Capsule ‘Unconventional Series’ Skateboard Deck Review
JUMP TO: SPECS / PROS & CONS / WHERE WE TESTED / HOW IT PERFORMED / SUMMARY
Author: Brent Herman | Updated: Jun 5, 2023
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Capsule Skateboards are a small Europe-based skateboard company making some innovative decks. Rather than the usual maple, their ‘Unconventional Series’ skateboard deck is made from a recyclable polymer compound that looks, feels, and performs differently from other brands on the market. The material is very slick, flexible, and strong – and one cool added benefit is that the deck is completely recyclable and made without the use of any trees or volatile organic compounds.
In my 20 years of skateboarding, I can definitively say that I have never skated a deck quite like this one. As soon as the board arrived, I knew that this was a truly unique product and my curiosity was piqued regarding how it would perform.
As I have admitted in other reviews, I generally stick to what I know when it comes to skateboarding products – which means a traditional popsicle-shaped maple deck with mellow concave. This board was definitely not maple and definitely different in both shape and concave from my usual decks, so I wasn’t sure about how I would perform with it. But after a bit of an adjustment period – to cope with the extreme flexibility of the deck – I found this a unique, interesting, and fun deck to skate on.
The Capsule ‘Unconventional Series’ Skateboard Deck I tested for this review.
SPECS
MATERIAL: Recyclable polymer compound
SIZE: 8.5” (width)
SHAPE: Non-standard
MODEL: Flight Path
PROS
Incredibly durable
Great pop
Lightweight
Absorbs impact
Won’t chip or delaminate
Weather resistant
CONS
One of the most expensive decks around
Flexibility can make some tricks more difficult
Slippery material
WHERE WE TESTED
I tested this deck at my place of employment – an indoor skatepark in Indianapolis, Indiana – that features a good variety of obstacles including ramps, rails, ledges, stairs, and more.
When trying out this deck, I made it a priority to attempt more high-impact tricks than I would do in an average week of skating – to really try and test the limits of the novel material this deck is made from.
HOW IT PERFORMED
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: When I opened the box and pulled out this deck, I knew I was in for something truly unique. The polymer deck felt solid yet supple and the surface of the material was slick and smooth. One of the first things that I noticed was the shape – the nose (which I thought to be the tail at first) was square and wide. The other thing I noticed was how deep the board dipped at the bases of the nose and tail.
Even my first impressions told me the Capsule deck was going to be something unique.
PERFORMANCE: When I first stepped on the board, I popped an ollie and it felt slightly off. I later learned that I was skating the nose as the tail due to my lack of experience with non-popsicle shaped boards. After my initial couple of ollies that felt different than what I was used to, I decided to go for my favorite flatground trick (a 360 flip) and to my surprise I landed it on the first try and it felt great! To be sure that it wasn't a fluke, I did another with the same result. The board had good pop and the flexibility was weird but felt good on certain tricks and it seemed to absorb some of the impact of my tricks.
With that being said, that same flexibility proved to be a bit of a challenge at times too. Feeling the board bend underneath me took some getting used to, but I was able to perform all of my usual tricks that I tried on it. In fact, I kickflipped down a drop that I never have before on this deck. Believe it or not, I actually landed this first try which surprised me!
Although the flexibility took some getting used to, I was still able to perform all of my usual tricks.
DURABILITY: I’ll cut to the chase – this board was the closest thing to “unbreakable” that I have ever skated. As demonstrated in the photo shown at the top of this article, this board is incredibly flexible, but not only was it able to bend and flex a ridiculous amount, but it would go right back to the original shape after each try with only slightly noticeable wear and tear.
It felt like the deck became more and more flexible as I skated it, but not to the point of feeling unsteady or flimsy. After repeated impacts off of drops and over gaps, the deck remained intact. I distinctly remember landing heavily on the nose and feeling it flex underneath and thinking that it could have snapped or at least cracked if it were a traditional maple deck.
After skating this board for a week and purposefully trying tricks that I know to be likely to snap a normal deck, the only thing that I noticed was a sort of seam developing lengthwise in the middle of the deck. As far as I could tell, this vertical indentation did not affect the performance of the deck, but maybe it would eventually. Of course, I can only speculate – this isn’t a long-term review after all.
After a week of skating a seam was developing lengthwise along the deck, although it didn’t appear to affect performance.
VERSATILITY: I consider myself to be a fairly well-rounded skateboarder and I tried to skate several different obstacles and perform a variety of tricks in order to develop my final thoughts on this product. From flatground tricks to manuals and ramp tricks, the deck was up to the task, although I did need a short adjustment period to better accommodate the flexibility and unusual shape of the board.
FLEX: This is one seriously flexible deck. While I found the flexibility to be a welcome addition to some tricks, I thought that it made skating rails more difficult. On rails, the board bent around the rail which I felt added to the difficulty of landing higher-impact rail tricks like lipslides or flips into slides, especially for a larger skater such as myself.
On the positive side, I especially liked the slight bend when performing manuals (riding on the back two wheels) – I’m not sure if it was actually easier, but the flex of the board felt smooth and satisfying.
SUMMARY
The Unconventional Series by Capsule is one of the most unique skateboarding products that I have ever encountered and it was a very fun challenge to try and test the limits of its design.
In sending a sample for testing, the brand suggested that I try to avoid comparing the deck to a standard maple deck – but that is difficult to do, since until now that is how I have known skateboarding to be. Nonetheless, I can focus on what this deck did well, where it lacked, and my opinion for its best application.
If you are a person that is tired of snapping boards, I believe this product will stand up to whatever you throw at it when it comes to impact. This board is undeniably strong and I believe that it would be highly unlikely for it to snap during conventional skateboarding applications no matter what kind of skateboarding you prefer.
It would make a great board for cruising since it feels so good to ride on and is unlikely to chip or delaminate. The shape and concave are not too steep or too mellow and the deck has a good pop. And the flexibility – although somewhat challenging at first – makes this an enjoyable deck to cruise around on once you get used to it.
All in all, the Capsule Unconventional Series is certainly a deck with personality. So, if you approach it with an open mind, you’re sure to have plenty of fun riding it.
DISCLOSURE
Capsule Skateboards provided me with a free sample for this review, but the views expressed here are all my own.
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