Right now, you can get an Impala Ethereal Carbon Fiber skate deck for $45 from here on Amazon. With this including grip tape and being less than $50 it is a crazy good deal for a carbon deck.
I’ve been on a quest to skate the strongest skateboard decks available and compare all of them. With this being a carbon deck that’s around $20 less than a normal traditional deck, I had to give it a try.
So How Well Does the Impact Ethereal Deck Skate?
This deck was ok. It didn’t blow me away, and it wasn’t as I was expecting with it having carbon in its product title. Ultimately, it had a decent shape and offered a great value for its price.
Durability and Construction
It’s made by Dwindle, so it feels very similar to a Blind, Enjoi, or an Almost skate deck that you might have skated a few years back. The Impala deck felt like Dwindle’s Resin-7 tech, so it was a pinch stiffer than a traditional deck, but that’s all I really noticed.
I actually skated it never fully convinced it had carbon fiber in it because I kept seeing it would get pressure cracks, and even heard it crack once.
The Impala website claims it is a “hollowed out deck, with a carbon fiber-wrapped foam core. The result: lighter, more pop & longer lasting than a standard deck.”
To me that sounded like the old Almost Uber Light technology but at a greatly discounted price. But to me it felt more like a plain old R7 Dwindle deck with 7-plys of canadian maple and resin used to glue it all together.
The first thing I noticed when I skated this board was that it got a lot of pressure cracks quickly. It felt as if the wood itself had either been sitting in a warehouse for years, or it simply doesn’t have the level of carbon fiber I was expecting. Compared to a VX deck or an Impact-light deck, it just felt like a regular skate deck to my feet. It lacked the stiffness you’d usually find in carbon fiber construction skate deck.
Shape and Performance
The shape of the deck itself felt great. It has a lot of concave—I might even prefer a little bit less—but it worked well. The only reason I eventually traded it out is that it started to feel a little “soggy” due to all those pressure cracks.
However, there was one moment that changed my perspective. I did a 50/50 front shove and accidentally landed directly on my tail. I heard the board snap, but it still felt strong. Because of that, I do believe there is some sort of carbon fiber in this deck. It just doesn’t have the configuration I expected. The carbon fiber is likely in a hollowed-out section in the center of the board, meaning you could probably still break the tail if you landed heavy on it.
Pros
- Very Cheap Carbon Reinforced Skate Deck: At $45 shipped, this is a very cheap carbon deck..
- Design: Features a great shape and solid concave.
- Longevity: Lasts 10% longer than a standard maple skate deck.
Cons
- Performance: Not as strong or stiff and responsive as a VX or Flight Deck.
- Loss of Pop: Gets pressure cracks that erode its level of pop over time.
- Graphics: The graphics are a bit girly. Impala is a women-focused brand.
Value and Longevity for How it Compares to the Other Carbon Decks
Despite the snapping sounds I heard while skating, the Impala Ethereal deck held up quite well. While it won’t last you as long as a Powell Flight Deck or Santa Cruz VX deck, it will last you longer than a standard 7-ply maples deck. I estimate around 10% longer with you ultimately trading this one out due to it either getting a soggy feeling pop or its razor tail.
With that being said, both the VX and Flight deck get razor tail too, so you can get a carbon reinforced deck shipped with griptape at 40% of the price of getting one of those shipped to you (the average base model Flight or VX deck costs $112 to ship to you at the moment.)
Do any Strong Decks Not Get Razor Tail?
Yes, the Impact XPU deck has a urethane bumper that lines the perimiter of the deck. This prevented it from getting razor tail as quickly as the other decks mentioned above. It ultimately was the deck that lasted the longest in the Strong deck category. It just comes at a steep $145 pricetag to have shipped to the US. (So the Impala deck is around 31% of the price to ship to you.)
Impala Carbon Skate Deck Rating
Overall Rating of Blind Skateboard Decks
Overall Rating
| Considerations | Rating Out 5 |
|---|---|
| Strength of Skate Deck | 4.1 |
| Wood Quality (Chips / Splinters / Breaks) | 4.2 |
| Pop | 4.5 |
| Shape & Feel of the Deck | 4.8 |
| Overall Quality | 4.4 |
| Rating Score | 4.4 |
Editor’s Rating: 
4.4 out of 5 stars for the Impala Ethereal Carbon Fiber Skateboard Deck.
Final Verdict
In summary, the main difference with the Impala Carbon Ethereal Deck is that it doesn’t have that same “snappy” carbon fiber feel you might expect from a Flight or VX deck. While it contains carbon fiber, it doesn’t feel as stiff, poppy, or strong as other options given the pressure cracks I got on day one.
That said, for a $45 skate deck, this deck skated well and had a great shape. For less than the cost of a standard 7-ply deck, you get a reinforced board that will last you a really long time.
Steve Weber is the passionate snowboarder, skateboarder, and author behind Board of the World. He understands that most gear reviews focus on having the perfect snow conditions, but his testing methodology is different. Living in Pennsylvania, Steve describes exactly how a board performs when the conditions aren’t perfect. His reviews cover performance on ice, hardpack, and flat-out brick conditions. In other words, he reviews boards for the conditions that East Coast riders actually face.
Bringing 27 years of East Coast snowboarding and 21 years of skateboarding experience, Steve is a 42-year-old intermediate park rider. His recommendations are informed by decades of battling icy conditions, ensuring every review accounts for the board’s performance on the roughest of terrain.
For the last five years, Steve has poured his passion into writing in-depth, unbiased reviews that help riders make informed decisions about the gear they’ll use. He also works part-time at a snowboard shop in Northeastern Pennsylvania, which gives him a direct line to learning about the new gear tech months in advance. When he’s not writing reviews, Steve is often found riding at Montage Mountain and testing out new boards.
Steve’s goal with Board of the World is simple: to help every reader find the right gear so they can have fun outside from the first time they use it.