Shake Junt Griptape Review

Green and glittery, this griptape looks great on the store shelf and makes your board pop (well, appearance wise) without being too distracting like other colored griptapes can be.

Product Review

How long have you ridden the product?

4 years

What is your setup like?

Royal 4.0 Trucks, Speedlab Moonshine Siren wheels, Toy Machine T-Sect bearings, Shake Junt griptape

Typical Session Discipline

Flatland freestyle, dinking around the driveway, mostly 70’s style footwork

How much did you pay?

$10

Where did you purchase it?

RIT Music Skate Casa, Holland Michigan

What were the strengths of the product?

The grit is pretty good and lasts a long time. It’s a cool dark green color which is deep enough to not be as distracting as other neon colored tapes.

What were the weaknesses?

The adhesive sucks. It began peeling up from inside the kicks within a summer of riding. I put some scraps on another board that peeled up and fell off before they even got ridden!

Similar products you have ridden?

So many griptapes – MOB, Sk8kings Hardcore, Black Diamond, Grizzly, Minilogo, Edger, Jessup, 3M Stair Tread

Would you recommend it?

No

 

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Veloz Trucks

More reposting of my document backups to this blog.  Enjoy!

Howdy y’all! I had the fortune of winning some of those Veloz trucks in their online giveaway thingy they had a while ago. So, since I couldn’t find any good information about the trucks when I was researching, I thought I’d balance out my skate karma (skarma?) and give a little back to the community by way of a review!

 

So, the trucks were Veloz trucks…the 3 pack, with a 50 degree front, a 50 degree rear, and a 0 degree rear. I mounted the 50 front and the 0 rear on my Dregs Race, and the pair of 50’s on my CLB Eleanor. The Dregs, of course, is a topmount; and the CLB is a sort of topmounted Demonseed with a wedged front and dewedged rear. The Dregs had 66mm Earthwing Superballs (the old black ones from a few years back), Speedy Lunatic bearings, and the white OEM bushings that came with the trucks. The CLB had the old 76mm Earthwing Superballs, Element Black bearings, but I actually had to dig out some Bones Hardcore bushings to throw on top since the bushing seats are really restrictive. The course that I tried the setups on wasn’t much compared to some of the roads I see on here; it was a bike path with a beautiful S-curve to it that tightened up as the path went downhill. It’ll kick you up to 20-25mph with a good tuck. And, it’s the course that I did my Zig vs. Otang review thread on.

 

Now for the fun part…the actual review

 

On the Dregs, I thought the 0 degree rear felt really damn cool…kinda like riding on a Porsche or something. A lot of people really, really dislike the 0 degree, but I thought it felt good on a topmount. They felt, to me, kinda snowboard-ish where you kinda have to lean forward into the turn. They also gripped like Lindsey Lohan grips a kilo of coke (she can afford that much). I rode them in the rain, and stuck the lines like nobody’s business. That is, until I actually tried pushing them to slide…Then, it was like *grip*grip*grip*grip*HOLYSHITI’MGOINGBACKWARDS*

Apart from the uber-restrictive bushing seats, I could actually see the 0 degree rear being sweet in something like maybe a GS or LDP setting…it’s got a surprising amount of lean; so much that if I bent over and grabbed the rail, the front trucks would actually lift up and the rear would stay planted. Usually, on my setups, the rear lifts before the front.

 

The CLB…ah, yes…the CLB. I didn’t touch a thing about the bushings before mounting the 50’s up on the board, but when I stood on the board in my room, I could not get much in the way of lean out of them. So, I took the OEM top off and threw some Blue Bones bushings in their place. Even still, when I rode the board, the trucks felt bound up like a fat man after am all-you-can-eat cheese buffet. They turned well enough, but felt like they could really come to life at a faster speed. The 50 degree rear also had a rather rough, abrupt transition from grip to slide as well, although not nearly as harsh as the 0. For my money, on a dropped deck like that, Randals are better. That said, I do wanna try the Veloz trucks (with both the 0 and 50 rears) on a dropthru.

 

All in all, they’re good trucks. The painted finish is smooth…I don’t think they’re powder coated, although I may be wrong. Randal hangers will fit on Veloz plates, however Veloz hangers will not fit onto Randal plates without a little pivot cup modification. The Veloz pivot pins are about a quarter inch longer than Randals. Speaking of more Randal vs. Veloz, the old yellow Randal bushings are the same size as the OEM Veloz bushings. However, due to the tight bushing seat on the Veloz, you probably can’t fit anything like a Stim or Eliminator in there…I even had a little trouble with an old Abec11 bushing that was cut from a wheel. It may be just the black color, but the area of the hanger immediately around the bushing seat kinda reminded me of a Gullwing Charger. The axles don’t seem to be a true 8mm; they seem to be whatever the imperial equivalent is (5/16?), but they do look really good and really high quality with almost a machined look to them. The threading looks a lot cleaner than Randal; again, very clean and almost machined. One odd thing I noticed was that the nuts were hard to loosen and tighten…So hard that I felt like I was cross-threading them at times (I wasn’t, for the record).

 

Overall, they’re stabler than a 50 degree Randal, have tight bushing seats, and grip like a mofo. I give 9/10 on a topmount, just for the Porsche factor, and a 6.5/10 on a dropdeck, just because inherently stable trucks don’t bode well on inherently stable boards. However, I must reiterate that I’m dying to try these on a dropthru or on a pumping board

After trying these trucks in the context of the review, they lived on my Dregs Race for a little while until I mounted them on a luge.  The luge was a setup such that I could use the two 50 degree trucks on the front, and the 0 degree on the rear.  It worked decent enough, I suppose, but I never really rode the luge.  I was able to eventually throw them onto a LDP board, with the 0 degree rear, and it was everything I expected…but, being 180mm trucks, they felt wide and sluggish on the 36″ Sk8Kings Maximus.  The quality on these trucks is fantastic; they’re likely from the same foundry that made Gullwing Chargers, Paris (for a number of years), SayShuh, and Road Rider.  But, as it keeps coming back to in these equipment reviews, results are results:  These, sadly, never found a permanent spot on my boards…which is something I blame on my own neuroses; all of my boards have a “theme,” and these Veloz trucks never really fit into any theme.

My CLB Eleanor is my Stealth Bomber:  A carbon fiber board with black Randals, black bearings, black bushings, and…well, they had black wheels, but there are currently some blue 85mm Kryptonics on it.  My Creep Show is my modern ditch board, on Paris Street Trucks and Cult Ism wheels.  My Flip Tom Penny is my period-correct 1998 board, hearkening back to my first memories of skateboarding.  My TVS, Dregs, and Sector9 Race are all set up circa 2002, a’la the Gravity Games and the X-Games.  My Earthwing Hope and my Rolling Tree Nimbus are set up for downhill tech-sliding.  My LVBC 8.5″ is similar to the Creep Show in that it’s a ditch/slide/bomber board.  And, my Tunnel Comp is a modern (well, circa 2012) interpretation of a 70’s board; the board itself is a clone of a 70’s board, Road Rider  is a resurrection of a 70’s nameplate, and Chris Chaput founded Abec11 after being a pro skater in the 70’s.  So, what I’m getting at is that…well, the Veloz Trucks never fit my styles.  My justification for being a neurotic gear whore is that each and every board is different…

Neversummer Deviant

I was fortunate enough, back in 2012 or 2013, to be contacted by Neversummer about a trial program they had set up for some new boards they were debuting.  I was able to test out a 42″ double-drop freeride deck called The Deviant.  As with other boards and gear, my opinions did change over the years, so I’ve attached my original review to the very bottom of the post:

The Deviant is a double-drop freeride/speedboard that measures in at 42″ long by 10″ wide. It’s got kicks, some kind of badass “Carbonium” bottom sheet, and some pretty comfortable W-concave (P-tips weren’t added until 2014). Similar boards I’ve ridden include the Rayne Demonseed, the Landyachtz Evo, the Earthwing Supermodel, and the Chicagolongboard Eleanor:

-The Demonseed, of course, is a boat; the Deviant is smaller, nimbler, and lighter. The rides/slides are fairly similar, being that they’re both double-drops. The Evo is a directional speedboard that feels like an Indy car or something, whereas the Deviant is really more of a freeride board. I vastly prefer the Deviant to the Demonseed or the Evo. Both the Demonseed and the Evo feel very old-school, whereas the Deviant is a very modern double-drop. Take these with a grain of salt though, since I have only ridden each Canadian board a handful of times.

-The Eleanor is like a more refined Evo; lighter, less drastic wedging, and better concave. It lacks the W of the Deviant, isn’t symmetrical (front and rear have different wedging amounts), and is a wee bit heavier. As far as ride quality goes, both boards feel remarkably similar…a fairly solid, locked-in feel.Of all these boards though, I felt like the EW Supermodel was the most similar to the Deviant. The Supermodel is a simple, no-frills workhorse. The Deviant feels like they took that idea, and added stuff (like the W concave and kicktails). Everything that my Supermodel lacks, the Deviant has. My biggest complaint about the Supermodel is that the standing platform is just a little “off.” I’ve had it before, not frequently, but regularly enough to take note, that my foot will slide off the platform of my SM and wind up getting wedged between the wheel and the deck. That doesn’t happen on the Deviant.

 

The NSA Freeride wheels that came on the Deviant have become my favorite wheel. It’s everyone’s favorite semi-generic AEND freeride shape with one difference: The inner and outer lips aren’t the same. Look at Abec11 Powerballs, Sector9 Butterballs, Sweet Spot Milksurfers, etc. etc. The inner and outer lips are mostly symmetrical. The NSA’s outer lip is sharper than the inner lip, which gives me a lot smoother release

 

I’ve never like Bear Grizzlies on dropthroughs, and the Deviant is no exception. I rode the Grizzlies dropped through for most of the time I’ve had the board, and there’s just something about the dampened turning that a dropthrough gives that doesn’t do it for me. Plus, the double-drop platform is LOW. While the board slides slicker than greased lightning, I just couldn’t get used to how low it was. So, I topmounted it, and all my problems went away.

 

Next on the docket is to try some new trucks and wheels. Perhaps Randals or Road Riders are in order.

 

Overall, the Deviant has treated me well. My biggest complaints are mostly ergonomics, but the fact that it’s become one of my most-ridden boards should illustrate that I’ve gotten over it.

 

And, the full text of the early review I sent to Neversummer about a week after I’d ridden it daily:

Never Summer Longboard Review

1. What Never Summer board are you riding?

-Deviant

2. How long have you been Longboarding?

-6 years

3. What board are you currently riding?

-Too many to list…a few old-style topmount speedboards, a few newer drop decks and dropthroughs, a few semi-generic cruiser types, and some short wheelbase pool/park/sliders.

4. What is your setup like?

-Typically Independent or Randal trucks, riding on Earthwing, Abec11, or Sector9 wheels.

5. Have you ridden a Never Summer longboard before?

-Not in any appreciable form. Rolling around a skate shop, yes…Out in the wild, no.

6. Compare the two?

-Typically, I don’t like Bear Grizzlies on dropthrough decks, but somehow they work well with the Deviant.

The wheels are fantastic. I’m very impressed by a centerset hub with an offset style shape, like the NSA wheels have. Compared to similar AEND-manufactured wheels (like Abec11 Powerballs and Sector9 Butterballs and Goddesses); the asymmetric design of the NSA’s adds an element of an almost “creamy” feel while sliding, while maintaining cornering ability and roll speed.

The board feels like an upgraded Earthwing Supermodel… the Supermodel is a very clean and simple workhorse, whereas the Deviant has more bells and whistles. Nothing seems extraneous, except for the kicks, which I personally don’t use.

Compared to my old CLB Eleanor, which is a directional drop deck with a 2” drop (wedged front and rear, no dropthrough), the Deviant feels livelier with increased rider input as a result of its W concave. However, the CLB is more of a speedboard, and the Deviant is clearly a freeride board.

7. Typical Session Discipline?

-Slow speed freeriding…usually less than 20mph, on tight bike paths or other narrow bands of asphalt. But, I do occasionally hit up to 35mph.

8. What were the strengths of the deck?

-Great shape and size. It’s just the right size for me, since my biggest gripe with my Supermodel is that it’s about 2” too short. The concave inspires confidence and locks the rider in very well when going downhill, and I’m not normally one to venture outside of simple radial concave. The finish is very durable, having scraped over some curbs and speed bumps. The stamped metal dropthrough plate was a nice touch.

9. What were the weaknesses?

–The W Concave is extreme for pushing; it made my feet hurt when pushing less than a mile. I’m sure some riders will appreciate the kick nose and tail, but I found them hard to use due to being quite steep, so I mostly just ignore them. In further testing, I found the deck to be a little low, so much so that my glove scraped the ground when I grabbed rail one time, although that’s mostly my own personal preference.

10. Similar decks you have ridden?

-CLB Eleanor, Earthwing Supermodel, Presque Longboards custom dropthrough, Rayne Demonseed.

11. How was the shape/ride feel of the board?

–Secure and locked in for all kinds of downhill disciplines. I felt very confident sliding, carving, and even pumping. As I mentioned before, the standing platform was the right size for me to perfectly utilize all the space. The ride wasn’t harsh, as some dropthrough boards tend to be. However, my arches did hurt after pushing a distance just a little longer than half a mile.

12. What style/shape of longboard would you like to see?

-A clean and simple topmount speedboard.

13. Would you recommend it?

-Hands down, yes. Especially the wheels. I’m in love with the NSA wheels.

Vision 48″ Cruiser

this is my first board, and i really like it. i’m glad that this is my first board…not only did i get it at a REALLY good price (orig price was $150, but i got it for $90), and it’s a really great board for learning the tricks of the trade

 

Longboard Review

How long have you ridden the board

a little over a month

What is your setup like?

Tracker Dart 184’s, RUSH ABEC7 bearings, Gravity SuperG wheels (73mm, 80a), black doh-doh bottom bushings and superballs on top

Typical Session Discipline

Cruising…sometimes carving

How much did you pay?

$90

Where did you purchase it?

Ground Zero, Marquette, MI

What were the strengths of the deck.

Great for all-around riding, quite stiff compared to other boards, not too heavy,

What were the weaknesses?

graphics, while going for the whole vintage thing, are still a little plain. wheelbite due to having no wheel wells at all…and the stiffness makes you really feel the riding surface (don’t know if that’s good or bad)

Similar decks you have ridden?

none

Would you recommend it?

Yes

 
This is it, ladies and gentlemen!  This was the board that started it all.  My first board ever.  The board that introduced me to the weird world of longboarding.

UFO Wheels, 60ish mm, 95ish a

They’re quieter than 96a Noskool, they’re gummier than a 95a Rainskate. They’re kinda rattly for kicking around and cruising. I can honestly see these being good maybe in a ditch, or a concrete skatepark.

 

Equipment Review

How long have you ridden them?

8 months

What Setup are you running them on?

TVS Lady Cruiser, Randal DH trucks…combined with the wheels, it’s a complete from circa 2001

Typical Discipline?

Um…yes.

How much did you pay for them?

$25

Where did you buy them?

Cawlin…the moderator on here

What are their weaknesses?

Kinda slow, not much information available on them, and they were a bit harder than I expected

What are their strengths?

They don’t wear at all, or pick up those nasty black streaks that hard wheels sometimes do. They grip like a mofo too! I couldn’t get them to drift at all, and really had to push to get them to slide…which was really odd because they’re 95a or thereabouts. They’re also surprisingly fast.

What similar equipment have you ridden?

96a Noskoolz, 97a BDS Shogo Kubo Dragons, 95a Rainskates

Would you recommend them?

Yes
Yet another weird bit of history – these are alleged to have been prototypes from 2002 or 2003 that never made it out of the prototype stage.  They were poured by Madrid, and were inspired by the UFO wheels of the 70’s.  I was sold these wheels with the understanding that they were 85a or so, but they’re substantially harder than that.  They’d feel great on a 70’s-style setup for concrete parks or ditches, but I don’t feel like they’re all that great for downhill sliding and stuff.  The only way I was able to get information on these wheels was by emailing Madrid directly, and by looking up old .PDF’s of International Longboarder and Concrete Wave magazines.  Maybe if you’re looking for information on these weird-ass wheels, your search will bring you to this page.

TVS Lady Cruiser

Riding this board really makes me appreciate how far longboarding has come this millennium. It was a ton of fun for me researching what trucks and wheels were used circa Y2K, and even more fun hunting them down.

 

Longboard Review

How long have you ridden the board

1 year

What is your setup like?

Randal DH trucks, Red Krypto Classics…although I do swap out for some Dregs Labeda wheels or UFO wheels once in a while.

Typical Session Discipline

Bike path bombing; freeriding

How much did you pay?

$60

Where did you purchase it?

Eastcoastskates.com

What were the strengths of the deck.

Retro steez! The reason I bought the board was because I was trying to find all the boards that the guys rode in the Gravity Games circa 2000 or 2001. I found a stash of NOS boards like this, and decided to pull the trigger. It’s a really nice symmetric shape, with fully functional kicktails. The graphic is sharp, and seems to be screen printed.

What were the weaknesses?

Really narrow, but that’s how boards were back then. The wheel cutouts are big enough to step on if you’re not looking, but they’re placed for trucks like Indys or Trackers…the Randals I have on mine don’t line up properly.

Similar decks you have ridden?

Vision 48″ Cruiser, Pavel DHB Ditch board…not sure if I’d put this in the same category as a Superglider, but I use it for similar activities.

Would you recommend it?

Yes

Ah, the old Terminal Velocity Streetboards.  Staple brand of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.  I’ve got this set up as close to Gary Hardwick’s historical board as is practical for my modern style of riding.  Some of my first memories about longboarding were watching the Gravity Games on NBC, and they were one of the first to broadcast downhill skateboarding on a national stage.  I watched guys like Gary Hardwick, Biker Sherlock, and Dane Van Bommel race standup boards in wild suits and crazy helmets!  Gary was clad in white and black, with a Stormtrooper helmet; Biker and Dane were clad in black and yellow with flames up and down each arm.  Truth be told, I was more drawn to street luge in those days, completely unbeknownst to the fact that one day, I’d be doing standup on the very same boards I was watching on TV.  One cool feature of this board is that there’s no concave whatsoever – the board is flat as a pancake.  The reason being is that concave enhances and increases turning ability.  Turning ability leads to instability and speed wobbles.  Therefore, the late 90’s/early 00’s mindset was that flat boards were more stable than concave boards.  Generally, we know now that concave enhances control and, in a broad sense, increases stability…I mean, there’s a LOT that goes into stability, but that’s a rudimentary look at things.  The TVS Lady Cruiser was the same size and shape as the TVS Cruiser, which was the same size as the board Gary Hardwick rode in a few of his races, although Gary’s had a truncated nose and tail, and had the trucks dropped through the deck.  So, this deck is a reasonable facsimile to a Gravity Games setup, given the fact that I was trying to assemble these boards more than a decade after the fact.

Tunnel Comp Longboard

It’s a fun, unique longboard made with a great modern construction. It does have a few faults, but what board doesn’t?

 

Longboard Review

How long have you ridden the board

2 years

What is your setup like?

Roadrider trucks, Element Ceramic bearings, Abec11 Retro Freerides. I’ve also tried it with Other Planet trucks.

Typical Session Discipline

Downhill carving, drifting some corners

How much did you pay?

$0

Where did you purchase it?

Got it from the guy who did the reviewe below this one

What were the strengths of the deck.

Great shape! The same excellent construction that I’ve come to expect from Watson Laminates. The board has a very positive, engaging feel. It’s stiff, but not bone-jarring, and inspires a lot of confidence.

What were the weaknesses?

The spray-on grip is a little lax. Combine that with the rocker of the board and it can feel dicey when you’re doing the more intense styles of freeriding or downhill. Honestly, if the board were 1 ply thinner and allowed the rider to fully utilize the camber (ed. 2019) (to spring out of carves), it would be much better.

Similar decks you have ridden?

It’s hard to say…Loaded Dervish, Earthwing Superglider, maybe even the Gravity Hypercarve. It’s a very unique carving shape with a stiff feel…nothing else that I’ve ridden really compares.

Would you recommend it?

Yes
This is another cool bit of longboard history – back in the 70’s, the Tunnel skateboard team were quite prolific downhill racers.  In the early 2010’s, they adapted their signature downhill and slalom shape into a modern longboard.  This is the modern adaptation!  As mentioned in the review above, the camber feels a little weird underfoot, but you get used to it.  I would love to see this board with one less ply in the board, so the rider could really dig into the board and return some positive energy, but as it is, it’s a dampening flex like my CLB.  It’s a cool board, and even though I don’t ride it much, it’s one that I won’t get rid of.

Toy Machine T-Sect

Great bearings, see my full review!

 

Equipment Review

How long have you ridden them?

’bout 6 months

What Setup are you running them on?

faltown slide deck, abec11 noskoolz, indy 215’s…but i have used them on an earthwing slider, and in parks

Typical Discipline?

Sliding

How much did you pay for them?

$23?

Where did you buy them?

RIT music, holland MI

What are their weaknesses?

theyr’e a little more expensive than reds

What are their strengths?

Really smooth rolling, quick accelaration, they take abuse like none other…in fact, it seems like they get better and faster the more you abuse them.

What similar equipment have you ridden?

Bones Reds, Speedy LUnatics, Rock’n’rons Skyrockets

Would you recommend them?

Yes

Toy Machine T-Sect bearings were recommended to me on the old forums at Ramprage.com where they were promised to be quicker than Reds, and can take abuse very well.  While casual longboarding doesn’t put the stresses of street and park skating on bearings, downhill racing and sliding have their own unique stressors.  Constantly rolling for minutes and hours (as opposed to a minute-or-two long run in a park or on the street) will increase wear and tear, and sliding puts all kinds of weird stresses on the inside and outside edges of bearings.  The first set of T-Sects I owned had a unique 2-piece nylon cage, but in later runs, they seemed to change to a standard single-piece crown that’s seen on nearly every other 608 bearing on the market.  Before I got into Tektons, T-Sects were my go-to for my dedicated slide rigs, because like Tektons, I noticed that T-Sects gave me a little more rollout speed on the end of a hill, and carried a little more momentum (than Reds, Speedy Lunatics, or Ballistech Rockets) through slides…and when you’re into hardwheel technical sliding, it’s not about the steepness of the hill, it’s about being long enough to maintain your speed into, through, and out of the slide.  T-Sects hold up to those side loads through the long-term, and each ride, they give a little more speed than other cheap bearings.

Seismic Tektons

They’re noticably faster than something like a Biltin, although I’m not entirely sure Tektons are worth the extra few bucks if you’re not in an IGSA race.

 

Equipment Review

How long have you ridden them?

1 year

What Setup are you running them on?

Many different setups.

Typical Discipline?

Anything

How much did you pay for them?

$20-30

Where did you buy them?

Shop I work at

What are their weaknesses?

L-O-U-D! Due to their factory lube, they get loud after you ride ’em for a while. Another odd thing I noticed is that they make the ride feel “rockier,” or less smooth.

What are their strengths?

F-A-S-T! I can honestly feel a difference riding Tektons versus any other bearing. They spin up to speed VERY quickly and hold that speed for a long time.

What similar equipment have you ridden?

Biltins, Indy 7’s, Toy Machine T-Sects

Would you recommend them?

Yes
When I was working at the skateshop for a few years, I got a pretty hearty discount on these bearings, so they quickly became a staple in my quiver.  I’ve got more of these bearings than any other brand.  They’re solid as a rock, and fast!  These were the bearings that made me begin rethinking my thoughts on cheap bearings.  If I could roll an extra 10 yards on my little makeshift test path, and these bearings were the only difference, that means that I either held speed better through the drifty S-turns I’d skate, or these bearings would spin up to speed quicker.  Either way, with consistent results run after run (that disappeared after I changed back to other bearings), I knew there was something a little special about these.  The races are precise, to the point where they sometimes don’t fit nicely into wheel cores (as the wheel cores are not nearly as precise as these guys), but there’s just a little bit of play in the balls that presumably reduces friction on the side of the raceways and gives a little more speed.  Dan at Seismic said in an email that Tektons have a proprietary 2-stage lube that goes on wet, then dries out, leaving a protective coating with no drag or fluid friction from excess grease or oil…that’s why Tetkons are sometimes louder than other types of bearings.

Seismic Blastwaves

Awesome drift, very fast urethane, buuuuuut they cone and wear quickly and are a little (okay, a lot) on the pricey side

 

Equipment Review

How long have you ridden them?

a few months

What Setup are you running them on?

CLB eleanor, 40/52 grizzlies

Typical Discipline?

drifting

How much did you pay for them?

tradesies

What are their weaknesses?

they cone rather quickly, and are quite cost prohibitive…although, this doesn’t stop people from buying otangs; just it seems that everybody has some beef with seismic wheels

What are their strengths?

amazing drift, high-quality urethane, quite fast

What similar equipment have you ridden?

flywheels are the most direct comparison…but also 76mm superballs and 85mm aqua hawgs

Would you recommend them?

Yes
Ah. Blastwaves.  Seismic’s drifty race wheel.  They might’ve been 78mm in diameter, but it’s been so long since I’ve ridden these that I don’t even remember anymore.  I remember being happy with them, and the review seems to reflect that, but I’ve simply ridden much more gear that was much more memorable, that any recollection of Seismic’s Blastwaves is fuzzy at best.  This isn’t a gear bias thing either, I’ve got no ill will towards Seismic or any of their associated brands, there’s just plenty of gear that suits my needs better than a high-performance race wheel, from plenty of brands I like to support more than I do Seismic.  It’s a great wheel, it’s just not what I personally need.