Loaded Omakase Review: A Special Ultra-Wide Cruiser (2023)

The Loaded Omakase is no doubt one of Loaded’s most user-friendly longboards. An oversized directional cruiser shape, with 33″ in length it’s unusually wide at 10″, making it extremely inviting for comfortable cruising and commuting.

The awesomeness doesn’t stop at the width though. The Omakase embarks Loaded’s signature hybrid construction and advanced profile, contour, and concave, making the board a capable freerider when fitted with the right setup.

I was truly astonished by the Omakase’s superior carving and pumping abilities resulting from the high leverage over the edges and the super-fast shifting between front and back trucks.

With the Omakase, Loaded also inaugurated new manufacturing capabilities, resulting in the Omakase longboard complete’s competitive price – $269 for the priciest setup, while maintaining Loaded’s legendary quality for materials and processes.

See the Omakase complete longboard cruiser on Loaded’s website

The Omakase also comes in an astonishing electric skateboard version, the Unlimited Solo – which was actually the initial package for this board. Jump to this section for more about the Omakase Solo.

What is the Loaded Omakase good for?

As mentioned above, the Loaded Omakase was originally designed as an e-skate, which explains the large width, long wheelbase for the length, the short kicktail, and the broad flat nose.

For some riders, the longer wheelbase (for the length) and shorter kicktail take a bit of getting used to at first.

The board’s short and wide shape offers a nice advantage for many types of riding, however. The Omakase is a very stable yet nimble, compact and portable longboard.

Even more than its narrower and longer predecessor the Poke cruiser, the Omakase is a very good board for commuting. At the same time, it has a very nice ability to carve down alleys and hop on and off curbs and cracks.

It’s also a great board for tricks and freestyle. If you don’t believe me, just watch the following 30-second clip:

The following recaps my experience of how the Loaded Omakase performs for different riding styles.

Cruising and commuting

• The Omakase’s unusually wide outline makes it super-stable and comfortable for long commutes – particularly the Grip’n’Rip setup
• The long wheelbase (for a cruiser) allows for good stability for pushing and hills. The huge In Heat wheels roll very fast.
• The stable deck and low ride height make for easy pushing, closer to a drop-through
• The short deck length keeps the board very nimble and responsive
• The responsive and low riding trucks work great on sidewalks and in tight city areas
• The Omakase makes a good LDP/skogging deck if using the right setup

Carving

• The wide deck and uplifted rails provide strong leverage, which makes the Omakase very turny and responsive
• The Paris V3 trucks are extremely responsive, great for carving
• The large wheel flares provide lots of clearance for tight carves
• The huge, soft, sharp In-Heat wheels offer maximum grip
• The Omakase deck is great with surfskate trucks
• The short and wide kick allows for surfy maneuvers

Freeride

• The Omakase’s raised edges, mellow elliptic concave, and contour flares give you great foot lock-in and confidence when going fast
• The extra-wide and flat nose lets you ride on top of the front truck, resulting in high responsiveness at higher speeds
• The short tail makes it very easy to push the back truck out for sliding, even with large and grippy In-Heat wheels 

Freestyle tricks

• Very easy to do manuals, the front of the board lifts up early as your foot gets closer to the kicktail
• The Omakase’s wide and stable platform results in full foot contact which makes if much easier to perform tricks.

Pumping

• Besides carving, the wide deck and lifted rails make the Omakase very pumpable, even with the default Paris trucks.
• The Omakase’s shape greatly facilitates rail-to-rail and nose-to-tail weight transitions. A great deck for long-distance pumping.

Now that we’ve seen the type of riding the Omakase is best for, let’s dive a bit deeper into the board’s key features.

The Loaded Omakase deck

Loaded Omakase construction and flex

The Omakase is built using Loaded’s proprietary hybrid construction with a three-ply bamboo core (horizontal top and bottom layers, vertical central layer) sandwiched between triaxial fiberglass and epoxy layers.

The result is a lightweight – 4.0 lbs which is relatively light given the sheer surface – and extremely durable deck, something Loaded is famous for.

Another consequence of Loaded’s hybrid layup is the Omakase’s stiff flex, perfect for speed and for pop, though with slight lengthwise flex for smoother riding and road vibration absorption when commuting.

The nose and tail are reinforced with carbon fiber for extra strength and abrasion resistance.

Loaded Omakase wheelbase

The Omakase deck is 33.5″ by 10″ and has two wheelbase options, 20.75″ or 22″. The longer wheelbase is best for bigger riders, longer commutes, and higher speeds.

The shorter wheelbase works great for smaller riders, surfier riding, more responsive carving and quick sliding, or easier kick and flip tricks.

The dual wheelbase option also allows for more board customization, and most importantly, accommodates both RKP and TKP trucks – see the setup section for more.

Loaded Omakase profile

Continuing the great tradition of the Poke or the Tesseract, the Omakase’s rocker and elliptic concave give you significant comfort and a safe feel when riding fast and carving hard.

The concave/rocker and raised rails give you extra leverage for fast turning and for effective sliding. Sliding at higher speeds is also easier on the Omakase thanks to the nice foot lock-in due to the cross-sectional curvature.

The Loaded-engineered wheel flares provide strong wheel clearance, including with huge 75mm wheels – I tested them by putting all my weight on a rail for the sharpest possible turn but still didn’t get any wheelbite.

The wheel flares also serve another important function, being an integral part of the Omakase’s contour, which is to help you place your feet when riding fast or carving hard.

The back wheel flare also creates a nice foot pocket at the base of the kick for tucking your foot at speed and for quick turns and surfy maneuvers.

Loaded Omakase kicktail

Compared to other cruisers, the Omakase offers a relatively shorter but wider kicktail. Due to the overall shape of the deck, however, it takes very little pressure on the tail to lift the front of the board off the ground.

This is probably due to the Omakase’s roots as an e-skate where the engine is placed close to the nose, shifting the board’s center of gravity forward.

As a result, the kicktail generates better-than-average pop, leverage for carving and pumping, and control for freestyle tricks and surfy maneuvers.

The nose is super-side and mostly flat from the front wheel flare forward. This greatly increases the foot platform, and allows forward positioning of the front foot – great for speed, sliding, or surfskate carving.

Omakase grip tape

The Omakase comes fitted with a Loaded-assembled grip tape with mellow abrasion from nose to tail.

The grip tape provides the right amount of stickiness and grip for all-purpose riding including cruising, carving, and easy tricks. The rocker and concave provide the added lock-in needed for hardcore sliding and carving.

Loaded Omakase graphics & design

The Omakase comes in a choice of two graphics and wood layer versions.

The Roe version features a gorgeous rosewood bottom veneer with semi-transparent intersecting pastel-shaded circles – one of the circles boasting the same turquoise color as the wheels.

The Palm version has a black walnut bottom veneer, darker and also beautiful, with a pink rectangle between the trucks and palm tree graphics drawn on top of the wood veneer background.

The top side of the Omakase deck shows the top bamboo veneer through circles cut into the dark grip tape, with the Loaded logo laser-etched into the bamboo, creating an attractive, high-quality look.

I must admit part of me wanted to just keep staring at this work of art as opposed to riding it and getting it dirty!

Check out the Omakase deck Roe and Palm versions (deck-only or custom setup) here on Loaded’s website.

Loaded Omakase Setups

Loaded has two recommended setups they’ve dubbed “Grip’n’Rip” and “All-Around“.

The Grip’n’Rip – the one I own – is amazing for commuting and serious carving.

The Orangatang In-Heat wheels have a huge 75mm diameter for super-fast roll speeds, and a soft 77A durometer for maximum grip in hard carves and maximum shock absorption when commuting on all sorts of pavements.

Seriously, with these wheels, I feel like I’m on some kind of air cushion! I ride down curbs like they don’t even exist, and I pass over cracks and bumps without even noticing it.

The In-Heats are really wide (56mm width and contact patch) with super-sharp edges and offset bearing seats for max traction. They’re insanely fast, and coupled with the Loaded JEHU bearings (a $20 value) they will keep rolling forever.

Love the beautiful blue/turquoise color too.

Check out the Omakase Grip’n’Rip recommended setup on Loaded’s website

Omakase choice of trucks

The 180mm Paris V3 trucks are simply fantastic. They make the Omakase feel really low riding even when fitted with the massive In-Heats.

That’s because although the Paris V3 have a 50º baseplate, they have the ride height of 43º trucks. You can really feel it as it makes pushing and riding on the Omakase very pleasant and comfortable.

The 50º baseplate, the open bushing seat, and the redesigned top conical bushings and pivot cups all lead to deeper, smoother, more fluid turns compared to earlier versions (and to many other trucks).

The V3 is also amazingly pumpable! I’m able to pump the Omakase Grip’n’Rip setup effortlessly from low speeds, something I couldn’t do with the V2 – I had to switch to surfskate trucks for decent pumping.

The Paris trucks have also grown stronger and more durable with more resistant material (and improved heat treatment), reinforced hanger, baseplate, and kingpin.

UPDATE 08/2020: Loaded has updated the truck choice on the Grip N Rip to 165s in lieu of the 180s as they found that the slightly narrower hangers bring the outer edges of the wheels a little more in line with the rails of the deck and offer a more responsive and comfortable ride.

The Omakase can also be set up with TKP trucks (thank you adjustable wheelbase) e.g. Indy 169s with 60+mm wheels such as Orangatang Skiffs.

With this type of setup, the Omakase feels more like a normal cruiser and is easier to pop and slide than with bigger trucks. It’s not as comfortable for cruising and long commutes, however.

Omakase All-Around setup

The All-Around config includes the same Paris V3 trucks but smaller, lighter, and slightly harder freeride Stimulus wheels for easier slides. Lighter wheels also facilitate doing freestyle tricks.

The Orangatang Stimulus boast a 70mm diameter, a higher 80A durometer, and a reduced contact patch (42mm for a 49mm width). Smaller, slightly harder, narrower wheels break traction much more easily than larger ones.

The All-Around setup also includes the quality Loaded JEHU bearings.

See the Omakase All-Around recommended setup on the Loaded Boards site

Alternative Omakase setups

If you’re interested in doing tricks or racing on your Omakase, this setup chart from Loaded will come in handy:

You can configure your custom Omakase setup here on the Loaded site.

Unlimited x Loaded Solo e-skate

By now you can probably tell I’m a huge fan of the Loaded Omakase. In addition to the “analog” version, I got curious about the e-skate version – even though e-skateboards are not usually my thing.

The Omakase Solo e-skate is fitted with the Unlimited Solo e-kit, a lightweight system with a single motor and battery specially designed for shorter cruiser decks.

The Omakase Solo complete with the kit weighs no more than 4.4 mph. It has a 23-mph top speed and a 7-mile range, which I think is pretty cool. It can ride up hills up to a 9º incline.

The kit is so lightweight you can still do slides and pop tricks on the Omakase solo:

Check out the Unlimited Omakase Solo complete e-skate on the Unlimited x Loaded website

Final words

If you’re looking for a quality longboard cruiser for uber-comfortable commuting and cruising, with a surfy feel and the ability for serious carving, the Omakase is your guy.

As usual with Loaded, this board offers top-quality deck and components, and an innovative (super-wide) shape that actually results in notably great riding performance and experience.

The great thing about the Omakase is that it’s also an outstanding board for speed (freeride, sliding) and for freestyle tricks, given the right setup.

So yeah, the Omakase really is an all-purpose shredder – unlike many other longboards that claim to be. it’s also a compact board and can fit into a gym locker.