Just can't decide - wanting something suited for a bit of drifting and hard carving but which will also be stable at high speed. Really fancy a dropped board (drop-through Kilima is the current ride) but not sure about the forward 'rake' on the Chinook. Anyone came across (or ridden) these boards in the flesh yet???

hi,it would be such a shame if you only considered these 2 boards--look at subsonic reflexes and rayne boards,maybe a deemonseed if you want a dropthrough--you don,t mention trucks but for high speed,c7,s and holeys with stiffer bushings--if you skate in glasgow you can have a shot of these 2 boards at kelly or i can send you some pics--good luck anyway
charlie

Funny you should say that Charlie as its taken me a while to narrow it down to these 2 boards. Reasons being - wanting a dropped deck but not drop-through trucks, 40"+ in length with at least 33-34" wheel base (long legs) and something which is comfortable at speed but will drift and slide. Subsonic's Swerve looks nice too though - nice and fat! I had also considered Rayne's Demon Seed and if I decide to get a drop-through I still may well go for it but for now I think I'm erring towards the Chinook though as I think it may be a lot of fun with the forward rake and its a bit wider than the Caften - same as a Demon Seed.
As for trucks I was thinking about Crail, Holey or Black Randals. Been riding Randal RII's and Holeys for years but I love the look of the Black Randals - just got a bit of a stability issue with regular RII's at higher speeds, been helped with wider wheels though and obviously bushings replacement. Loads to choose from though - just a pity you can't try everything before you buy. Hmmm - now I want to try out the Demon Seed...

Well, got the Chinook in the end. Very nice board and certainly not disappointed - exactly what I was after really.
Set it up with Randal 180 hangers in black on 42 degree plates with varying duros of Khiros to compliment whatever I'm doing at the time. Riding it on Avalanches just now which are a wee bit small but with 1/2 inch risers they fit the board well. This board loves to drift!

Cheers all!

I have a chinook, amongst other boards......mine has paris trucks and hawgs, rolls over anythin down hill or just great for goin to the shops. The concave and rake takes a bit getting used to.