Arbor Pocket Rocket Review: A Hot & Stashable Mini-Cruiser

The 27″ Arbor Pocket Rocket a super-compact mini-cruiser for zipping around campus or the neighborhood, navigating tight or crowded sidewalks, getting to and from the train station, and carrying all day without even feeling it.

This is a high quality built, uber-portable little board designed for smooth short commutes and super snappy maneuvers.

The Pocket Rocket is extremely lightweight and easy to carry around and stash in a bag or in a small locker. You can actually go for a run while holding it under your arm.

Riders who purchase the Pocket Rocket are attracted to its cool compact look and its fun and nimble riding feel for quickly carving around/jumping over obstacles. 

It’s a particularly nice option for short (e.g. mile-long) distance rides between public transport when daily commuting. It’s also fun and fast carving for weaving among people on sidewalks and hopping on and off curbs.

Arbor cruisers are also known for their outstanding quality for decks and parts and their high durability. See my complete Arbor longboards comparison guide.

Is the Pocket Rocket for you?

Whether the Pocket Rocket will suit you largely depends on your size. While it’s certainly bigger than a 22″ Penny (which many people still learn to ride on), it’s still only 7.5″ wide – and that’s at its widest point.

So if you’re a bigger rider with large shoe size, you’ll have to get used to your toes and heels hanging off – which can be fine for carving but not so fun for easy cruising.

Riders with shoe size 9 (U.S) or smaller tend to feel comfortable on the Pocket Rocket with no foot bite issues. Some bigger riders can also get used to the feeling of riding a small mini-cruiser and actually enjoy it for the fast and nimble feel.

If you don’t mind feeling slightly unstable initially, you may love the Pocket Rocket’s compact size and super responsive ride. Otherwise, you may be better off going for a slightly bigger (8″+) mini-cruiser such as the Arbor Pilsner or the Landyachtz Dinghy.

The Pocket Rocket may not be the best choice for a beginner – a larger and more stable board will be much easier to learn on. It may also not best for bombing hills – although you can certainly ride it down small hills and stay in control.

Check out the Pocket Rocket here on Evo

Pocket Rocket deck & setup

The Arbor Pocket Rocket has a classic and attractive shortboard surfboard shape with a diamond shaped tail.

The deck has a solid and stiff 7-ply Canadian maple construction. The “Bamboo” version has a nice added ply of bamboo finish.

The kicktail on this mini-cruiser is quite big for the size, though with a relatively low incline – bigger-footed riders would prefer a higher angle for control. The nose kick is functional and comes it handy for kick tricks and hops.

See also: can you ollie on a Penny board?

The Pocket Rocket complete comes with Paris 108mm street trucks, some of the best trucks out there for mini-cruisers. Riders tend to prefer them to the Polar Bear trucks found on the Landyachtz Dinghy.

For heavier riders, replacing the stock bushings with better ones (e.g. Orangatang Nipples or Knuckles) can help improve the board’s stability.

The stock wheels on the Pocket Rocket are quality 61mm Arbor Bogart. These are quite large relative to the deck size, giving the board a really smooth and fast roll. The wheels are soft (78A duro) for comfort and cushioning, and round-lipped for easy slides and ticks.

Riding experience on the Pocket Rocket

Everyone will agree the Pocket Rocket is a super fun cruiser ideal for city slashing. It’s very easy to carve and zip around people and obstacles. Going up and down curbs is a breeze.

However, as mentioned earlier it can feel too small and narrow for bigger riders, and it’s not as stable as a larger cruiser for going down bigger hills. Although again, it can handle mellow hills if you have the skills – some riders take it up to 18mph.

The concave on the deck is very subtle – you hardly feel the curve. This allows you to move your feet freely but doesn’t provide much foot lock-in when riding faster. The large kicktail and functional nose kick add a bit of extra foothold, though.

The designs include Foundation, Artist, and Bamboo.

Arbor Pocket Rocket pros & cons

• Super easy to stash and carry around
• Super nimble and easy to carve and kick/pop around obstacles
• Quick and smooth ride for short and local commutes
• Small deck size may feel cramped for larger feet/stance
• Steeper learning curve for beginners due to slightly unstable feel
• Can feel scary to go fast on / bigger hills
• Not as comfortable as a larger cruiser for longer distances

Check out the Pocket Rocket here on Evo