. I was going to be spending a sizable chunk of the day watching a friend play a couple rounds of Warhammer 40K and opted to head downtown early and grab a super healthy birthday breakfast from McDonald's. I hopped on the Switch and made it downtown very quickly since by this point I was getting "pretty boss at footbreaking." Sounds quite funny, even to myself. Moving along though, I chowed down on some Sausage McMuffins and set away blogging in Micky D's when I saw my friend round the corner of the street and decided I should probably join him. Walking along the sidewalk with my buddy now, I noticed my left foot felt a little slippery. I should mention this was a brand new set of Urban XT skate shoes I was wearing at the time. I chose not to think much of the slippery feeling under my left foot and only opted to check it out when we made it to our final destination. I lifted my left foot onto my right knee and the picture to the left is what I saw.
       Brand new Urban XT shoe sole, disappearing before my eyes after one trip downtown. One. Trip.
       I know a lot of people wear these shoes longboarding and skateboarding, and I assume that maybe they either don't go down hills, or are slick enough on a board to not require footbreaking to make it down a hill. I also see a lot of folks wearing them as general purpose footwear but I can't make a comment on general fit and feel of the shoe since I never made it past the break in period with them.
       This shoe goes on the newly started "Learning to Longboard does not recommend" list. Go with Vans or Etnies or DC shoes, any other brand with a reputation for making quality skate footwear!
       Posts as to why I haven't been regularly posting will be arriving in December (school, shocking, I know), along with an update with my progress on learning to longboard on a Landyacht (isn't alliteration adorable?). Let me just say that I have not given up on learning to ride a board and have made a few good leaps and bounds in the last few months which I very much look forward to sharing with the internet. I have a more refined direction I'll be taking with the blog in in 2012, which unfortunately for me, will likely end up catering to a very small, niche group of longboarders. It's still going to be hella epic.