One of the great longboard brands and one that I truly respect, the Arbor Collective produces some of the best longboards on the market today.
While their longboards are typically just called Arbor longboards, the overall company is called the Arbor Collective because they have products encompassing the snowboarding, skateboarding, and clothing market.
The Origin of Arbor Longboards
While I’m interested specifically in their longboards, the history of that division is tied up with the history of the company. The Collective started in 1995 making snowboards out of sustainable materials such as bamboo and wood. Consistently they practiced their values of forward thinking design and old school craftsmanship in their snowboards.
“The mission will always be to produce the highest quality, handmade snowboards possible, and hopefully inspire a few people to be part of leading the effort to protect the planet.”
In the offseason, the founders took to strapping wheels to some of their snowboards to allow for riding in the offseason. This practice led to the Arbor longboards division being started in 1998 just 3 years after the company’s start.
Arbor’s Mission
Throughout the development of the initial arbor longboards, the designers stayed committed to their environmental-friendly principles. That’s why all of the longboards that Arbor makes are made primarily out of 2 materials: wood(such as walnut, koa, or maple) and bamboo.
As part of their environmentally friendly principles, Arbor Collective provides money to a program called Returning to Roots which helps rebuilt forests around the world. The majority of their donations go to preserving the Koa forests in Hawaii(hint: that might be why they named one of their longboards the Arbor Axis Koa).
Top Arbor Longboards
Now with such a wide variety of Arbor longboards, I had a little difficulty deciding on which ones to include as part of this brand overview. What I ultimately decided to do was to pick one longboard from each main category of Arbor longboards. That way, you can see the best that Arbor has to offer for everybody.
Arbor Timeless GT
Click here for additional reviews and photos of the Arbor Timeless GT!
A classic pintail design from Arbor longboards, the Timeless GT is a longboard for those riders who are tired of their sub $100 boards and want real quality. It measures 46” long which is above average for a pintail(normally 36 – 42” such as the Quest Super Cruiser) but that simply means that this longboard is very stable.
The Arbor Timeless GT is 9.5” wide which gives the board a wide wheelbase providing a great degree of stability for this board. Although pintails aren’t really designed for downhill, there’s no worry about speed wobbles with this board.
For carving, it has a reverse king pin 50 degree Caliber Trucks which allow riders the responsiveness that you expect from a pintail. To ensure a seamless ride free of vibrations, it also has Sucrose Initiative summit wheels with 71mm width and 78A hardness. Besides ensuring a smooth ride, these wheels also help the stability of the board.
Arbor Pocket Rocket Bamboo
With such a cool name, how could this little guy from Arbor longboards be a disappointment? Real conversation I’ve had with strangers: Them: “Hey man what you riding” Me: “I’m standing on a Pocket Rocket” Read that in Stallone’s voice and you’ll get the idea.
Click here for additional reviews and photos of the Arbor Pocket Rocket!
The best description I can find about this longboard is that it has all the characteristics of typical Arbor longboards just smushed into a little skateboard package. If you can’t imagine what that rides like, see one of my favorit quotes about this board below.
“ [The Arbor Pocket Rocket is just this] crazy little skate that rides super smooth, carves like no other, and makes hardly any sound while rolling along”
Measuring just 26” long, this board is simply a pleasure to ride. It’s meant simply for cruising from point A to B but you’ll have fun during the commute. If that sounds up your alley, check it out!
Arbor Axis
I’ve reviewed the Arbor Axis Walnut in depth but as a flagship of Arbor longboards, I simply had to include a little blurb here about it. If you want more information see the full review.
Click here for additional reviews and photos of the Arbor Axis!
The Arbor axis is Arbor’s best selling all-purpose model. It is designed to do anything you can think of with a longboard and it certaintly comes close to achieving that goal. It has a medium flex and wheel cutouts which eliminate wheel bite during sharp turns.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Arbor Axis is that you can get the deck made out of Walnut, Koa wood, Bamboo, or even Maple. While there are only minor differences in price between the Axis Walnut, Axis Koa, and Axis Bamboo, the Arbor Axis GT(made out of maple) is $40 lower.
Factors that might influence your decision on the board. In terms of increasing stiffness, it goes bamboo, koa, walnut, then maple. Quality of grip tape goes the opposite way however: Arbor Axis GT, walnut, koa, bamboo. This is because the Axis Koa and Bamboo have spray on grip tape which does not function as well.
Arbor Genesis
Click here for additional reviews and photos of the Arbor Genesis!
One of the premier Arbor longboards, the Arbor Genesis(full review here) is mostly compared to the Loaded Dervish Sama, which I also reviewed. Both boards have the same general shape but the Arbor Genesis is around $100 cheaper. For people who don’t want to spend $300 on a longboard the Genesis is a good alternative.
This longboard is mainly a freestyle board which is made out of 8 ply maple and measures 44 inches long. It comes with reverse king pin 50 degree Caliber trucks which give the board a strong carving capability.
Although I don’t think it’s quite fair to compare to the Loaded Dervish Sama given the price difference, I must note a couple of things about this Arbor longboard. The Genesis does not have as much flex to the board and it is not as light as the Sama. If these two things are deal breakers then go with the Sama.
Arbor Mindstate Longboard
Click here for additional reviews and photos of the Arbor Mindstate!
The best way to describe this board is to take a classic pintail, add drop through mounts, and chisel out wheel wells from the nose to allow for sharper turns. That will give you the Arbor Mindstate. It measures 37” long with a width 12” to provide plenty of space on the deck for your feet.
With it’s unique design, it allows the best characteristics of a pintail and a drop through board to shine through without compromise. Essentially the Arbor Mindstate provides a “surfy, curvy ride of a compact pintail shape with the stability and comfort of a drop-through deck”.
This longboard also features reverse king pin Caliber trucks and Summit 71mm 78A wheels. The combination of the two components creates a smooth and responsive ride underneath your feet.
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