My doctor delivered the bad news on my way out of his office. “And no skateboarding.” He told me that the rigidity of the cast would mean a fall would likely break my radius and ulna, my forearm bones. Great. I skated to work that day. I knew my wrist was broken, the X-rays and MRI I had gotten already showed that. But I thought I’d be protected a bit better with a cast. Apparently not.
As I was leaving work that day, I packed my board on the back of my backpack and walked to the train station. It was an 8 minute walk, and it felt awful. The whole way, all I could think of was, 6 weeks of my summer, one of the best seasons for skating, just gone? The universe seemed unfair.
As I got off the train that day, a skater came up the road. I saw him effortlessly gliding, and I took it as a sign, the universe saying, “Girl, don’t give up your passion.” So, I unsnapped my board from my back, threw it ahead of me, jumped on, and skated the rest of the way home. Instantly, I felt the depression over my broken wrist fade away.
But I knew I couldn’t risk that every day. My board was a Landyachtz Dinghy. The largest wheels I had for it were 65mm Fat Free Orangatang wheels in 80a, and the ones I had on my primary board were 63mm Fatty Hawgs (I like the way they fit perfectly to the edges of the deck). Neither would be able to handle all the cracks in the pavement reliably. My rain deck was great, but sat on high 70mm wheels, and I knew it was trickier to balance on. My giant Sector 9 Meridian? I couldn’t carry it in my left hand, and I’d need my right for swiping my MTA card, holding doors, and getting around.
I needed something that felt more sturdy than my Dinghy, but with the wheel tolerances of my Meridian, and it had to be as close to as nimble as my Dinghy as I could get. I had my heart locked on a big ol’ set of Orangatang Caguamas since I first held a pair at Uncle Funky’s shop in NYC. I had suggested them for a friend’s first board, but she went with some 69mm Cloudride wheels instead. Great wheels, and keeps the board low for beginners, but I was sad I didn’t get to play with Caguamas.
So, I wanted something small, lightweight, nimble, and with giant wheels. The solution was obvious, Pantheon’s Ember. It’s a board purpose-built for navigating NYC streets. Low, nimble, light, and flexible. Plus, it’s made for 85mm wheels like the Caguamas. It conquers the broken streets and sidewalks of NYC with ease.
So let’s break it down.
Table of Contents
The Deck
If a mini cruiser and a traditional drop-through longboard deck had a baby, this is what they’d make. It’s about as long as a street deck, and 8.5″ wide like a street deck as well. Unlike a street deck, there’s barely a nose or tail to speak of. Instead, there’s a 0.75″ drop, right about where the nose and tail of a street deck would begin. There, you’ve got drop through traditional kingpin (TKP) trucks. It’s not a mix you see often, but Pantheon had a purpose in mind.
The deck is flexible. The first time I stepped on one, after years of more stiff boards, I was a little taken aback. It almost felt like I could break it. But since the board’s been enjoyed by some big dudes, it’s certainly going to work for me. Stepping closer to the drops, where I’d normally hold my foot while riding and doing light pushing, it doesn’t bend much. It feels very stable.
Now, I said barely a nose or a tail. And, that’s true. You’re likely not going to be doing any tricks with this. No ollies up curbs. But, there is a bit of a tail on it with some grip tape. This is for lifting your board up. This is a purpose-built cruiser for cities. You come up to intersections where you have to stop. It’s great to be able to pop your board up into your hand. Though, I’ll admit, the tail is very small, and will take some practice. Unlike popping up street decks or cruisers, it’s more of a rolling motion, you put your toes closer to the trucks and roll your foot back.
The Trucks
The Ember was designed around street trucks, TKP. If you use reverse kingpin trucks (RKP), you will get wheel bite. TKP trucks are low, and they don’t push the wheel position back as much when you turn. They’re nimble though. This makes them perfect for a board that you want as low to the ground as possible, while still remaining agile. In a city, you’ll dodge more slow cyclists, pedestrians with their faces in their phones, and cars than you can imagine. You’ll want those fast turning trucks.
At Pantheon, they tried a number of trucks from different manufacturers. Eventually, they landed on the Paris 149mm TKP trucks, and found their match. This is a wonderful truck. I’ve used the smaller, 108mm version of this truck on a Dinghy, and it now has a home on my “Swamp Monster,” the board I made just for rainy days and wet roads. Why? It’s stable, but nimble, and gives a little more clearance than other TKP trucks thanks to its taller height. It’s carvy and fun, but never feels like it’s turning too hard. It seemed perfect for a board that falling would mean rolling around on the wet ground.
But this review isn’t about my rain deck (I’ll do a write up of that another day). How does this truck work on the Ember?
The longer wheelbase and wider platform does make it less nimble, but it still maintains the fun carvy nature of the Paris truck. You can kind of bounce between carves, enjoying the rebound provided by the bushings, the deck itself, and your wheels. It’s a fantastic truck, and I can see why the folks at Pantheon selected it.
It uses a street cone and street barrel bushing setup, so finding replacements is easy. I like Riptide’s, but you can even use Bones Hardcore bushings or other street-focused bushings. Boardside is 0.5″, and you can throw a street cone or short street cone on roadside, or perhaps a small street barrel for some extra stability.
The Wheels
This is such a core part of the Ember formula, we can’t skip over it. The Ember comes from Pantheon with a choice of a few wheels, from 73mm Seismic Speed vents to their 85mm versions, and Orangatang’s 85mm Caguamas. I wanted a wide, grippy wheel, something stable, and, I’ve wanted to get my hands on Caguamas for a while. So, I choose them. Because I wanted this to be as grippy and bump-absorbing as possible, I opted for the 77a durometer Orangatang released this year.
Those fluffy blue wheels are like skating on clouds.
I love these wheels. They’re soft and grippy, but I found I could still do small speed checks with them. Not advisable, given my wrist, so I mostly stuck to foot braking. Still, I kicked out the tail a little a few times.
These wheels have mass. They really add to the weight of the board. But that weight is worth it, and the board is still pretty light. Give your board a few easy pushes, and the momentum of these wheels will keep you going.
NYC has (finally) started adding more bike and bus lanes. What no one tells you though, is, that the paint they use is a bit rough. It can actually slow down smaller or harder wheels. I’ve already used bus lanes to brake, rather than sliding or putting a foot down. But these wheels glide over them. I was surprised the first time I rode this board to the office I used to work at. Going down a hill, I hit that bus lane and glided over it. I had to brake a on a hill I normally just bomb on my Dinghy.
I am 100% certain I will be buying another pair of Caguamas. Whether it’s for a freeride board or a dedicated downhiller, I will be using these on multiple decks. It’s an enjoyable wheel.
The Caguamas, because they’re wider than the Speedvents, can rub. However, this is only if you went with risers and also ride your trucks so loose they wobble. This was as loose as I could make the trucks without taking them apart. When them still loose, but not enough to wobble, it doesn’t come close to rubbing. For most people, the Caguamas will be a perfect fit, and I haven’t had any issues, even with hard carving.
The Mountain Above the Earth
Listen, if the Greeks had figured out trucks, they would have given Hermes an Ember instead of a silly hat. When you put together the flexible Ember deck with Paris’ carvy and fun 149mm trucks and big 85mm soft Caguamas, you end up with a board that glides over the sidewalk. Bounce from carve to carve, tackle large cracks, even potholes with ease. It’s just low enough to the ground and just wide enough that you can even do little speed checks, even on those soft wheels.
The Ember sits low, even with big 85mm wheels. That means you barely have to bend your knee to push or foot brake. It also means going uphill isn’t as tiring as it is on other decks. I’ve taken my Dinghy up a hill before where I had to stop multiple times, massage my left quad, and get back to it. I tackled the same hill today in one try on my Ember. Hell, thanks to great bearings (Bones Reds), and those big Caguamas that carry momentum, I was actually able to coast a little between pushes.
This ride is fast and smooth. Uphill, downhill, pushing, or stopping, the Ember makes it easy.
Who’s The Ember For?
Pantheon builds purpose-driven skateboards. They sit down with an idea and then craft a board for that purpose. This is a fantastic way to design boards. You won’t end up for a great “take everywhere and do everything” board, but you will end up with something that will be perfect for a given situation.
The situation in mind for the Ember is quite common. Commuting. Whether through the cities or the suburbs, you likely have a distance to cover. You don’t want to feel like you ran all the way to work from your apartment. So, the Ember helps you minimize the effort you need to get from A to B. I used it for getting to work and to go hang out with friends at bars or their places. It’s an incredibly useful deck for getting around, especially if you’ve got distance to cover or demand stability.
Beginners of all ages? You bet. Maybe you already skate. If so, you’re going to be really surprised at how this feels like a hover board, hiding the friction of the road from you. If not, it’s a great way to get started. In fact, I’d argue it might be the best beginner board. I got a friend started in skating through this board, and she loves hers. Jeff, the creator of Pantheon Longboards, said he named it the Ember because it’s like kindling a flame, creating something small that will turn into a larger passion.
The Ember’s for commuting. But really, it’s for everyone.
You can get the Pantheon Ember from Pantheon, Muirskate, or your local shop. In fact, pop open Yelp and see if you’ve got any skate shops around you first. Skate shops are great places to go for advice, new parts, and you’ll meet some really great people. They’ll always help you get started. But, if you can’t, don’t be afraid to buy online. Follow the recommended setup from Pantheon or the one I have below, and you’ll be extremely happy with your board.
My Recommended Setup:
- Pantheon Ember Deck (I love the “Sacrifice” Graphic, but “Yggdrasil” and “Logos” are really cool too. You just can’t go wrong here).
- 149mm Paris Trucks. This board was basically designed for these.
- If you like a bouncy feel, you may want to replace the bushings. I added a slightly stiffer Bones cone bushing to the roadside, which gives it a bit deeper turn in, but overall, the stock bushings are pretty great.
- 85mm Orangatang Caguamas
- Orangatang has one color per durometer, so you can’t color match as well. For a comfy ride, I recommend their Blue 77a wheels. It’ll be a little harder to slide, and heavier riders may find they slow them down a bit. The orange 80a durometer wheels are great, and Orangatang’s formula works really well with 80a. There’s also a Purple 83a durometer, which is a bit harder.
- I didn’t try this out with the Seismic Speed Vents. Get these if you want a narrower wheel, which won’t lose as much speed on a carve. If you’re good at sliding to cut speed, you may not need the carving action for slowing down.
- Bones or AOA bearings. I love Bones Reds and the new Bones Big Balls. From Pantheon, this will come with AOA bearings, which I’ve heard are great. Your local shop may use different bearings though.
- Risers. I usually recommend a soft riser. It’ll protect your deck, but it also helps remove some vibrations. Plus, on a drop-through deck like this, it’ll actually bring the deck a little closer to the ground. I went with some soft 0.13″ soft risers. A lot of local shops will throw these in for free, but some might charge. It’s worth it to ask for them though.
Honestly? You can’t go wrong with the stock setup. It’s fantastic. This isn’t a deck that demands customization, it’s built for a single purpose, and it excels.
