In our first reader review, Walker Rice brings us his review of the Ground Industries AK 103.

The AK 103 was and is the only mountainboard I ever had, and I have ridden two other mountainboards elsewhere, both MBS, but I still prefer my AK 103. The AK 103 has a relatively stiff wooden deck, compared to the other MBS boards, but it helps when you are pulling off that one trick that you have been trying to pull off for a long time. The breakdown of the boards is basically the deck, the bindings, the bearings, the trucks and torsion cubes, and the wheels.

The deck, as I have stated earlier, is wood. It can be on the heavier side, but it is still lighter than some older boards I have ridden. The board has enough flex to pop right off the ground, or a ramp, I have reached about four feet of air off of a one foot ramp, which is exactly four more feet than I can do on an MBS board. The board also features a cool design featuring a water tower in a desert-like scene. I am in favor of the deck design.

The bindings were not a strong point, I could never seem to get my feet all the way in the bindings, but once I started going, it felt fine. The real problems were the workmanship, because within the first two weeks, the stitching that held the bindings together fell apart and were un-rideable. The good news was that the bindings were still under warranty, so the replacements were on my doorstep within the week!

The saga of the poorly made bindings continued, though. I received the same pair of bindings, and all was fine for a short period of time, then I pulled a hard turn, and the metal ring that held the bindings together just snapped. I used the rings from the old pair, but they soon broke from the same problem. I am ordering a new pair of the Talon II bindings, which I hope will last better.

I was satisfied with the wheels and trucks, though, the bearing will let the wheels spin for what seems like hours, and the ride is super smooth. The bindings also stay pretty clean, so they won’t need to be cleaned or be lubricated on any sort of basis. The wheels and tires have a great grip and are very light. The wheels are pretty hard to do wrong, but the GI AK 103 doesn’t even have to worry about that in this category.

All in all, I was pleased with the AK 103, even though the bindings were sub-par, I have confidence that the Talon IIs will be better. The board is great for beginners, much like I was, all the way up to intermediate, like I am now. The board will handle jumps and carves great, but will stay stable for beginners just starting to learn how to board. I would recommend this board to beginners, and intermediate riders willing to spend a little money to add better bindings.