Pantheon Seed Summit Series
Downhill Slalom Skateboard
We have updated the original Seed design to an all new mold in addition to our new Summit Series carbon fiber construction. What’s new with the V2 Seed, you ask? EVERYTHING! Read on…
The Seed is designed for high speed pumping in HS or GS slalom, and for grip ‘n rip downhill, whether that is in garages, at Maryhill, or any downhill skating in Colorado, because well, that’s just what the boys are doing here. And it seems the rest of the world is catching on, too!
What Changed on the Seed Summit Series
After a year+ of team and others riding the original Seed, we can say that we finally had enough experience to formulate some some opinions about what we liked vs what we felt like we could improve upon. And what to actually do about it!
First thing you’ll notice is the spoon nose. The Seed has a tapered, surf-style nose. This is not only aesthetically appealing, but it also feeds your foot into a proper downhill stance. An angled front foot helps open up the hips and puts less strain on your joints, allowing you to put your body into a more aerodynamic tuck, more ergonomically. This open stance favors the heel-side of the deck, and will naturally put your front foot a little more heel-side on the board. To compensate leverage for this, because slalom decks are so front truck dominant, we spoon the nose to increase leverage at the toe side of the deck near the front. Balancing the toe and heel-side of the board improves control, and an added side benefit of greater wheel clearance is also achieved as well as allowing opportunity for cleaner looking lines, benefitting the aesthetic appeal.
Next, you’ll notice that we moved the tail forward quite significantly. What we are aiming to do here is set the rider up to plant the ball of the foot right at the base of the tail crease, just like you’re putting a foam wedge on the deck. If you still feel inclined to put a wedge on it, do it! But our goal is to make a perfect skate deck right out of the box. We expect riders will adjust the front truck placement according to their stance, based on the rear foot sitting right in that position. Additional rear mounting options help refine the wheelbase and offer further freedom for adjusting your rear foot’s leverage over the trucks. The new wedge makes the Seed feel much more like a classic slalom deck!
Finally, we added a wood bend that you likely have never seen before. We certainly haven’t! And the stoke is real on this feature. There is a W bubble leading into the tail that peaks right at the base of the tail crease. What this does it is automatically aligns your rear foot so that you don’t have to look down, and it places the ball of your foot in a gentle, 3-sided pocket between the rail, the tail wedge, and the W concave. You’ve got all the leverage in the world in this position, and the W concave vanishes into the tail as the wedge lifts up, just like it was never there. You won’t feel the W on your heel, but it is right on the inside of the ball of your foot where you need it. Riders will notice little to zero shifting between heel and toeside turns and slides with this feature, and it is subtle enough to still feel very ready to take on cones!
Summit Series Construction
In order to produce the lightest and most durable possible construction, we decided to take the construction of the Seed to the next level–our Summit Series construction. The core of the board is made from poplar, a very lightweight and fast growing wood that is purchased locally and then glued up and made into core blocks. We then take the core blocks and machine them very precisely, so that, after the wood is glued up and bent into shape, all of the features of the board, including wheel wells, flush mounts, and urethane bumpers, fall into the exact right place. Carbon fiber is pressed with the core in a compression mold all at once, creating an extremely solid bond with a smooth carbon finish on a deck that is unable to warp and handle your abuse like a champ. Purple urethane bumpers cover the nose and tail to help guard your deck from impact damage, an embedded Pantheon Logo is pressed into the board under epoxy, and the deck is finalized with an auto-level poly spray finish. The end result is nothing short of rideable art.
Setup Guide
This board should really only be purchased by someone who is willing to set it up properly. It is definitely a specialty design and needs to be coupled with a specialty setup, with trucks likely somewhere in the 110-130mm range and wheels to match the trucks which will set the outer lip near the max width of the deck, which is 9.4 inches. I set mine up with 115-125mm Valkyrie DH Slalom trucks and Venom Magnums. Randal 125mm will work for a lower cost cast truck, but you should find yourself one of those old-school 35 degree baseplates and dewedge the back a bit. A lot of people are setting this up with Rogue Downhill Slalom or DontTrip Slalocybin trucks as well. All are great choices and none really leave anything to be desired.
Note: A 7 degree dewedged Khiro wedge plus a 1/4″ riser off the tail will essentially bring this board to flat. OR you can run your dewedge with no additional riser for a slightly more rockered feel, which is pretty cool!
One more thing of note is that we moved the wheel wells, and the rear has a lot more clearance than it did before. It is plenty stiff enough for those who are ready for the slalom downhill experience! Made in Boulder, Colorado!
Specs:
Length – 32.5″
Width – 9.375″
Wheelbase – 20.25-22.75″
Tail Angle – 7.5 degrees