Product Reviews

Hip Zip
I have my share of goodies and electronic knickknacks, so when I saw that Iomega released their personal mp3 player the HipZip, I had to check it out. Most mp3 players use flash memory to store the music, but since Iomega practically invented removable media with the Bernoulli drive in the early nineties, it is no surprise that the HipZip uses removable ultra-mini disks. The HipZip was cake to set up. With stopwatch in hand I tore the box open and busted out the goods. Eight minutes and thirty-one seconds I was rockin’ to the Clash. That is when I ran into the first disappointment. Because I encoded all my CD’s with a high bitrate (160 kbps) to maintain sound quality, I was unable to get too many songs on the 40mb disk because I just ran out of space. Good thing the bad boy comes with two mini-zips.
The unit comes with a serviceable mp3 program allowing you to organize your music and compile play lists. Although it has a friendly user interface, it really lacks the power that you might expect from a full-featured program like SoundJam or WinAmp. Still, you can’t bitch about the price. The purpleish case has a belt hook so the HipZip hangs out on your self pretty damn good. Although I haven’t taken it out skating yet, it is clear that if you want it to stay put during a session, you may want to whip out the duct tape. No Big.
Once you replace the cheapo earphones with some earbuds, the HipZip is pretty damn cool. The biggest advantage to the HipZip is that you can save as many songs as you have mini-zips. The only thing that I would add is a tuner so that when I run thru the songs on the disk you can finish the session. Other than that, the HipZip kicks ass.-ST

Lucky Titanium Bearings
Last year I did a review on www.heckler.com, comparing Powell Swiss bearings, Lucky ABEC 7 bearings and Halos ABEC 7 bearing. I not only skate for fun, but I also commute two miles one-way to work on my skate fairly often, so I really appreciate a faster bearing. I ended up liking the Lucky 7's the best for several reasons; they were just about as fast as any of the three, easier to clean than the Halos, and cheaper than the Bones. Any bearing's gonna get dirty and slow down and eventually die. But, if you clean 'em they'll last quite a while. I've had great luck with Lucky 7's, so I was hella' curious when I saw the ads for their new Titanium Bearing claiming it to be the fastest, lightest, strongest, smoothest, etc. I threw these babies in the minute I got 'em, did a few mini-ramp and quarter pipe sessions as well as a weeks worth of skate commuting. You know what? They're right. I think these are the fastest bearings I've ever ridden and they're smooth as shit too. I haven't had to clean them yet, but they're built the same as the Lucky 7s-open on one side for cleaning, so I'm not expecting any problems there. These don't have any ABEC rating, so I'm guessing that they're skate specific bearings like the Bones bearings. Whatever, they're fast as fuck and I'm digging 'em. I'm not sure of the price, but as long as they're in the same range as the Powells and ABEC 7s, I'd recommend them. Look for an updated wear review on Heckler.com in a few months. -JB

Brigade Skateboard
I skated this deck for about a week and I was very pleased with the shape and the boards durability. This deck futures Brigade’s Magnum Concave, which was a little shallow for my taste, but it was a comfortable ride. This board felt really thin but it held its pop for quite a while. The boards shape was very smooth and rounded, made with quality wood. Although the board was very flexible, it was surprisingly durable. There were not that many set backs to this board, except, I was hoping for more concave and pop.
That tail was a little bit too small but the nose made up for it. Overall the board was a really nice ride. If you like mellow concave, light and durable deck, I would recommend Brigade decks. I might consider riding more of these decks in the near future.-ZR