Loaded Overland Review: Hybrid Longboard For Tricks & Freeride

The Overland is Loaded’s iconic midsized hybrid longboard. Over 6 years after being first introduced, it’s still one of the best hybrids boards on the market.

The Overland is touted as an all-around board but clearly has a string focus on a combination of street riding and tricks and downhill freeride. Here’s a recap of the Overland’s distinctive features:

• Double-kick shape (beefy kicktail and steep nose) for street tricks
• Directional shape with narrowed waist for optimal carving & pumping
• Lightweight but highly resistant bamboo & fiberglass construction, slight flex for easier pushing and carving
• Adjustable wheelbase short enough for tricks and TKP trucks, or long enough for fast freeride/sliding/carving/RKP trucks.
• Rocker, mild concave, and subtle wheel flares for secure foot cuddling without excessive lock-in for tricks
• Textured urethane bottom for vibration damping and smooth rail slides

Clearly, the Overland was built with both street skaters and freeriders in mind. Let’s take a closer look.

Check out the Overland here on Loaded’s website

Loaded Overland shape

The Loaded Overland is 37″ long by 9.5″ wide, with an adjustable wheelbase of 20.75″ to 22″ which allows for two mounting options – one for TKP (street) trucks, the other for RKP (longboard) trucks.

When seen from above, the Overland looks like an oversize city cruiser with a wide and meaty 6″ tail and narrower angled 5″ nose.

The deck spans across the wheels like a cruiser which makes it well-suited for street riding. The big kicktail and steep nose kick are designed for ollies, manuals, and kick tricks regardless of the board’s size.

The Overland’s double kicks and shorter wheelbase option give this board an astonishing amount of pop for a board this size. The kicks combined with TKP trucks allow for radical ollies, slides, manuals, grinds and shuvits, essentially turning the Overland into an XL street deck.

Meanwhile, the longer (outer) wheelbase option can combine with RKP trucks to make the Overland an amazing freeride and sliding board. The long option lets you ride between the trucks for pumping. The big tail also enables surf-style riding (see the Surf n Turf setup below).

The slight flex and tapered waist of the Overland also contribute to give this board its carving and pumping abilities. The thinned waist makes for faster with rail-to-rail transitions, while the flex adds energy return to your carves.

The Overland is rockered and has mild concave for a safe “suck-in” feel when freeriding & sliding. The concave runs along the full length of the board and is steeper in the front than in the back.

The rocker and concave are complemented by the board’s wheel flares which provide reference points when riding fast and add extra wheel clearance.

Check out the Loaded Overland here

Loaded Overland construction

The Overland deck is built from a single vertically laminated bamboo core sandwiched in top and bottom fiberglass layers. This is in contrast with stiffer Loaded decks (like the Tesseract, see below) which have a dual bamboo core between fiberglass layers.

The Overland’s thin and super-lightweight construction is similar to the Loaded Poke – both boards offer a subtle flex that make for a responsive ride for carving and pushing albeit without hurting the stability and “trickability” of these boards. The Overland is a breeze to whip around.

The Overland has an added bottom layer made of texturized urethane which further reinforces and protects the outer fiberglass layer, e.g. during rail slides, and makes the board more “grabbable” including when wet.

The deck’s grip tape is also optimized for a hybrid riding style. A strip of coarse grip line the rails to ensure a solid foothold during slides and fast turns. In the center, meanwhilè, mild griptape runs lengthwise from tail to nose for minimal interference during ollies and kick/flip tricks.

Check out the Loaded Overland here on the Loaded Boards site.

Overland vs Tesseract

The Overland and the Cantellated Tesseract look quite similar in shape and size at first sight (the latter is only 1″ shorter in length). However, there are some important differences between the two boards that make them suited for different types of riders and styles:

• As mentioned, the Overland has a thinner construction (single bamboo core) with more flex than the super-stiff Tesseract. Indeed, the Overland is designed for all-around riding including carving and pushing while the Tesseract focuses on sheer speed.
• The Cantellated Tesseract has a single kick meant for quick turns and high-speed cornering. The Overland, on the other hand, is a hybrid street deck with very functional double kicks for hard tricks.
• The Tesseract has a deeper W concave whereas the Overland has milder concave and mellow grip in the center so as not to get in the way of freestyle tricks.
• The Cantelated Tesseract, though 1″ shorter, has a significantly longer wheelbase than the Overland (24.5″-26″ vs 20.75″-22″). This again confirm’s the Tesseract primarily focus on speed & racing.
• The Tesseract has a cork bottom layer for vibration damping and bottom protection vs thermoplastic urethane for the Overland.

Another version of the Tesseract, the Basalt, is a double-kick shape similar to the Overland, also with freestyle capabilities. However, at 39″ it’s a significantly bigger board, and not as versatile because of its strong concave and stiffer flex.

Check out the Loaded Overland on Loaded’s website

Loaded Overland setups

The Overland comes in two recommended setups:

• The Freeride & Freestyle config comes with Paris V2 180mm reverse kingpin trucks and relatively small and hard Orangatang Kilmer wheels (69mm, 83a)). This setup is very suitable for kick/flips/ollie tricks as well as advanced slides.

• The “Surf n Turf” setup includes highly responsive Carver CX surfskate trucks. The trucks are fitted with high rebound Orangatang Nipple bushings. The setup comes with the huge grippy 85mm Caguama wheels (80a) for an ultimate pumping and carving experience.

See the Overland’s recommended setups here on Loaded’s website.

Final words

If you’re looking for a top-of-the-line hybrid midsize longboard you can push, carve, freeride, and most importantly, kick flip and whip around in city streets and skateparks, the Overland is your guy.

This board been around for years yet hasn’t lost an ounce of popularity. It’s strong and durable, thin and lightweight, comfortable for city commuting, capable for pumping, and stable for freeriding.

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Photo credits:
(1) Featured image: “Loaded Overland” by @ChristianRosillo – Rider: @JongbinJo. Courtesy Loaded Boards
(2) “Venado on the overland” by Fernando Vega – Courtesy Loaded Boards