Shipping was pretty standard, around a week US-UK, with everything arriving in perfect condition and nicely packaged. Cant complain. 10/10
First impressions of this deck was me having the biggest smile on my face seeing this graphic. It's one of my favourite graphics ever printed on a fingerboard so I'm hyped to have one myself, and knowing how the deck is finished off with everything in terms of how it's made means there's nothing really to do but drool at it. 10/10
Craftsmanship of this deck is immaculate, I cant find a single thing wrong with it. Perfect shaping, great lacquer, and all the holes drilled so your trucks are going in fine and aligned right too. Not to mention the deck is really solid? In terms of how it's put together, I cant find a single flaw. 10/10
Performance of this deck is really nice, however slightly weird. If you've not read much into Northwoods decks, they've got a super unique and as far as I know never done before innovation, called the sweet ridge. Sounds like some tasty type of crisps but infact it's a weird 'second concave', a raised up bit in the middle of the deck. Why? Well, it's only a small raise, and it helps you find your finger positioning and use the board with your fingers and brain more rather than looking at everything. Does it work? Well, yes and no, sometimes I loved it and sometimes I wished it would disappear, I think it entirely depends what way you're riding and what tricks you're doing as to whether it's a good thing or not. Otherwise the deck is super poppy and nice and crisp (not to mention indestructible in terms of graphic wear) - my only real issue is the time it takes getting used to the sweet ridge. Otherwise you're left with an all round deck that's ticking all the right boxes in terms of performance. HOWEVER the sweet ridge is there, and for certain tricks/styles of riding you'll find yourself wishing it didn't exist. The opposite stands true too, so I'm sure with like a month of riding it you'd never want to ride without it, but right now as fascinating as it is, I'm not sold. 9.5/10
Overall I love this deck, not only does it seem to be able to take a ridiculous beating without flinching, but it's super innovative too. Maybe this concave isn't for everyone, but for those who are into crazy street tech I think this really should be seen as more than just a gimic, as it could really help a lot. Maybe not though, my only real advice on it would be to lower it so it's less obvious but still there, so it'd further cater to everyone. However that unique feature aside and you're left with one of the most solid, interesting, and great to ride decks that are currently on the market. 9.75/10
Go check Northwoods' here :)
