Recently the fine, fine folks over at Habitat sent me one of their new Cork Ply Cruisers to ride and review. The Cork concept is pretty simple but in theory it sort of isn’t. It eliminates the need for griptape altogether as the boards top ply consists soley of a soft sheet cork laminate.
I opened my box to find myslef the Stefan Janoski “Pachyderm” model. This fast guy features a steepish fish tail and pointy spoon nose; perfect for getting your proverbial cruise-on or even skating like a real board. It measures in at 8 inches wide by 30.125 inches long but seems a lot thinner since it curves in sharply at the tail. The top layer of cork is super soft, almost identical to a desk tackboard and can easily be pushed in with a finger nail. I have to admit, when setting this thing up, I wasn’t buying it. How good this thing grip to my feet at all? C’mon! However, I was quickly proved wrong. Really wrong. The top layer of cork not only gripped well, it caused zero wear upon my buttery new sneakers. A crispy clean plus indeed. As it turned out, the more I skated the Cork Ply, the more grippy it became as the cork gradually flaked and rose, becoming more textured and sticky with each ride.
If you’re into the barefoot, boardwalk thing, then this is your board. But if you’re not, and lord knows I’m not, it still works seriously well. Easy on your shoes, light, simple to set up and they eliminate that pesky griptape thumb we’ve all grown to despise. And not to mention, according to the press release, the cork top is harvested from live trees in a sustainable manner and adheres to the wood plys using only water based glues. That’s some delectable stuff right there, people. Straight delectable! Get on one of these now. From what I’ve heard, they’re extremely limited. They’re available in 3 shapes; the one pictured, a more slender Janoski model and one from CCS’ very own, Silas Baxter-Neal. Visit either CCS Store location to get your filthy paws on one, two or three.
Image Courtesy Of Habitat Skateboards.
