Looking for deck swap recommendations

How-Tos & Esk8 mechanics Esk8 Mechanics
#1

EDIT: In case anyone comes across this thread looking for deck swap recommendations for their board, I ended up going with a Loaded Dervish Sama. It’s perfect for the backfire zealot’s electronics & enclosures. It’s pretty flat on the underside and quite wide, so mounting the enclosures was a breeze. As of writing this, I’ve put over 700 miles on the Dervish-swapped zealot, and I love it. The Dervish has held up phenomenally, and is VERY comfortable to ride. I top mounted it and put some anti-sink plates on it to reinforce the drop-through holes, and it has been flawless.

So I have a backfire zealot as my fun, chill board to ride. It recently developed a big crack in its deck, so I gotta deck swap it because it definitely isn’t safe to ride. It’s electronics are still perfectly fine, so I’m just going to swap it’s electronics to a new deck. I could just get a new zealot deck from backfire, but I want to try it on a different deck.

I’m looking for a deck with the following qualities:

  • Greater than or equal to 35” in length
  • Decent amount of flex
  • No kicktail
  • Top mount is preferable, but I can always just top mount on a drop thru deck.
  • W concave or maybe rocker
  • Relatively flat on the underside, don’t want to go through too much trouble to mount the enclosures
  • <$200 in price

I’m hesitant to just get a loaded vanguard, I own a boosted v2 and I LOVE the vanguard, I just want to try something different. I was looking at the DB crossbow, but it seems that it is no longer made, I can’t find a brand new one for sale anywhere. I was considering the DB coreflex compound, but I really don’t want a kicktail. I have bash guards on my zealot’s trucks, and with a kicktail they’re useless. I also looked at the loaded icarus, but because of the shape of the deck, it would be a pain in my ass to mount the enclosure.

Any help appreciated, thanks!

1 Like
#2

I’m about to swap mine onto a vanguard. Seems like a great choice IMO

#3

20220501_003920
20220501_0039204312×5760 1.01 MB

20220501_003900
20220501_0039005760×4312 3.12 MB

20220501_003832
20220501_0038324312×5760 1.39 MB

I’d let this skinned and fritted bamboo zealot go for 200$ + shipping
should be slightly stiffer than the normal zealot.
It was from the earliest batches of zealots that didn’t have the cracking/snapping issues.

3 Likes
#4

The loaded Tan Tien and Dervish Sama are great decks if you like flexy and comfy. They are really responsive in carves too.

#5

If I get a Tan Tien or Dervish then I might as well just get an Icarus at that point. The main reason I’m hesitant to get the Icarus is because it has a pretty curvy and uneven underside, which would make mounting the enclosures a bit of a nightmare.

#6

The Vanguard is a legendary deck for a reason. I own a Boosted v2 SR with over 2.1k miles on it, and it’s still on its original Vanguard deck, which is showing no signs of cracking. However, because I already own a BB v2, I’m hesitant to just throw my zealot on another vanguard. I LOVE the loaded vanguard, don’t get me wrong, I just wanna try something else. Currently looking at the DB Coreflex Compound, but I really don’t want a kicktail on my board, as the front kicktail will make the bash guard I have for my zealot useless.

#7

I am most definitely keeping this in mind as I consider my options. You did a damn good job on the frit, that’s one beautiful deck. I’m hesitant though, as I want to try something new. The snapped deck means that I have an excuse to swap the zealot to a different flexy deck so that I can try something else.

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