Loaded boards are considered among the best longboards out there. They are high-end boards with high-quality, innovative, and durable materials and construction. They have advanced shapes and features for very technical and progressive riding.
Longboarders commonly wish they owned a Loaded. Whether you’re an experienced or newer (but passionate) rider, you may be attracted to these advanced products. Buying a Loaded board, however, can be a hefty investment as they sell at a premium price. Thus, you want to make sure you choose the right board for your needs.
When selecting the best Loaded longboard for yourself, you need to take ask yourself a few important questions:
- What is(are) your primary riding style(s)?
- What is your preferred mount style?
- What is your ideal board size?
- What kind of shape do you need?
- What is the optimal component configuration for you?
Merely listing the Loaded longboards and their characteristics would not be very helpful in making the right decision for you. In this article, my aim is to help you sort through the board features in the Loaded lineup so you can figure out the best-suited Loaded longboard for you.
Why choose a Loaded longboard?
If you ask around the serious longboarding community, you’ll hear a lot of praise for the Loaded boards (albeit not their pricing). Here are some of the things riders keep saying about Loaded longboards:
- They are extremely strong and durable
- They are super lightweight
- They are astonishingly smooth riding
- They offer high performance for the riding type they’re designed for
- They are very well-made and beautiful looking
- They are technologically advanced
Such feedback is heard over and over again. On the flip side, some riders sometimes complain about the higher prices Loaded boards sell at compared to other serious competing brands e.g. Landyachtz or Arbor – this sometimes even lead to occasional negative feelings against the brand.
Loaded fans, however, generally feel the premium prices are justified. Loaded pushes the envelope on longboard innovation by sourcing high-tech materials with superior physical properties that result in a very special riding feel. Also, Loaded is constantly evolving their manufacturing process to achieve decks which are much more resistant and responsive and offer the right flex and shape functionality. Some examples:
- Hybrid bamboo + composite fiber construction that results in both added strength and specially crafted flex for each target riding style
Advanced pressing process that leads to sophisticated shapes with special concaves and contours for the right balance of foot cradling, freedom of movement, and responsiveness.- In certain freestyle boards, use of innovative materials such as basalt fiber for its extra strength and damping properties – as well as its milder environmental impact compared to fiberglass.
- Use of cork for vibration damping, extra moisture resistance, and low abrasion grip for dancing and
boardwalking . - Innovative wheel flare design that
serve not only for wheel clearance but alsoform part of the board’s overall shape and response points for carving and tricks.
In short, Loaded has a unique value for longboarders in terms of shapes (directionality, curvature), flex (carefully designed and implemented flex for each style, multiple flex options), concave (for versatile riding, see later), and complete setups.
Speaking of setups, Loaded completes always ship with premium components including Paris or Carver trucks and Orangatang wheels, Loaded’s own line of quality longboard wheels. All these brands are highly-regarded standalone and offer quality products that longboarders often choose when assembling their own custom longboards.
The Loaded longboard lineup
The Loaded lineup is relatively small compared to other leading longboard brands such as Landyachtz. At the time of this writing, there are no more than 14 Loaded models offered, each with a very specific personality, a strong reputation among riders, and a history of solid performance – some have become “household names” in the longboarding community.
All of Loaded’s longboard models are designed for versatile riding, a lot of them making great all-around boards. Of course, this kind of statement is not going to help you much if you’re facing the task of choosing a specific model for yourself! Fear not, my goal in this article is to help you sort things out and narrow down your choices.
Loaded has designed each of its longboard models with one or two primary riding styles in mind such as carving, pumping, freestyle, dancing, freeride and downhill. More about this shortly.
One question that often comes up is, what about cruising? Cruising typically refers to easy riding and often combines several riding styles including carving, pumping, and perhaps some sliding. So if you’re looking for the best Loaded longboard for cruising, look for the carving, pumping, and/or freeride-oriented boards in the lineup.
To help sort out the boards I have created a chart that recaps the main features and style focus of each board. Click on the image to see it full size.
The right Loaded board for your riding style
The first obvious question you need to ask yourself when selecting a Loaded board is, what is my primary riding style. Is your goal for this board essentially kicking around the city? Traveling by pushing and pumping over distances? Freeriding and sliding on smaller hills? Bombing bigger hills at high speed? Doing some advanced technical riding, freestyle tricks, or park and pool? Dancing and
Let’s apply some filters to narrow down our options based on target riding style.
Carving and pumping
The following Loaded boards are designed with a strong carving and pumping focus (the links take you to the quick review section below for that specific board):
Freestyle and sliding
Next, the following boards offer a freestyling and sliding (aka lower-speed freeride) focus:
- The Tesseract Basalt
- The Kut-
thaka - The Overland
- The Tan Tien (yes, the Tan Tien is a great carving board as well as freeride and freestyle board)
Downhill racing and fast freeriding
Three Loaded boards have a stronger focus on speed and downhill riding:
Dancing and traditional freestyle
And finally, these 3 bigger longboards make up Loaded’s dancing and classic freestyle lineup:
Note that, if your main focus is on pushing and commuting, you may wonder where your style fits here. The above categories are only the first step though, keep reading for more selection criteria.
Choosing the right size Loaded board
The next criterion you want to apply is board size. How stable vs portable a board do you want? Will you be carrying it a lot? Of will you be driving to riding places? Are you looking for a Loaded board with a larger wheelbase for dancing, speed, or commuting?
Smaller Loaded boards
These are the smaller boards (34″ and less) in the Loaded lineup:
- The Kut-
thaka (30.75”) - The Tesseract Truncated (33”)
- The Poke (34”)
Midsized Loaded boards
The midsized Loaded boards (35″-40″) are:
- The Tesseract Cantellated (36”)
- The Overland (37”)
- The Fattail (38”)
- The Vanguard (38” version)
- The Icarus (38.4”)
- The Tesseract Basalt (39”)
- The Tan Tien (39”)
Larger Loaded boards
And these are the larger sized (40″+) boards in the lineup:
- The Vanguard (42” version)
- The Chubby Unicorn (42.25”)
- The Dervish Sama (42.8”)
- The Tarab (47”)
- The Bhangra (48.5”)
So at this point, say you need a smaller board for slashing around the city but you want to carry it around with you all day and stash under your desk. You might choose either the 34″ Poke or 31″ Kut-thaka depending on your focus – Poke for city carving, Kut-thaka for more flips and tricks.
Choosing the right mount type for your Loaded board
The next most important selection criterion has to be mount type: do you want a
Note: after reading the above paragraph, you may find it a bit confusing that a board like the Loaded Truncated Tesseract is primarily meant for speed even though it’s
Topmount Loaded boards
Most of the boards in the Loaded lineup are topmount:
Drop-through boards
There are only 3 models in the Loaded lineup with a drop-through mount style – probably due to Loaded’s focus on technical performance and responsive riding:
Back to the question of which Loaded board would work best for pushing and commuting, both the Icarus and the Tan Tien are mid-sized drop-throughs that make great boards for push traveling. Choosing one between the two requires considering additional criteria such as shape features.
Choosing the right shape for your Loaded board
Once you’ve narrowed down the target riding style, board size, and mount type for your Loaded board, it’s time to pick the best deck shape for your needs. There are 2 basic types of shape, symmetrical and directional.
Symmetrical shapes are generally meant for freeriding and freestyle tricks since they allow you to ride switch more easily and generally have a kicktail and nose. Directional shapes are better-suited for commuting and for speed.
Another important shape aspect is wheel cutouts. In cutout shapes, the wheels stick out from beneath the deck (vs tucked under it). This allows high wheel clearance for deep turns (carving, freeride) but can be a problem for freestyle or speed riding as there’s a higher risk of touching a wheel with your foot.
Symmetrical Loaded boards
Over half of Loaded’s boards are symmetrical shapes with double kicks – those shaped with large wheel cutouts are indicated:
- Tesseract Basalt
- Bhangra – cutout shape
- Chubby Unicorn
- Dervish Sama – cutout shape
- Icarus – cutout shape
- Tarab – cutout shape
- Vanguard (sidecuts) – cutout shape
- Tan Tien – cutout shape
Directional Loaded boards
These are the directional decks in the Loaded lineup, most of them offering a single kick and a small nose for manual and shuvit tricks. Among the directionals, only the Fattail has large wheel cutouts:
- Tesseract Cantellated
- Tesseract Truncated (no kick)
- Fattail – cutout shape
- Kut-thaka
- Overland
- Poke
So suppose you’re looking for a good Loaded board for everyday carving and mild freeriding without much push traveling. You might consider a mid-sized symmetrical topmount like the Tesseract Basalt or the 38″ Vanguard, depending on your flex preferences. Speaking of which…
Choosing the right flex for your Loaded board
The last aspect I will touch upon in terms of narrowing down the Loaded options is flex – other aspects such as concave and width should also be factored in but I’ll discuss these in the board lowdown section below.
Besides board shape and ride height, flex can be an essential aspect of how a board feels and whether it’s a good fit for your specific style. Flexy boards give you more rebound when carving and can add efficiency to your turns. A bit of flex can also help absorb shocks and make distance pushing and commuting more comfortable and effective.
On the other hand, too much flex can make a board less stable at higher speed and less performant for freestyle kick and flip tricks.
Highly customized flex is something Loaded boards are famous for – as mentioned, the company’s high-tech manufacturing process a materials are geared toward achieving the best flex profile for each deck. Many Loaded boards come with several flex options to accomodate each rider’s weight and personal preferences. Neverthless, the Loaded boards can be roughly broken down as follows:
Loaded boards on the stiffer side
Half of Loaded’s lineup is made up of stiffer boards for hardcore freestyle or speed:
- Tesseract (the 3 versions): stiff flex
- Chubby Unicorn: stiff
- Kut-thaka: stiff
- Overland: moderately stiff
- Poke: subtle flex
Loaded boards on the flexier side
The other half includes boards with “energetic flex” that come with 2 or 3 flex options – Flex1 being the one with the most amount of stiffness and damping:
- Dervish Sama: flexy (3 options)
- Fattail: flexy (3 options)
- Icarus: flexy (high-performance, 2 options)
- Tan Tien: flexy (3 options)
- Vanguard: flexy (2 options)
- Bhangra and Tarab: flexy (large wheelbase size, 2 options)
A short review of the longboards in the Loaded lineup
At this
Note that I’ve ordered the boards by length. Some of these Loaded boards have their own review on this site, so feel free to dig deeper where that’s the case.
The Kut-thaka
The 31″ Kut-
In short: a small, lightweight board for carving, short city commutes, and street tricks. See my full review here.
The Truncated Tesseract
The 33″ version of the Tesseract is primarily designed for downhill racing and speed. It has a stiff
In short: a board built for speed, comes with a pure downhill setup. See my full review of the Tesseract here.
The Poke
The Poke, like the Kut-
In short: a capable, lightweight, slightly more comfortable city cruiser for slashing, carving, and freestyle tricks. Check out my full review here.
The Cantellated Tesseract
The 36″ version of the Tesseract is a hybrid freeride/freestyle board. Like its little brother, it’s primarily built for speed with its stiff deck, rockered concave and flares that offer a secure feel when going fast, inviting you to slide. Meanwhile, the adjustable wheelbase and wide kicktail (but no nose) allow for some nice kick and flip tricks.
In short: a board for fast and technical freeriding as well as some freestyle. See my full review of
The Overland
The 37″ Overland is another freeride and freestyle board with a moderately stiff deck for speed and a large kick and steep nose for tricks (ollies, manuals, shuvits, kick turns). Like the newer Tesseracts, it has a rockered profile and a mild concave for comfortable freeriding and sliding. The narrowed waist and Carver truck setup option also make it a good surf carving
In short: another board for fast and technical sliding + some freestyle, sized in between the Tesseracts. Also a capable surf-style carving board.
See the Overland page on the Loaded site.
The Fattail
The 38″ Fattail is a topmount with a cutout shape (wheels stick out), a cambered profile and a flexy deck. The camber and flex are meant to provide rebound and energy when carving and pumping. The large wheel clearance allow for deeper carves. The small tail and nose help for kick turns and mellow freestyle and dancing tricks.
In short: a board primarily designed for carving and pumping on flat ground. Also has a dancing setup option with wider trucks.
See the Loaded page for the Fattail.
The Vanguard (38” and 42″)
The Vanguard is similar in riding style to the Fattail as it’s also a
In short: another high flex, responsive carving and pumping board. Two sizes (38″ & 42″) and 5 flex options (lower to higher).
See the Vanguard’s page on the Loaded website.
The Icarus
The 38.4″ Icarus is a technical symmetrical drop-through with wheel cutouts designed for hard carving and pumping. The drop-through design, advanced multidirectional flex, and special concave and rail contours give it a specific and innovative riding experience, namely for pumping.
In short: an advanced carving and pumping longboard. The drop-through construction and the flex also make it easier to push on.
The Basalt Tesseract
The 39″ Basalt Tesseract is a symmetrical freeride/freestyle hybrid topmount shape (no large wheel cutouts). Despite it’s size, it’s a very responsive board due to a relatively small (adjustable) wheelbase, a stiff deck, and large dual kicks for quick turns and freestyle tricks. The W concave and wheel flares give you comfortable lock in for sliding at speed.
In short: a good choice for going fast and sliding with a comfortable and secure feeling, and for doing traditional longboard freestyle tricks. See my full review.
The Tan Tien
The 39″ Tan Tien is a long-standing, highly-regarded Loaded lineup staple. Like the Icarus, it’s a flexy drop-through, though with larger kicks for freestyle. A very versatile and responsive board that can be used for freeriding, longboard tricks, carving and pumping, and push commuting.
In short: a classic carving, freeride, and freestyle drop-through board with a flexy cambered deck, big wheel cutouts for deep turns, and a comfortable concave for speed riding.
Check out the Tan Tien page on Loaded’s website.
The Chubby Unicorn (blood slayer edition)
This awesome-looking 42.25″ symmetrical freeride/downhill
In short: the Chubby Unicorn is a legendary, high-end & high-tech speed board, the priciest in the Loaded lineup. This board is for serious
Check out the Blood Slayer’s page on the Loaded site.
The Dervish Sama
The 42.8″ Dervish is the largest drop-through and another long-time staple in the Loaded lineup. It’s similar to the Tan Tien, only bigger. Large wheel cutouts for deep carving, cambered and flexy deck for high energy response, low-riding drop-through trucks for stability and
In short: the biggest (yet lightweight) Loaded longboard for comfortable and responsive pushing, carving and distance commuting. Also makes a very good dancing board due to the flex, moderate kicks, and mild concave.
See the Dervish Sama page on Loaded’s site.
The Tarab
The 47″ Loaded Tarab is often considered one of the best dancing longboards out there. This symmetrical
In short: the Tarab is a top choice for dancing and classic longboard freestyle. It’s also a great board for comfortable distance commuting. More about the Tarab in my complete review.
The Bhangra
The 48.5″ Bhangra is the largest board in the Loaded
In short: the Bhangra provides the roomiest platform for dancing and freestyle. It’s also a great longboard for classic carving and road surfing. Here’s the Bhangra’s page on Loaded’s website.
Final words
So if you went through this extensive Loaded Boards comparison guide, I hope you’ve found it useful. Loaded is truly a premium longboard brand with products that always aim to push the limits of build quality, ride comfort, and technical features in a performance longboard.
While many Loaded boards are highly versatile and great all-around boards, each board in the lineup has a distinctive personality that makes it a compelling choice for a specific style or combination of styles.
You’ll see Loaded longboards mentioned in many places in this site, simply because they’re among the best. Check out my in-depth reviews of specific Loaded models.
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