Seriously so much better than I hoped for. I looked into a brakeboard after a fast, hard fall on a day too windy to footbrake that scared me out of skating to class. This board takes away all the fear and does exactly what I need. Love. It.
Pros:
- great for taking down a mostly downhill, semi-crowded campus where it's not safe to powerslide on walkways even if I knew how to
- braking is smooth, intuitive, and predictable
- perfectly carvy/pumpy/surfy on wide roads (after changing bushings)
- not too heavy to carry uphill
- enough standing platform to try basic dancing tricks
- no problems with griptape, bearings, or wheels
Cons:
- bushings were hard for my liking + no treads on the kingpin left to loosen, so I switched out the front pair for softer ones, 80-something a's maybe?
- don't love hearing the back trucks rattle on cracks and rough road, but not a huge deal
- would've been cool to have the Okina Oasis graphic from the brakeboard mini. easily the most beautiful graphic I've ever seen
In the end, I was stuck between the portability of the Mini vs the stability of this Pintail. I've got no doubts now, though. This thing is frickin sick.