Deshi skates are one of the newest brands of skate
to come out on the market, and revolve around the idea of building
your dream set-up from your boot only. Thought up by Louie Zamora
(whose pro model skate is seen above) and Randy Spizer, the Deshi
pro team also includes Colin Kelso and Ian McLeod (whose pro model
is seen at the bottom with his pro Kizer frame)
Deshi are one of the lightest skates on the market
but that is not helped by the fact that the soleplates weigh about
ten stone each (slight exaggeration here). In fact, there has been
such a demand for USD sole kits on Deshis that they decided to release
them in the form of the DKII (see left).
With these sole kits on they weigh literally half the weight of the
K2 Eric Schrinns skates
The only weak point of these skates (in my opinion) is the Velcro
straps. In time, these become worn and many a time I have had to stop
a run because my straps have come undone.
The new Deshi DKII also has a toe pad to stop impact on the toe (unlike
the old Deshi DKI, whose sole kit covered the toe).
To sum up:
- If you like a VERY light skate, you should seriously consider skating
Deshi.
- If you like to build your skate from the boot up, then you should
also seriously consider skating Deshi.
- DO NOT buy Deshi if you hate Velcro straps.
- If you like good, durable skates at fair prices definitely give
Deshi a look.
Thanks to Harry Pope for this review.
If you have any pieces of kit that you swear by, email
us with a review (airtight@bbc.co.uk)and
we'll put it live.
