Wakeskate Review: 38.5 Sprocket America

88skisupreme · Backside 180 Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1342 City: ATX

The fine folks at http://sprocketamerica.com/ were kind enough to send me a wakeskate to try out. This skate is serving a dual purpose as a demo board/endurance test, as you can see it has seen plenty of action.

Specs:
length 38.5"
width 15.75"
bathroom scale says its 12 pounds

Shape The edges are square with a thick vertical sidewall, the bottom edge is squared off. I've heard they changed the rails a little so this may be slightly different on the newest models. It has a medium amount of concave and the cut is fairly squared off as opposed to dished out, similar to the concave Oaks used to have. Decent sized kick tails, plenty of room for a 10.5 shoe. This is just my impression of the shape, I think the pictures will say it all.

Construction Although its a wood skate it has a unique construction. From the bottom up: 6 thin layers, similar to what most wood skates are made of; a thick, solid, fine grained middle layer, and three thick layers that make up the concave and kick tails.

Looking at that middle layer and following the wood grain I can see that the center piece of thicker wood is cut into the shape of the rocker line. Its not just pressed into shape it has been milled that way.

As I said earlier this is also a test board and it has seen lots of rails, it has lost a couple chunks on the bottom layer and the bottom layers are starting to delam a little under one of the damaged areas. I flipped it over and stepped on the skate and I couldn't get it to flex. I think the milled center and thick top layers are holding the shape of the deck, word is that the newest skates have a milled bottom layer instead of the thinner ones we see here.

Ride Tracked well on the surface. For a thick, heavy and wide board I expected it to have a lot of drag and sit lower in the water, it really didn't. It felt kind of in between, not super responsive but not too slow either. Overall a good all around board with decent pop, it spun around well for shuvits. I think it would be well suited for someone looking for a heavy, durable, wood concave.
Here are the pics:

sprocket america · Posted: Jun 21, 2012 8:38 am Post subject:

responce from A.I. via email to me.

I finally had a chance to get out on the water a couple days ago. First off I'm a really tall guy at 6'3 so the 38.5 is obviously a little small Smile

but I have to say the board has a super fun shape to it! I really liked it a lot, even being a little short had a blast on it! It had great pop in the flats and off the wake. In a way I'm almost bummed because I got one of the new remote boards at the end of last year, but this board suits me so much better and now I'll need to replace that with one of yours Smile

So basically, aside from the fact it was a little small this board was exactly what I've been looking for in a skate!

overstreet31 · Posted: Jul 02, 2012 7:56 pm Post subject:

I just wrapped up my stay with the SA 38.5 and I was pleasantly surprised. 88skisupreme wrote a very fitting shape and construction review. Haven't really ridden many concave wood decks but it was a treat. Board felt extremely solid even after the abuse it shows it has been through. It was a little on the heavy side for my taste but i think I could get used to it after a few more sessions I believe. Board slid well and seemed to be able to handle almost any abuse(testament to construction and materials which I believe will be even stronger on new models). Board responded well to inputs but wasn't overly responsive, didn't feel like I had to huck it into spins but took a little more coaxing than I am used to. Again, I was pleasantly surprised with the ride and responsiveness of such a heavy, durable skate. I will be forwarding the board to the next rider in line tomorrow. Thanks Sprocket America!

Frye · Guest Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 3337

I remember this board... I can't believe it's still going. You guys need to hurry up and break that sucker.

overstreet31 I imagine that board is so heavy because it is super water logged. They weigh about 11 pounds new (give or take .5) and the new construction process is a lot stronger.

88skisupreme · Backside 180 Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1342 City: ATX

it weighed 12 pounds when I had it so that's not to far off. Any water logging would only be happening on the bottom layers, I think they could fall off completely before those top layers break.

senza wake · Backside 180 Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 600 City: SLC

after a time with this deck, here is my response to my experience:
this deck is awesome. the concave is a great height, not too flat but also not too gnarly, and my favorite thing was how the concave came in toward the center of the board so that i could feel it at all times on my feet, much like an actual skate. i am 6'3" 220 lbs, and my size 12 foot fit perfectly on the tails. the weight was spot on for feeling comfy on all sort of pokes and spinnning the board. this board obviously has seen some damage from all the use and abuse from traveling around, but to me still felt snappy and alive, i/o tricks were way fun! in fact, the rocker felt like probably one of my favorites i've ever ridden, very fast while still very poppy. at 38.5" length, it was perfect. the total surface area with the width felt like plenty for a guy of my stature. knowing that the construction of their newer decks or other...oak like decks... will be from the thick plys that make up the top half of this deck, makes me think that wood decks durability may actually live up to the endurance i would desire.
overall feeling toward the deck: AMAZING!!
thanks sprocket america
go get one!