Rain Skates: Tsunamis and Yellow Jackets wheels

There was a time when a new set of wheels had a certain aura about them. It might have something to do with the fact that there used to be a wider variety of styles and colors available. For the most part, wheels have continued to go the route of the popsicle stick, becoming more and more indistinguishable from each other, save for graphics.

Rain Skates is small company from Alaska of all places, that aims to change this. What they have done is updated an older style wheel with new technology. Rain Skates wheels are cored, which is supposed to be better for keeping your speed. They also have a centered bearing and reduced “runout” which means you get a truer spinning wheel. The size and width are taller and wider than a lot of current designs, giving the wheel a blocky feeling that is reminiscent of earlier times. These wheels have the same sort of quality about them that makes you want to hold them and inspect them, from different angles and not just shove some bearings in and forget about them.

Admittedly, the “aura” of a wheel is not a very tangible benefit. Fortunately these wheels are performers. When they were developed a few years ago, there wasn’t a lot of mid durometer or wide format wheels available,. Tsunamis are 65mm tall 42mm wide with a contact patch between between 7/8″ and 15/16″ wide. The orange Tsunamis are 85a durometer were the first ones made. They are pretty soft without being too mushy. You can roll over damn near anything without being super slow for everyday use, provided your everyday terrain is ditches, banks, asphalt, etc. and not the local ledge at the skatepark. These aren’t what 90% of skaters would call “street” wheels. The orange Tsunamis tend to have some bubbles on the back faces, but have held up well over extended use. The great thing about them is that although they are tall and wider, they aren’t super clunky like a lot of longboard wheels, so you can use them on the larger end of the scale of the more conventional sized decks, and they’ll still feel at home on an eBay style setup.

Also in the Tsunami lineup are the green ones that have the same size at a durometer of 95a for smoother concrete. With the success of Tsunamis, Rainskates added the Yellow Jacket, which is a 62mm tall 40mm, wheel with a 7/8″ contact patch and 98a durometer. Yellow Jackets have a similar profile to the Tsunamis. I have been riding these wheels exclusively for the summer months and couldn’t be happier. I have given them ample opportunity to flat spot but they remain round and fast after repeated slides. Yellow Jackets have proven to be hard but with enough grip to control when and where you want to slide on concrete. Previously I was riding Sacrifice’s Killer Cuts which are a fine wheel but I never quite got used to them because they have more of a square profile that is not to my personal tastes.

If you like the profile and shape of these wheels, the performance will make the package complete. It’s common knowledge that a colored wheel will always be slower than an un-dyed or un-pigmented wheel, but come on, who are you Danny Way? If you’re not jumping something absurd, your skate life could probably use some color. Rainskates wheels often get noticed, so you’d better get used to periodic inquiries from other skaters if you deicide to try them out. You can buy directly from the Rainskates web site, if you can’t find them at your local shop, which you probably won’t. The ordering process isn’t seemless, but you will be satisfied when they show up at your doorstep, especially after you ride them. Plus, the company is based in Alaska for crying out loud. How cool is that?

Online Action: rainskates.com