Loaded Bamboo Dervish

The Loaded bamboo dervish is a longboard renowned within the longboard community as a deck which offers one of the most pleasurable and responsive rides.

The secret to combining just the right amount of stiffness, flexibility and durability, which Loaded Carving Systems discovered, lies in how the board is made. The dervish is made of a tri-axle fiberglass and epoxy sandwich with a vertically laminated core. Loaded ups the ante on the dervish by shaping it in a convex camber, which is flexible enough to be compressed when a rider applies his weight or some force to the board. The board returns the force applied when the rider straightens his legs, taking his weight off the board. This results in little to no loss in forward momentum when going into and out of turns.

Flexibility and its low center of gravity also contribute to the board being one of the most stable decks in longboarding. The low center of gravity of the dervish is achieved by making precision cutouts on the deck used to attach drop-through reverse kingpin trucks. This stability has made it a favorite for riders who like dancing, carving, and riding down hills.

The board itself is shaped with both ends narrower than the middle, eliminating the possibility of the wheels biting onto the deck when taking those sharp turns. This ability to make difficult turns along with its responsiveness and stability make it a favorite of those who like to power slide and for those who use their longboards for short commutes. The narrow ends make shovits and manual tricks easier to pull off too.

Loaded recommends however, that riders avoid using the dervish for use down extremely steep hills. A stiffer board is more stable and responsive when one is traveling at very high speeds, where a flexible board will lose it. Nevertheless, Loaded maintains that the dervish can be used at speeds of about thirty miles per hour without losing its stability. More experienced riders may be able to handle faster speeds with the longboard, but for the rest of us, it would be wise to keep downhill skating with the dervish to moderately sloped hills.

While how the board's looks has little to do with its performance, Loaded raises the bar higher by making a board that is easy on the eyes. Stunning Middle Eastern themed graphics decorate the board, drawing as its inspiration the graceful movements Muslim whirling dervishes make when participating in rights to remember their god.