There it was, on the screen. The Drop Cat 33. Is it a double drop? No, but it’s so low to the ground. Look at how it just kind of cradles the rider with that rocker! I… I must have it.
So I did. I figured out how I wanted my setup, and marched my butt down to my local skate shop. They didn’t have the Drop Cat deck, but I grabbed some other parts for my setup. Paris V3 Trucks, new Bones Reds bearings, and some mounting hardware. Then I went online.
Out of stock everywhere! I couldn’t get my hands on a Drop Cat! Was it nothing but a myth? A prototype design Landyachtz made to tease us? They had seemed popular on Reddit, but I couldn’t find a lengthy review! But I knew, I just knew, I had to have one. So I ordered direct from Landyachtz, and I waited. For nearly two weeks, I waited.
When I finally got it, I had it assembled that night, ready to go in the morning. Did it live up to the hype? Does that crazy rocker actually make for a good riding experience? What about riding what are essentially 57º trucks? Would it be too twitchy and unmanageable? Well, yeah, kind of!
I actually was disappointed the first time I took it out. But a few minutes in, I discovered what this longboard really was. And now? I love it. So let’s break it down, figure out why I love this board so much, despite that lackluster first impression, and then wrap this review up. To the Drop Cat 33!
Table of Contents
The Setup
A Stock Landyachtz Drop Cat 33 setup:
- Drop Cat 33 Deck
- Bear 852 Trucks (52º baseplate, 182mm width) trucks
- Plow King Wheels (78A durometer, 72mm diameter, square lip, 65mm contact patch)
My setup:
- Well, yeah, the Drop Cat 33 deck
- Paris V3 Trucks (50º baseplate, 180mm width)
- Orangatang Moronga Wheels (86A durometer, 72.5mm diameter, round lip, 35mm contact patch)
Hey, that’s pretty different, right? After riding this for a while, I see the wisdom in Landyachtz’s setup, but still think I made the right choice. Let’s get into why.
Rockin’ Rocker: The Drop Cat 33 Deck
This is going to be the core of the review. After all, I didn’t go with the stock setup, which many people who buy this board will. I will mention why I made my choices, and some brief thoughts on both of them, but the most important part of this review is right here: the deck.
There’s a lot to talk about. This is the 33″ version of a deck that also comes in 38″. It has an insane amount of rocker that goes from end to end. It’s actually a silly, absurd board, and the first time I rode it, I considered it a “beta-release-like” board, in that it seemed like a crazy experiment that escaped the skateboard factory. Surely this was an Area 51 board! But I stuck with it, skating it consistently for a few weeks. Now it’s one of my favorite skateboards. So let’s talk about how this board is weirder than it seems, and why that—mysteriously—works.
Length Options
There are two size options: 33 inches and 38 inches. They come with different designs on the bottom, but feature the same sugar skull logo on the grip tape, and close to the same width. The 33 has a 9.6″ width, while the 38 features a 9.9″ width. That means the 33″ is pretty much just a smaller, lighter, more nimble, and less stable version than its 38″ counterpart. I chose the 33″, because I got into skating on small cruiser boards, so I already have a narrow stance, despite my height (I’m 5’10” and waste it on computer programming and skating instead of modeling or the WNBA). I also knew I’d use this most often for daily commuting, which means carrying it around when the roads and sidewalks are too densely packed, I end up walking somewhere with friends, or I need to take the train.
I have stood on a 38″ model. It’s a really good size. Sure, it wouldn’t have been perfect for what I wanted out of it, but I think a lot of people, especially those who prefer a larger wheelbase, will like it. Personally, I’m glad I went with the smaller, more nimble, and lighter version, but someone favoring stability and a larger standing platform would definitely be happy with the 38. I think I would have been very happy with it as well.
Shorty’s Got Slides
Despite the fact that I often skate on a Dinghy, and just got done testing another mini cruiser, the Bustin Boards Bonsai, I was still surprised by how short this board really is. It has enough of a nose and tail to kick up when you’ve reached your destination, without the same difficulty that I experienced doing it with the Pantheon Ember. It’s far more natural. I even used it to manual once, and was both terrified and horrified to find it was possible. Could you ollie this deck? No. You can’t. Don’t even try it. Stop thinking about it. Actually, if you practiced long enough, it just might be possible. But I only just got my wrist put back together, so the idea of trying to do tricks on this short longboard seems just outright stupid.
I like risks, but calculated risks only.
It’s short, and I often let my back foot go too far back. This is actually why I was disappointed at first. It’s a smaller platform than I was expecting. However, once I got comfortable with my foot positions, I found they don’t want to move much. You sort of find a pocket where the rocker and concave shape come together to hold your foot in place. Then the real fun begins. You can dig in and force that back end out, leaning your weight off the board but digging in, pushing that rear foot forward and into the ground.
Oh. Oh my.
I took it down a particularly steep hill where the end goes into a busy road. I slid hard, doing a standup slide where I wasn’t sure if I was falling or stopping. I still shouldn’t put much weight on my only recently healed wrist, so I don’t have my sliding gloves on and I can’t put my hand down. The only assurance I had was the fact that my feet were still stuck on that board. If I was falling, I was going to land in the right place.
Sure enough, when I got my full weight back on it, I pulled the slide back in and, as it turns out, I really was in control the whole time. It was the first time I really felt like I nailed a slide. Not just good, not just cutting speed, or sliding around a turn, but really nailing a stand up slide. Right on the edge of a standup slide and needing to put a hand down or do a Coleman. It’s a tough feeling to describe. Do you know when you discover something like a puzzle piece that slides into place perfectly? A good tactile mechanical keyboard or just an unintentionally perfect fit of other objects? It felt like that. Just satisfyingly perfect. I giggled like a fool and joined the bike traffic on the road, happy that I chose longboarding over a boring means of transportation like biking.
Not That Kind of Foot-Braking!
Now that shortness might come in handy for carrying the board, or getting a sort of low, caulked-in feeling, but it has a drawback. This isn’t a double drop. If you have thick soled shoes, as I do, you might not feel your trucks with your back foot very well.
On more than on occasion, I put my back foot a little too far back and put it on the wheel. This would either pinch and stop my board instantly, or just slow and swing it to the right. I actually picked up a Riptide foot stop to help me get used to the correct foot placement. Without it, I’d have to learn where to keep my feet the hard way. That would mean occasional abrupt stops. I never got hurt, but it’s always scary when your board just stops. That foot stop is wonderful. Even though I don’t really need it anymore, I like having it there. It looks good, helps me be sure of my footing, and I can use it to dig in even more during a slide by pressing my foot out against it for a good, locked in feeling.
Wider Than Expected
The deck is also wider than you’d expect. Nearly 10″ wide, it might come as a surprise to you if you’re used to street decks (usually between 7.75″ and 8.5″), cruisers, or even a board like the Pantheon Ember. This is wide, and it’s tapered. At the front, it’s 9.6″ wide, but that goes down to 8.5″ in the back. This means less foot space for your back foot, which is more likely to be perpendicular to the direction you’re moving it, and therefore need more space. However, I found it works out well, keeping my back foot in place better than a wider board would have. The corners of the end of the board come up in a way to add friction and hold your foot in place. Plus, that means I have more space to move my front foot around for forgiving one footed turning while pushing.
It does make holding the board or walking with it a little more cumbersome, but it’s not too bad. The board isn’t that heavy. It’s a small adjustment, but you’ll be happy to have that increased width while skating.
Rocker And Baseplate Angles
I bought Paris V3 trucks for this over Bear Grizzly’s. Of course, I had good reasons for this. I thought long and hard about it. Okay, first, they’re available in a pretty red color. That’s it. They’re so damn pretty.
Okay, okay, it also comes down to the baseplate angle. Paris offers both a 43º and 50º baseplate for the V3 platform, and the height doesn’t change between the two. That gives me options. The rocker of the Drop Cat goes through to the mounting for the trucks as well. That increases the baseplate angle by about 7º. A 52º truck, like those from Landyachtz, becomes a 59º truck on these. I went with the Paris trucks to save myself 2º of baseplate, while also giving me the option to grab 43º baseplates for the hangars, which would mean a far more standard 50º truck angle.
However, I do now have some of those 5th generation Bear Grizzly trucks I could swap out and test this on. I may post an update on this board later if I find they make a significant difference. Why do I have Bear Grizzly’s? Another board I got came with them. Can you guess what review is next?
You Okay? You Look a Little Twitchy
I took some time off between jobs and went into a sort of late to rise sleep mode. More like “partially nocturnal.” Adjusting to a less bat-like sleep schedule meant lots of coffee. But that’s not the kind of twitchiness I’m referring to. For a crash course on baseplate angles, a bigger number means a more rapid response than a smaller number. There are other factors that can change this, like the offset of the axle, but, for the most part, big angle means big directional changes for small movements.
AKA: twitchy.
I tackled some hills in Central Park, and, afterwards, decided that it was a bit too twitchy for that. You see, to properly go down a hill with this setup, you’ve got to carve. Big, deep carves and fun speed check slides. Central Park should be perfect for that. But, on a beautiful late summer day in Central Park, you’re lucky to get much space to do this. In fact, it’s rare. That means a straight line down the hills. Now, on a more downhill-focused board of mine, this is a lot of fun. Tuck in, bomb that hill, and use that momentum to carry you up the next hill as far as it’ll take you. Honestly, if not for the huge number of cyclists on that path, it would be the perfect chill longboarding spot, even for this deck. Maybe on a weekday.
But on the weekend, when the hills are packed with cyclists, forcing me to pick up too much speed, I found that this definitely gets twitchy. I found it was less stable than my TKP setup on my Pantheon Ember! My friend did too! Usually I speed down the hills, having more experience on a longboard than she has, but she was actually ahead of me on most hills.
Countering the Twitch
The problem is, I love that rapid responsiveness elsewhere. I could throw on some wider wheels and a reduced angle baseplate, but that would make the ability to dodge a pothole on a moment’s notice far more difficult. This setup is fantastic for commuting. Perhaps due to the width of the platform and baseplate angle, but I actually prefer it to the Ember when it comes to responsiveness! So how could I try to get the best of both worlds? Bushings. The stock Paris V3 bushings are great, but I replaced the cone bushing with an Orangatang Knuckle bushing. This has a bit more urethane, in more of a dome shape, which makes it a little more stable. I’ve still got my nimble Drop Cat, but now it’s a little bit more stable at speed.
I still wouldn’t bomb a hill without throwing on a 43º baseplate though. Still, I think with a reduced angle baseplate and a foot stop, this would actually be a decent little downhill board, as long as you’re okay with the small platform.
Keeping it Low: Can it Overthrow the Commuting King, the Pantheon Ember?
I mentioned the Pantheon Ember in this review quite frequently. That’s because the Drop Cat 33 is about the same length as the Pantheon Ember. They’re both low, they both were made to be nimble, and, while they have drastically different designs, they’re each good at different things. The Drop Cat, at its lowest point, is only a few millimeters taller than the Pantheon Ember, without weight. The Ember, however, is more flexible, so it’s lower in practice. Also, the Ember was made for long distance pushing and city commuting. It’s not quite as nimble or stiff as the Drop Cat. That makes the Pantheon Ember a better commuter or distance board, while the Drop Cat is a far better freeride board. The Ember can do a little freeriding, as it’s not overly flexible close to the trucks, but with a large wheel setup, it’s better for commuting. The Drop Cat is great for freeriding, and not too shabby with distances or commuting. There’s overlap here.
Really, the Drop Cat is low, but most of the standing platform sits higher than the Pantheon Ember’s. I’d say that the Pantheon Ember is still the king of city commuters, the Drop Cat is a great board for commuting, but better specialized for freeriding fun. Zany freeriding fun, something the Ember just isn’t as well suited for.
Which should you buy? It depends. If it’s just for commuting? The Ember. Is it also for freeriding, or perhaps primarily for freeriding? Then the Drop Cat. But either board is excellent, and I’m super happy to have both of them in my quiver. I love all of my wooden children equally.
“Low Effort Nimble”
I wanted to pull this quote out from my notes specifically. It was, I think, the best way to describe how this board feels to ride. Normally when I see something right in front of the board, too late to react, I brace for it. But the low and wide platform of the Drop Cat, combined with that nimble truck setup, means I can quickly weave without losing my balance. It has a rapid initial turn in, far more than RKP trucks usually do, and it’s very controllable. I found myself having confidence zipping around, even slaloming through dividers at Citibike docking stations. It’s a blast!
Art!
One of the fun things about all skateboards is the wide variety of art on the decks. From designs that look hand painted to ones that look like photographs, brand names and sticker bombs to hand painted designs. Skateboards are unique, beautiful, and often get beaten up a lot anyway. The Landyachtz Drop Cat 33 and 38 have art from German artist Bene Rohlmann, who has made a few decks for Landyachtz, including a few Dinghy designs. The Iluminación line has a detailed, hand-painted look, with Mexican and traditional design influences. The grip tape has a sugar skull on it. It’s a really cool looking board, and I’ve caught strangers on the train staring at it before, and my friends seem to like it too. Since the whole board is painted, you’ll really be able to tell when you chip it though. There’s no clear coat layer either, so expect chipping.
The Rest of the Setup
It wouldn’t be fair to review these items extensively, since most of the character of this board comes from the deck. Many boards feel like a combination of their parts, but the deck of the Drop Cat really steals the show. Still, I spent some time with my Morongas on a different board, so I can at least comment on how they feel.
Wheels – Orangatang Morongas
I first got these to work on improving my slides. I went with the highest durometer to make breaking traction easier. I really wanted to slide these. And I have! They’re a fun freeriding wheel with a centerset core and beefy, rounded sides that, when combined with that stoneground finish, make them great for sliding. You may want to ease into them at first, I found they got a little bit more slick later in a session than cold off my rack, but they’re consistent enough.
I might go with a softer durometer in the future. The fact is, I have to push more when I have these on, because they don’t handle uneven surfaces as well. I’ve also had them ice out on me on slightly uneven surfaces. No injuries, nothing was sudden enough for that, although that hardness may have hurt me with a rock. I did get an injury I later learned is called a “hip pointer” due to hitting a wedge shaped rock. Would a softer wheel have gone over it? Maybe, but not likely. The universe just had it in for my hip (it was the second hip injury I got in a week).
Don’t worry, I’m almost all better now. Injuries and skateboarding go together like peanut butter and jelly. Coincidentally, that’s also my favorite sandwich.
I’m surprised Orangatang’s Morongas are so hard to find. I couldn’t get them at a number of third party retailers. I actually ordered them from Amazon. I had begun to think they were discontinued, as they’re out of stock on most sites, including many durometers on Orangatang’s site.
It’s a fast, fun, surprisingly durable formula, which hasn’t worn down too rapidly. Maybe they lack rolling speed, but I’ve found they’re a really fun freewheel. I’d likely buy them again. I iced out while carving with them once, but I blame that more on the durometer and road surface than the shape or formula of the wheel. Really, I’ve had a blast on them, and will gleefully ride them to the core.
Vs The Landyachtz Plow Kings
So, I haven’t used the Plow Kings yet. They’re wider, offset, and have a square lip. That means they’ll grip the road like crazy, but that wide platform can be good for slides as well. Most people think of a narrow platform for slides, but I’ve found a wide contact patch can also spread out your weight, giving you a lot of control once you start sliding, as long as you’re prepared for them gripping back up quickly. Landyachtz’s Fatty Hawgs really surprised me on the Dinghy Platform, they’re actually not bad for slides.
I think I would have preferred the Landyachtz Zombie Hawgs over the Plow Kings, though I haven’t tried them either. They’re a freeride wheel with rounded sides, a stoneground surface, and a big 75mm diameter with speedy cores. Should be a fast freeride wheel. Perhaps that’s why Landyachtz went with the Plow Kings, they’re more controlled. Perhaps the Zombie Hawgs are just too fast and have too small of a contact patch? I can’t say. But choose your wheels carefully, knowing that your trucks will likely be a bit twitchy on this. After riding for a while, the Plow Kings, or a wheel like them, might actually be better than a traditional freeride wheel. You may need to experiment yourself! I know I plan to.
Trucks – Paris V3s
I have only used these trucks on my Drop Cat (so far). That means my only experience with them isn’t one you’re going to have anywhere else. The baseplate angle definitely added a strange experience, and I’m going to have to try these on one of my other decks. However, what I did find from these is that they turn really smoothly. Incredibly smoothly. They’re absolutely gorgeous, but you’re going to mark them up quickly. They’re responsive, and the stock bushings are actually fantastic for me. If it weren’t for wanting to increase the stability a little with Orangatang Knuckles, then I could have kept them on the board forever.
Really, I love these trucks, but I’ve got limited experience on them. Unlike the Morongas, which I’ve had on three different setups now, it’s harder to specify what was the strange deck angle and what was the V3’s. Still, I can say with certainty that the smoothness, responsiveness, rebound, and reliability or predictability of these trucks would carry over to any setup. Really just a fantastic, all-around performer that I think you’d really love on anything.
vs Bear Grizzly 852s
I haven’t ridden this truck on the Drop Cat yet, so I don’t have a direct comparison. But in this case, I’m certain I made the right choice*. The 852’s have a large baseplate angle, and would have been far more twitchy. They also are 2mm wider, on a deck where I already have hit my foot on a wheel while pushing. Now, hangar geometry can change a lot, but I just can’t get away from the idea that the stock trucks would be at a 59º angle and substantially wider, especially with the Plow Kings!
Would the stock setup be bad? No, I don’t think so. I trust Landyachtz at this point, their setups, while not always perfect, are pretty solid. I think the stock setup likely is a ton of fun. But for a bit more stability, you’ll likely want the Paris V3s in either a 43º or 50º baseplate.
*UPDATE:
I’ve gotten myself a set of Bear 852 trucks. They’re currently on another board I’m testing for a future review, but I do plan to revisit this board with the standard trucks at a later date.
These trucks may actually be better than I realized for this deck. While they’re 52º in the stock configuration, and 59º with that rocker, they have a feature that many trucks today lack: you can flip the hangar. This allows you to reduce the rake without changing the actual baseplate angle, but makes the truck feel more like a 40-somethingº truck. This makes the platform taller, but supposedly far more stable, so I’ll have to try it out.
Other Fun Setups
I have some other ideas for fun setups. I briefly mentioned Zombie Hawgs wheels, which I may still get at some point. Those look like fast and fun freeride wheels. But you could also choose a more stable 43º platform and some large 85mm Caguama wheels. This would make the Drop Cat more stable and far faster. You may actually enjoy bombing hills at top speeds.
I also looked at using smaller wheels with it. While I wouldn’t favor these, and didn’t ride mine like this, you could put 63mm wheels on it. You’d lose a lot of shock absorption and top speed, but you’d have a fast accelerating, even lower deck for pushing. It could make your Drop Cat perfect for commuting!
Or perhaps you want to really lean into the freeride aspect of it? Get some Sector 9 Butter Balls, or Powell Peralta Snakes. Go with some slightly more grippy Orangatangs, like the Stimulus? There are multiple possibilities here, but I think you’ll find you’ll want to use this setup more for freeriding than anything else. I think that’s the best purpose for this deck.
My New Favorite Longboard?
Honestly? Not quite counting the cruisers because they’re obviously for something different, yeah, this is my new favorite longboard. Sure, my Sector 9 Meridian is far better for downhill skating. Also, its giant platform enables some dancing, which can also be fun. My Pantheon Ember is probably the best skateboard for NYC commutes, tackling broken streets and navigating pedestrians in the bike lane with ease. However, the Drop Cat is nimble, a fun freeride machine, and, as a package, just a ton of fun. And that’s what it comes down to, this is a fun board. It’s not a purpose-driven machine like the Ember. It’s not a super stiff, customizable, and rockerless deck for downhill. But if my Dinghy is my “do everything” cruiser board, then this is, to a lesser extent, my “do everything” longboard.
I wondered why I wanted to compare it to the Dinghy for this review. They’re completely different boards, so why did I feel the need to compare a mini cruiser and a shorter longboard? And it hit me, they’re very similar in the way they’re not the best at anything. Maybe that’s just part of the Landyachtz DNA: lovable imperfection.
Although, I will admit, the Dinghy is a clear winner among mini cruisers. With the Drop Cat, the reasoning is less clear. It’s not super good at any one thing, really.
The Drop Cat is a master of none with some insane freeriding superpowers. Could I reduce my quiver down to this, a Dinghy, and my rainy day setup? No! I’d still want (need) my more stable downhill platform, distance commuter, carvy cruiser, and street deck. I’d still want a smaller board for flying. This is in no way a perfect board. It’s not my best board for downhill, for speed, commuting, dancing, or tricks, but when it comes to smiles per mile, it’s ahead of the pack. It makes me a little giddy to look at it, and it’s just a blast to play on. That’s why the Landyachtz Drop Cat 33 Iluminación sits at the top of my quiver: it’s so much fun!
