Catalyst Skateboards

A hot topic as of late on the CD message boards has been the move by big companies to China for the production of their skateboard decks. This has obviously ticked off a lot of die hard skaters, myself included. I’m a big supporter of the little guy. So I went on a hunt, especially outside of California, to find some alternatives to what’s hanging on the wall at the skate shop. One such company is Catalyst Skateboards out of Pennsylvania. Originally I had contacted them in regards to the wood shop that makes their boards, Penn’s Wood Manufacturing. Penn’s presses their own boards and sizes ranger from 7.25 to 8.5 and they also do full color printing. When I received their package, two boards from Catalyst were inside. An 8 inch and a 7.5 inch. The 8 inch is an all around great board, a bit wide around the tail for my taste, but comfy over all. Sporting a big fat nose, which I like and a concave that isn’t too steep. The 7.5 was a typical street shape with a much narrower tail which I wasn’t sure I would like it too much, but was pleased with the functionality of it over all. On both boards the graphics were nose to tail and the ink was kind of thick, which was actually good for tail, board, and nose slides. Well constructed wood made right here in the U.S. Check their site for info. Then go skating.

-5tall