About.com Rating
The Arbor Fish longboard is the shortest in Arbor's "carver" series. I handed off the Arbor Fish to tester Ray Thomason, and it was love at first sight. In this review he talks about the board, what it felt like to ride the Arbor Fish longboard, and how it pulled him back to his early days of skateboarding.
The Basics
Arbor Longboards are known for their unique look, feel, and raw performance. Arbors are made from Hawaiian Koa wood which has a huge history with surfing, and just Hawaiian history in general.
Koa is only found on the main Island of Hawaii, primarialy because of the elevation it grows at.
The Arbor Longboard I reviewed is the “Fish” model. The Arbor Fish is the smallest board in Arbor’s “Carving” series. My first Impression with this board was wow. The Arbor Fish really is a beautiful longboard with great workmanship. The grip base is sprayed on, and then the clear grip material is shaked on to keep the Koa wood visible. The trucks are Randal 150 mm trucks. Randal trucks have reverse Kingpins that make the trucks super stable and able to make turns sharper than other longboard trucks. The wheels on the demo model Arbor Fish I reviewed were sector 9 wheels; however now Arbor uses Kryptonics Hawaii K wheels that are ocean blue in color to hold the surf image even more.
First Test
My fist time riding the fish was in a parking lot just getting the feel of this beast - a very smooth, gentle beast. As soon as I broke in the Koa to a nice flexible state, it was bliss. The Arbor Fish is such a smooth crisp longboard, especially for how short the board is, only 38 inches.
To tell the truth I haven't had that much fun just riding a skateboard in years. The Arbor Fish longboard brought me back to when I first started skateboarding, when just riding made me feel free.
My friend and I spent countless hours riding ourselves crazy, he riding his longboard while I tested out the Fish. We would go up and down hills four or five times, then move to a different hill, repeating it over and over. I fell in love with the Arbor Fish. At higher speeds the Fish let me know why they call it a “carver”. Raw performance, with just the right amount of flex. In a week of riding I know I covered 30+ miles. I loved every minute of it - like I said earlier… Bliss.
Conclusion
The Arbor Fish longboard was amazing. The look, feel, performance, and prestige of this longboard are unique; one of a kind in this industry. The fish has top-notch construction and the best trucks on the market (Randal). The Arbor Fish is an Amazing little board. If you're in the market for a new longboard, then you shouldn't look any further than the Arbor line of longboards. I give it the best score possible - a whopping five stars.
In Review
The Arbor Fish is made with high quality Koa wood, which gives it the surfing look and feel that makes Arbor…well Arbor. The Arbor Fish comes with Randal 150 mm Trucks, built with a unique reverse kingpin that makes for an incredibly smooth sharp carve. The Fish also comes with Kryptonics wheels. Sprayed on base with ‘shaked’ on grip that shows off the rich colors of the Koa wood below you. A ride that you have to feel to believe. And face it are ever going to ride or even see a long board this cool anywhere else …ever?
For more info visit Arbors site at Arbor Sports or contact your local skate shop. Have fun, and be safe.