The Symtail is the latest addition to Loaded’s lineup. It’s a beautiful midsize symmetrical shape strongly focused on carving and pumping mixed with some freestyle and dancing capabilities.
This topmount longboard offers a lively flex-camber profile for high-energy pumping and flowing.
This is the latest version of a line of boards that started with the 2004 Pintail, then replaced by the Fattail in 2011. While still directional, the Fattail had a larger and more usable tail, as dancing and freestyle were getting increasingly mixed in with carving.
The new Symtail ( “symmetrical pintail”) is now fully symmetrical with full nose and tail kicks. This reflects the evolution of the carving & pumping riding style to include some freestyle and dancing flavor.
| Size | 39.5″ x 8.75″ (WB 27″) |
| Profile | Camber |
| Weight | 2.7 lb (deck only) |
| Trucks | Paris V3 165mm 50° |
| Wheels | 4President 70mm 80a |
| Price | $320 |
Who is the Symtail for?
The Symtail is for you if you’re dreaming of a high-energy return longboard you can carve and pump on for hours at speed.
The camber profile, bamboo flex, and topmount design make it feel like a real spring board!
So if you have the right skills, you’ll find an amazing experience on this board, as every turn is an insane boost of energy and speed.
If you’re a Loaded fan, this “flex + camber + topmount” combo will remind you of the Vanguard.
However, the Symtail has something more to offer: freestyle-friendly features.
If you’re into kick tricks, manuals, shuvits, flips, cross-stepping, pirouettes/spins, etc, and flex fascinates you instead of scaring you, then the Symtail might just be the holy grail for you.
Carving & pumping
The Symtail’s main focus and reason for being. Incredibly springy (I have Flex 2), high energy. Super easy and a bliss to pump and carve. Enough said.
Cruising, pushing, commuting
The board’s camber profile and large wheels (in the standard setup) result in a relatively high ride – not the most effortless pushing compared to a drop-through or even a bracket setup (like the Fathom) as your foot needs to travel further to kick the ground.
Also, be careful not to touch the wheels (they stick out) when kick pushing. You quickly learn to avoid this though.
On the other hand, if you’re into long-distance pumping, this is an awesome setup for riding across town on bike trails or secondary roads, without ever setting foot on the ground.
It also feels astonishing light for carrying around. You can easily take it on the bus or into a store.
Freeride / downhill
The symtail is a blast to ride fast and slide on if you have the skills (like Ari Chamasmany). Not for everyone though, that camber flex can send you flying if you don’t know what you’re doing when zooming down a hill.
On the plus side, the large cutouts let you run big wheels for some serious roll speed. The 27″ wheelbase makes the Symtail quite stable at speed. The symmetrical shape and kicks also let you ride switch.
Again, just make sure you’re comfortable with the flex – perhaps get a Flex 2 if you’re up for some crazy tricks (that’s what I chose @175lb).
Note that while flexy, the Symtail is nowhere as insanely springy as the Vanguard 38″, as it was designed for some amount of freestyle.
Freestyle & dancing
The kicks are big and invite you to ollie, manual, curb hop, etc. The setup is really lightweight for the size, making it easy to kick or flip. The reinforced tips give you some peace of mind for landing hard tricks.
The board is very carvy and stable for cross-stepping including when riding on the kicks. While shorter than a dedicated dancer, it gives you confidence to try maneuvers from pirouetting to ghostride flips.
Shape
The Symtail‘s symmetrical cutout shape, combined with the topmount camber design, results in a very responsive and tight-turning board – almost as nimble as a short cruiser.
The shape also brings significant clearance for large wheels (70+” without risers), including for very deep carves or when running loose trucks.
The outline is also designed to achieve a special and homogeneous flex. The subtle concave provides just the right amount of foot lock-in for fast carving – without getting in the way of quick stance adjustments.
The nose and tail kicks are quite wide and nicely upturned. Again, the tips are reinforced with fiberglass, for added pop when kicking the board and added strength when landing.
Construction
Like most Loaded boards, the Symtail is built from a strong and lighweight bamboo core with triaxial fiberglass layers pressed around it – Loaded’s signature construction that has long yielded amazingly light and robust decks with unequaled liveliness.
Like for the Mata Hari and other Loaded freestylers, the top cork layer absorbs vibrations and makes the ride smoother.
Setup
The Symtail ships with Paris V3 165mm trucks width 50º baseplate, which offer a blend of responsive carving and great stability at speed. The hanger width matches the narrow deck shape,without sticking out too much.
The 70mm Orangatang 4President wheels with 78a duro provide super fast roll, excellent grip, and a smooth ride including on rough surfaces. Their square lip ensure solid traction and predictable slides.
This choice of wheels greatly participate in the Symtail’s astonishing versatility across carving and freestyle.
See the Symtail on Loaded’s website
Symtail vs Vanguard, Icarus, Tan Tien, Chinchiller
Not sure which Loaded board to choose for your needs? Here’s a quick comparison of 5 Loaded carving/freestyle models, all with a flexy bamboo + fiberglass construction.
All all of them but the Chinchiller are of similar size (38 – 39.5″ x 8.5 – 8.75″) and have a camber flex profile. The reason I’ve included the Chinchiller even though it’s smaller and has a rocker profile is that it’s also a symmetrical shape designed for a mix of carving & freestyle.
(if on your phone, you can flip it to horizontal for better readability)
| Symtail | Vanguard | Icarus | Tan Tien | Chinchiller | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 39.5″ | 38″ | 38.4″ | 39″ | 34″ |
| Width | 8.75″ | 8.5″ | 8.6″ | 8.75″ | 8.5″ |
| Wheelbase | 27″ | 31.5″ | 28.25″ | 27″ | 21″ |
| Truck Mount | Topmount | Topmount | Drop-through | Drop-through | Topmount |
| Profile | Camber | Camber | Camber | Camber | Rocker |
| Concave | Mild | Mild | Medium | Mild | Mild |
| Kicks | Yes | No | Mellow | Yes | Mellow |
| Construction | Bamboo + Fiberglass | Bamboo + Fiberglass | Bamboo + Fiberglass | Bamboo + Fiberglass | Bamboo + Fiberglass |
| Deck weight | 2.7lb | 2.7lb | 2.9lb | 3.1-3.5lb | 3.1lb |
| Carve/pump vs Freestyle (*) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Price | $320 | $317 | $364 | $324 | $299 |
Among the four midsize longboards, the Symtail and Vanguard are topmount while the Icarus and Tan Tien are drop-through. The Vanguard is the flexiest (for its flexiest variant) but has no kicks.
Overall, the Symtail is really the only option if you want a topmount camber shape with kicks.
(*) The Carve/pump vs Freestyle row is my own 1-to-5 scale of the board’s capabilities between of carving/pumping (1) and freestyle/dancing (5).
Symtail graphics
The Symtail’s gorgeous graphics by Nana Studio represent a tree with deep roots, a solid core for resilience, and broad branches for exploring and engaging with life.
The design has evolved from the original 2004 Pintail graphics, which was then updated in 2007 and reworked in 2011 for the Fattail, building upon the same theme.