Jeff at Pantheon Longboards has been the mastermind behind many a successful distance longboarding deck and the Trip could be seen as the culmination of all his experience riding, racing and designing. A versatile and easy-to-ride longboard for distance, fitness, and freeride skating, the Trip is perfect for high-level athletes and casual riders alike.
The shape: The outline of the Trip has been thought-out to the nth degree. The slight taper to the centre of the board works together with the slight camber to create a comfortable dampening/suspension effect. Stiff enough that you don't lose speed or control pushing along, but flexy enough to soak up all the little cracks and bumps along the road that you'd really rather not be experiencing. Awesome.
The mould: Starting with the biggest, most noticeable feature - the drops! Pantheon developed the crescent drop, which instead of being a straight line across the board is bordering on a semi-circle. In the centre of the board the drop is closer to your foot, and it recedes back towards the shoulders of the deck. This shape makes it stiffer and stronger, as well as offering your foot a more precise marker for exactly where it is on the board. All regular advantages of drop-down decks still apply - a lower centre of gravity for stability, easier pushing and braking and super forgiving initiation of slides.
Concave-wise, it's a gentle radial concave. It's not trying to be something it isn't - for a board designed for distance you don't want too many features under foot. However when paired with the "moustache rocker" (rocker at the front and back of the board, and a light camber in the centre) you'll really feel locked in for pushing regular and mongo as well as always being right in the pocket for deep carves and slides.
The construction: A step up from your regular maple board, the Trip features 6 plies of maple sandwiched between fibreglass, with thin veneer topsheets. This one has applewood on the bottom which looks as juicy as it sounds. It's a lightweight board that's surprisingly stiff, a pushing machine that will eat up all the miles you can throw at it.
The graphics: This is the new Pantheon Whale graphic featuring... a whale. A humpback, by the looks of things. I'm not sure what else to add in this section, except that perhaps a board with a humpback on should really have some camber...? Or not. It's a pretty sick graphic to be fair.
The complete: Featuring Sabre Labyrinth bearings and Pantheon Karma 92mm wheels, whichever setup you choose you can guarantee that it will ROLL!
As for the trucks - thats up to you! Jeff recommends both the Paris 150mm and the Bear 155mm split angle setups.
The Paris is a 50°/43° split and the Bear is 50°/40°. The Bear will therefore put slightly more turning bias under the front truck, whilst also sticking out 2.5mm extra on each side... Honestly, its negligible. If those differences are make-or-break for you, then you probably aren't reading what I've got to say on the matter!
Paris go well with the Orangatang bushings or the Seismic Defcons, whilst Bear take the Seismics or the Venom HPF Plug bushings (with a little sanding down) so you'll be able to customise it to your weight and riding style either way.
Why no Valkyrie setup? At the time of the release of the Whale graphic, there are only 50 degree Valkyrie trucks available. We are more than happy to build a Trip up with these if thats what you're after - drop us a message. However we actually prefer the split angle setups. And with Valkyrie coming out with some lower angled baseplates in future, we're pretty sure that Valkyrie Split Angle Trips are going to be the future.
If you skate one of these from John O'Groats to Land's End (or vice versa, with the favourable prevailing winds) in less than 3 weeks, please let us know and Matt will buy you a beer.
