Skating is a fun hobby. Often, it’s about bombing a hill faster, learning a new trick or skill, commuting as fast as you can, sliding, or generally getting your heart racing and your adrenaline pumping. That’s a lot of fun. It’s why we have roller coasters, horror movies, fast cars, and virtually every other sport. But it’s not the only way to have fun. Relaxing on a beach is fun. Taking a nice walk through a park is fun. Floating in a pool and sipping on a drink can be fun.
In many ways, that’s how Landyachtz’s Bamboo Pinner is fun. A laid-back, relaxing kind of fun. But it’s not the only way to enjoy this 44-inch longboard. This is a longboard that defies traditional fun on longboards, while still being excellent at it. A boardwalk cruiser, a dancer, and a surprisingly good slider. This is the Landyachtz Bamboo Pinner 44.
Table of Contents
44 Inches of Easy Riding
I got this longboard because there was just something about watching a flexible pintail carving down a hill or along a boardwalk. They’re just so easygoing. A smooth, elevated ride, plenty of flexibility, and tons of foot space. I usually go for shorter longboards, less than or around 38-inch. Yet there was just something so attractive about that giant board. It just looked like something unlike anything I had, and something that would ride unlike anything I have.
And I was right.
It’s a huge platform, one that encourages quite a bit of foot movement. I’ve even considered learning a few dance moves. Every turn is smooth, and there’s so much space for your feet, I could see moving all around this board without problem.
In the water, a longer surfboard isn’t as nimble, but provides a rider far more stability. On the land, this large skateboard isn’t hampered by its size. It’s still surprisingly nimble for its size. It’s flexible, forgiving, and even relaxing to ride on, but still has a snappy responsiveness.
Basically? When I want to ride for relaxation, or go on a nice long cruise on level or slightly downhill land, this is the board I’ll reach for.
44 Inches of Sliding
My first ride on this was to my local burrito joint. I placed an order online and thought it would be fun to go pick it up in person. Time to test the pintail. I’m heading down a slight hill on my way there and decide to have some fun carving a bit. I push my leg out, leaning back and moving my hip forward. I go ever so slightly, just to see if it’s even possible. It wouldn’t be enough to trigger a slide on my Drop Cat, Dinghy, or Ember, but it was for the Pinner! In fact, it’s downright easy. The back end loosens up and I’ve kicked out a 44-inch longboard’s tail with relative ease and at low speed.
Fun!
So I increased speed, and I tested this in other places at other times. It’s surprisingly a lot of fun to go quick on this, in the 10-25mph range. Crouch down a little, make sure your back foot is overhanging on both sides of the back a little (or one side if you have small feet or a narrow stance), and start carving. I found I could do toe slides with this more confidently than I can on many of my other boards because I feel like I can grip both the heel side and toe side of the board at once, without moving my foot. It’s that narrow pintail shape, I feel like I’m gripping the board almost like a monkey. The feeling is playful, almost silly, but there you are, sliding a giant longboard as easy, if not easier, than some of your more technical, stiffer, and more concave boards.
That is one thing I’ll mention. Start going too fast, and you realize that the deck is mostly flat. It’s got a super subtle ‘W’ concave for grip, but it’s not much. Combine that with the springiness of the long bamboo platform, and it can feel a little unstable at speed. Almost like you’re floating over it. Can you go fast on this board? Yes, with the right truck setup. Should you? That depends on how safe you feel flying down a hill, sometimes quite literally. It’s so easy to completely de-weight on this board.
Basically? They’re so much fun to ride.
Classic Style
I decided to do a little test with this board. Would I get kicked out of a store if I walked around with it? I had errands to run and, instead of taking the Drop Cat, Dinghy, or another cruiser, I took the largest board I own. I walked right past security in the front, who smiled and nodded at me, and had no trouble getting my eye makeup remover and whatever else I was there for. In fact, I got a compliment when I went up to pay, and another as I was leaving the store. It’s big, but perhaps it’s so cool, people just don’t care?
Photos of this board have been some of my most popular on social media too. It just oozes cool. Like the smooth beach vibes of a surfer or reminiscent of more easygoing skateboarding times in the 70’s and 80’s, when people would, you know, do handstands on skateboards. This would look at home on a boardwalk or next to a surfboard. It’s a timeless design, a classic, understated style, and it’s a real head turner for that.
Honestly, and I love New York, but this is the anti-NYC board. Sure, I can still get places very quickly on it, but it invites you to slow down and surf the asphalt a little. Carve for fun, not just to slide or cut speed. This is a surfboard for the land, and this style brings with it that west coast attitude. Find some sun, find some smooth asphalt, and do some cross steps and nose manuals or just carve the land waves. Just chill.
Trucks and Wheels
When I bought the Drop Cat 33, I specifically avoided Bear’s trucks, assembling the board myself with some Paris V3s I bought from a local shop and Orangatang’s hard to find centerset freeriding wheel, the Morongas. This was in place of the Bear 852s, a 52º truck with a 181mm hangar size. I did this for a slightly narrower truck with a slightly less extreme angle, so I could have a more stable board. However, I bought my Pinner 44 stock, meaning it came with Bear 852 trucks. Now I could find out if I made the right choice. I did.
Bear 852 Trucks
With the 5th generation Bear truck, Landyachtz took some criticism to heart. They loosened up the bushing seat and strengthened the trucks. They didn’t take their criticism far enough. They really didn’t loosen up the bushing seat much at all. It still grips far too tightly on the bushing, holding it in place on the hanger. Plus, there’s no boardside washer, so the bushing can deform around the baseplate slightly, giving you an inconsistent turning feel.
Bear trucks can also do something else, something Landyachtz doesn’t have on their site anymore, but longtime Bear fans know: the hangar is reversible. Not all are. Some trucks face one way, and that’s it. Flipping them causes the angle of the trucks to change, because of the way they have the busing seat set up, so it’s resting on only one part of the bushing. Others have zero rake, that is, the axle is perfectly in line with the angle of rotation and pivot point, so rotating them would do nothing.
The Bear truck is different. It’s designed to have a little rake. That means that, when you get it, you have a 52º truck with a little rake, meaning the trucks are responsive, but less stable and more “twitchy” at speeds. However, flip that hangar, and you have negative rake. This makes them feel a bid “dead” in the center, more stable, and lower. You have to lean more to get the same amount of turn. It’s more stable at center, and good for learning on, but most people won’t like the slow response.
To be honest, skating them flipped on the Pinner would be a waste. The fact that this giant board is so nimble, and actually becomes more nimble when carving hard due to the flexibility of the deck changing the mounting angle of the trucks, is a huge part of the joy of this board. It’s big, flexible, and has responsive rake that just make cruising around town a blast. Do some low speed slides and fast carving with it, and you’ll see why I decided to keep those trucks in their stock position.
Honestly? I wouldn’t buy these on their own. They’re not nimble or precise. Lean in and the truck will struggle to give, then give a lot, then spring you back in to place. It’s just too restrictive of a bushing seat. This board shows the one place these trucks should be: on slower cruisers. Here you don’t mind long, snappy carves as much. If I was building this from parts, I would include Paris V3 trucks on here, not these Bears. Unfortunately, I could only get this deck as a complete.
Fortunately, the wheels aren’t as insufferable as the trucks.
Fatty Hawgs XL
The wheels that come on it are advertised as “Fatty Hawgs XL” on MuirSkate, but Landyachtz doesn’t define them. They are essentially the same wheel as the Fatty Hawgs that come on the Landyachtz Dinghy, but with a more even surface and larger contact patch. They still have a slightly rounded lip profile and a wonderfully smooth stoneground surface. This might sound a little weird, but I actually like the way these wheels feel in my hand brand new. It’s just such a soft texture.
But you see where I’m going with this, right? Round lip profile, even surface, soft stoneground texture, and offset wheels? Yup, they’re pretty easy to slide. They slide easily on this springy, responsive deck, that makes changing your weight distribution a snap. Hawgs can make a decent wheel. I really enjoy the Fatty series. They’re wide, and can grip if you need them to, but push them out as you carve, and you get these nice smooth slides. They grip more than something like the Orangatang Morongas or Sector9 Butterballs, but still have a nice, predictable slide that only gets a little caught up at the end. Plus, they’re cheap! You can grab a set for $37.
These 70mm soft, 78A wheels give you a nice ride that, when combined with the flexible deck, is both gentle and playful. You can roll over cracks and rough road without being vibrated out of your shoes, trust them to hold the asphalt through a deep carve, and let lose when you shift your weight for a slide.
I like them so much that I actually took them off and put them on my Landyachtz Drop Cat for the Broadway Bomb this year, an ~8 mile “race” from Harlem to the Financial District in NYC. I figured they’d reliably cut speed when I need to, roll over bumps and cracks in NYC’s sloppy roads, and give me a lot of confidence. I was right, I had a great time.
Space Balls!
You know, I liked Spaceballs. It was a fun parody of a movie franchise I love. What I don’t like? Landyachtz Space Balls bearings. They’re certainly not the worst bearings in the world. They’re ABEC 7 rated, so they’re more consistent than some “stock” bearings, and their shields are removable for cleaning and lube, but they’re nothing to write home about. I intend to replace them with some Bones Reds, as they’re good for this kind of lower speed cruiser, but I’ll likely skate them a bit longer. They’re really not the worst things in the world, and it’s not as though I’m frequently skating long distances or bombing hills with this board. But this is something I noticed with my Dinghy, and it’s part of the reason I decided to make my own Drop Cat from other vendors. I knew I’d be replacing the bearings eventually, so why not now?
Basically? Landyachtz has some passable bearings. They have extended races, so you won’t need to worry about spacers. But they’re still an imperfect bearing. They get better after you break them in a bit, but never have the same ease of getting started or speed down a hill as Bones or Zealous.
Distances and Trains
This is, unfortunately, the biggest drawback to this longboard. And it’s not even all its fault. First, a little bit on the board. It sits tall. That means, when pushing long distances or uphill, you’re going to get tired quicker. You’ll be bending your front leg more. Combined with the Spaceball bearings, you could wear yourself out quickly. On level ground, with good bearings, you can push this board gently for miles. I’ve done that, and it’s great. But introduce some uphill and frequent pushing, and you’ll start to feel it.
Now the second part I don’t blame entirely on this board, but it is something to consider. This held me back from testing the Pinner every day, and mostly taking it out on the weekends. If you live in NYC, you may have already thought, “How do I get such a large board on the train?” The truth is, it’ll fit, but it’s more awkward. The board comes up higher, and you’ll take up more space. Since our governor, Andrew Cuomo and mayor, Bill de Blasio, see no problem with the trains running every 15 minutes and being in a constant state of “packed to the doors” and “hot as hell,” it might be a little uncomfortable to ride with this. You might get some dirty looks for taking up more space, or you just might not have room because of that huge skateboard. You won’t be anywhere near as bad as the cyclists, moped riders, or even the folks with a giant backpack who come on the train, but you might have issues.
It also depends on how tall you are. If you are barely taller than this longboard, it’s going to be extremely awkward to carry around. It’s going to come up to your shoulders if you’re 5-feet tall. Taking that through turnstiles and up stairs is not going to be easy, let alone trying to balance on a train where you can’t reach a single handhold because it’s too packed and they’re on the roof.
Finally, putting it in a car or other means of conveyance won’t be easy either. But if you have a car, you can put seats down, lay it horizontally, mount it to the roof, or treat it like you would skis, snowboards, or surfboards. Frankly, this is a solved problem, but you won’t be able to fit it in your car like your 38-inch or under boards as easily.
Overall
I’m an adrenaline junkie. I honestly feel a little depressed when I go a day or so without skating, and skating hard. By the bottom of even a small hill, my face is plastered with a grin, my wheels hot from speed checks and slides, and I’m just happy. Yet, I had a blast with this more easygoing board. Now, don’t get me wrong, for fun and testing purposes, I did hit some hills hard. I carved, I slid, I bombed. But when this was at its best was easygoing distances and small hills. Just having fun on a beautiful day. It was almost meditative. I skated to a park one day and just sat staring out at the river for a while. It’s definitely not the best downhiller, but it is the first board I’ve had that made me feel like I could just take it easy and slow down a little. As a New Yorker with a full time job, two blogs, and increasingly little time to myself, that’s pretty nice.
The easygoing Landyachtz Pinner 44 is a wonderful board. It’s flexible, playful, beautiful, and fun. I love my sidewalk surfboard, and I’m glad that I decided to take a chance on it.
Where to Buy
Now for the bad news. A while back I got an email from Landyachtz. The board I was waiting on to come back in stock, the Bamboo Pinner, was discontinued. I tried my local skate shop, but they never got one in. I couldn’t find one in the city. Well… that’s not true. There was one shop that still had it. So, after work, I went to Zumiez to check it out.
It was raining, and I was on my rain deck, so I had no way to bring it home. Instead, I ordered it and had it shipped to my house. If you love the way this longboard sounds, especially the springy bamboo that’s used, you can still get it at Zumiez, but stock is running out fast. Zumiez also carries a 7-ply maple version of this graphic with a blue colored paint that gives off some beach vibes. That’s also still on sale while supplies last. In fact, it’s just $149 as of this writing. At that price, it’s an impulse buy you won’t regret.
However, if you don’t need bamboo and you trust Canadian maple to provide a nice springiness as well (and why wouldn’t you?), then you can also look for the pintail that replaced the Bamboo Handstand Pinner. The Landyachtz Pinner Night Moves is a new pintail from Landyachtz that features a psychedelic graphic and 100% maple construction. It’s still springy, like the Bamboo Pinner it replaces, using 7-ply maple to give it that flexibility. I absolutely love the graphic, but wanted to try a bamboo board and love the simple graphic on the Handstand Pinner as well.
Whichever model you go for, you’re going to have a lot of fun on this board. The Landyachtz Pinner is mellow, springy, and surfy. It’s perfect for beach vibes, relaxed skating, dancing, and the occasional huge carvy slides. It’s a lot of fun at speed and at a more pedestrian pace. Definitely consider picking one up and giving it a chance!
