The latest Pranayama is reworked for longevity, flex and reliability. The board now has a 6-ply Canadian maple core, encasing either side in triaxial fiberglass. On top of that is a beautiful walnut veneer.
Normally, a veneer is used on a skateboard to add aesthetic appeal. It certainly works, as they can be beautiful! BUT, they can also be useful. Using veneer, they have optimized the use of the fiberglass, because fiberglass strength and stiffness is largely determined by the distance between the two outer layers, or core thickness. Their previous fiberglass boards like the Trip used full-thickness maple veneer on the outside, but they are now able to source veneer that was cost effective enough to make sense out of its use. This allowed Pantheon to put one extra ply in the core and take out an entire maple ply in the deck–reducing weight–without losing any stiffness! The veneer acts as a physical barrier from the outside world to the fiberglass. This allows you to worry less about beating up your board, scraping it on curbs, etc, because in a normal fiberglass construction, the exposed glass would scratch up over time, weakening the glass but also exposing the glass to your fingers. If you’ve ever had fiberglass in your fingers, you know what I’m talking about. It sucks! The benefits of glass, functionally, are there. But the cons are significant. With this method, not only are YOUR hands protected, but the wood worker is also exposed far less to fiberglass as well.
Setup Advice
The Pranayama is truly optimized on Paris 149mm trucks and your choice of any color and durometer (softness) of either the 85mm Seismic Speed Vents OR the 85mm Orangatang Caguama wheels. Paris are notoriously high TKP trucks, so if you want a lower setup, you can try a classic Independent 149mm as well, but really, we love the turn on Paris so much that if wanted it to be lower, we would just pick a slightly smaller wheels like the Orangatang 80mm Kegel or the new 80.5mm Seismic Alpha, or put a little drop through riser on the board. We do feel, though, that most will appreciate the stock height and feel of the suggested setups. It is unlikely that it can get any better, but we will pay attention to reviews and our own experiences and modify this section if necessary.
DESIGNED AROUND TRADITIONAL STREET TRUCKS ONLY! Don’t MAKE THE PANTHEON GUYS come after you for setting this up wrong!
Specs
Length: 79.7 cm / 31.375″
Width: 23.5 cm / 9.25″
Wheelbase: 66 cm / 23.5″
Construction: Fiber glass / Maple
Gripped: Yes
Drop: 1.3 inch crescent
Profile: Slight Mustache Camber/Rocker
Set-up:
Trucks: Paris Street
Wheels: 85mm Orangatang Caguamas
Bearings: Steez Abec 7
