The Pantheon Pranayama is a longboard that consistently receives high praise across various online forums, often hailed as one of the best in its class. But does it truly live up to the hype? This in-depth review will explore its features, performance, and overall value to help you decide if it’s the right board for you.
Pantheon Pranayama Specifications
Before diving into performance, let’s take a look at the key specifications of this complete longboard:
- Deck:
- Length: 31.5 inches
- Width: 9 inches
- Wheelbase: 26 inches
- Mounting: Double drop
- Construction: 6-ply maple core, triaxial fiberglass top and bottom, encased in wood veneer
- Concave Features: Double drop with crescent drops
- Max Weight (recommended): 240 lbs
- Trucks:
- Brand: Paris TKPs
- Width: 149mm
- Bushings: Stock
- Wheels:
- Brand: 88wheel co. Mc Flys
- Diameter: 86mm
- Width: 55mm
- Contact Patch: 50mm
- Durometer: 76a
- Core Position: Offset
- Core: Proprietary
- Components:
- Bearings: Built-in Pantheon bearings
- Hardware: Panhead hardware w/ washers
- Griptape: Pantheon laser cut grip
Pantheon Pranayama Deck
Interview with Pantheon Designer, Jeffrey Vyain
To gain deeper insight into the Pranayama’s design, an interview was conducted with Pantheon’s Jeffrey Vyain:
- Target Audience: The Pranayama was initially designed for riders who wanted to use TKP trucks on their Trip boards, addressing issues with wheel placement and neck flex.
- Design Goals: The primary goals were to reduce neck flex and optimize the fit for TKP trucks, maintaining the company’s core design principles of tight fits.
- TKP vs. RKP Trucks: TKP trucks were chosen for their playful feel, loose center, and control, ideal for pushing and speeds under 20-25mph. RKP trucks are better for sliding and gripping tight turns.
- Stock Setup: Jeff wouldn’t change anything about the stock setup, highlighting its simplicity and effectiveness.
- Potential Upgrades: The top veneer might be removed to reduce weight, but other changes are not currently under consideration.
- Worst Use Case: The Pranayama is not designed for downhill riding, lacking the stability and grip needed for speeds above 35mph.
- Best Use Case: It excels in urban environments with flat-ish terrain, perfect for commuting and pushing at medium to high speeds.
- Wheel Compatibility: 85mm Speed Vents and Caguamas are compatible with stock bushings. Modifications to bushings might affect wider-lipped wheels.
- Truck Recommendations: The board is specifically designed for Paris trucks. Indy 149s are a viable alternative, while Atlas and Bear TKPs are not recommended due to stability issues. Tensor Mag Lites are also suitable for lower speeds, but not for high-speed riding.
Pantheon Longboards Logo
Pantheon Pranayama Performance Review
Overall Summary
The Pantheon Pranayama stands out as an exceptional commuter board. It’s easy to push, footbrake, and tracks well in a straight line. Its stable and forgiving nature makes it suitable for all skill levels. It excels as a distance board, effortlessly covering long distances with comfort. The large wheels and deck flex provide a smooth ride over various road conditions. While not as nimble as a top-mount board, it offers sufficient turning capabilities for most situations. The complete setup is high-quality and durable, a solid long-term investment.
This board’s simplicity and natural feel are among its biggest strengths. The ride is so intuitive that you quickly forget you’re on a board, making it feel like an extension of your body. This “in-the-zone” feeling, where you don’t have to think about pushing, wheelbite, or rough patches, is a key part of what makes this board great.
Pantheon Pranayama Complete
Size and Portability
Compact Design
The Pranayama is remarkably compact, essentially the mini-cruiser within the commuter longboarding niche. It utilizes space efficiently, offering ample standing room (approximately 23.5 inches long and 9 inches wide) within its 31.5-inch length. This makes it quite portable.
Portability Notes
Its size allows it to fit in smaller spaces and carry around relatively easily. Carrying it on public transportation or storing it under a desk is manageable. However, the large wheels can sometimes feel a bit cumbersome. Still, its functionality as a commuter mini-cruiser with long-distance capabilities makes its compact size impressive.
Standing Room
The 23.5-inch platform provides sufficient space for a comfortable stance. While taller riders over 6ft might feel slightly cramped, most riders will find it perfectly comfortable.
Crescent Drops
The crescent drops function as comfortable reference points for foot placement. They do not hinder movement and contribute to the board’s comfortable and natural feel.
Pantheon Pranayama Compared to Other Boards
Deck Performance
Comfort
The Pranayama deck is comfortable, allowing a relaxed shoulder-width stance. The flex effectively absorbs road vibrations, while the double-drop platform and long wheelbase contribute to stability.
Flex
The deck has a noticeable flex, but it’s more of a cushioning flex rather than a bouncy one, enhancing comfort and stability. This helps maintain a straight path while absorbing road imperfections.
Road Vibration Absorption
Paired with large wheels, the flex provides a comfortable ride on rough roads. It’s capable of handling various terrains without causing discomfort.
Maximum Weight
The deck is rated for riders up to 240 lbs.
Ride Height
The Pranayama rides very low, about 2.5 inches off the ground without a rider. This low stance enhances pushing, footbraking, and overall stability.
Low Board Advantages
The low ride height makes pushing effortless, even uphill. You can push faster and further with less fatigue. It’s such a low-to-the-ground ride that it almost feels like walking or gliding on a magic carpet.
Bottoming Out
Due to its low height, the Pranayama can bottom out on uneven surfaces and curbs. This might scratch the graphic, but the wood veneers offer some protection to the core structure. It’s recommended to pick the board up when going down curbs to protect the graphics.
No Nose or Tail
The absence of a nose or tail simplifies truck installation, and it allows wheels to hit obstacles before the deck. This design improves the board’s lifespan, but it makes kicking the board up more challenging.
Pantheon Pranayama No Nose or Tail
Turning Capabilities
TKP Trucks
The Pranayama uses TKP trucks for its low ride and small size. It is specifically designed for TKP trucks and won’t work with other types.
Turning Dynamics
The board is not particularly nimble but has considerable turning potential. It requires a more significant input to initiate a quick turn. Once you commit to the turn and dig into it, you can achieve a surprisingly nimble and quick change of direction. While not as turny as a mini cruiser, it turns more than similar double drop boards.
One-Foot Turning
It is reactive enough to turn with one foot while pushing or footbraking, useful for commuting.
Limitations
For dodging obstacles in busy areas, the board might not be as maneuverable as desired, potentially requiring some walking. However, for a double-drop setup, it turns quite well.
Speed and Turning
The turning response improves with speed, but aggressive turns at high speeds can cause the back end to wash out.
Pumping
The Pranayama is not ideal for pumping due to the TKP trucks and double-drop platform. Bushing adjustments might improve this but it’s likely not the board’s strength.
Sliding
The board can be scrubbed fairly easily, but it’s not recommended for learning or performing slides due to the feel of the platform.
Stability
Despite its design for commuting, it’s surprisingly stable. It handles moderate downhill speeds well, and overall stability is not a concern during regular skating.
Paris TKP Trucks
The Paris TKP trucks are suitable for the board. However, there are potentially turnier options available. While the Paris trucks are a good fit, experimenting with other options, like Surf Rodz, could be interesting.
Paris TKPs on the Pantheon Pranayama
Speed and Wheels
86mm McFly Wheels
The 86mm McFlys are designed to fit the Pranayama, featuring a specific profile to prevent wheelbite. They are fast, absorb road vibrations, and are less prone to chunking.
McFly Construction
They utilize a different construction process than other wheels resulting in a low durometer and high rebound, without chunking issues often associated with softer wheels.
Mcfly Performance
They offer low rolling resistance and perform well in terms of speed and acceleration.
McFly vs. Other Wheels
In comparison to 77a Caguamas, the Mcfly’s accelerate quicker and absorb vibrations better. Compared to Kegels, they have a more balanced feel, offering both acceleration and vibration absorption, while the Kegels accelerated slightly faster but reflected more road vibrations.
Proprietary Core
The McFly wheel uses a proprietary core, different from a standard Kegel core.
Wheelbite
Kegels and Caguamas can be used without wheelbite on the stock setup.
88wheel co mcfly wheels
Bearings
Pantheon Built-in Bearings
The Pantheon bearings are excellent, notable for their built-in design and unique features.
Speed Ring Design
The speed ring is thicker than average, preventing damage to the bearing shield. This design keeps dirt out, extends bearing life, and maintains performance.
Nano-Ceramic Lube
The nano-ceramic lube polishes the bearings and keeps them lubricated for an extended time. It also eliminates any excess lubricant and ensures smooth performance out of the box.
Durability
The bearings have demonstrated excellent durability, performing well even after 300km of use, without any buildup or issues.
Complete Package
Attention to Detail
The attention to detail is significant, with each component complementing the others. However, the integrated nature of the design may limit customization options.
Value
Despite the limitations on customization, as a complete package, the Pantheon Pranayama is an excellent and worthwhile investment.
What Could Be Improved
The only notable area for potential improvement was the desire for slightly turnier trucks. Apart from this, there are no significant drawbacks, making it a nearly perfect longboard.
Final Thoughts
The Pantheon Pranayama lives up to its reputation as an excellent longboard, especially for commuting and distance riding. Its carefully selected components, combined with its compact design and comfortable ride, make it a joy to ride. If you’re looking for a high-quality, well-thought-out complete, the Pranayama is an outstanding option.
Did You Find This Review Helpful?
If you have any questions or want to share your experience with the Pantheon Pranayama, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Cheers, Abuga.
