Are the NEW POWELL DRAGON WHEELS GOOD or just HYPE???? 

Changed my life as an NYC skater. Bought em last week. I'll never ride anything else ever again.

last video claims no reviews of dragon wheels, then boom 24 minutes of review, this is the content I'm here for

When I see Ben drop a new video .... I watch it , because I appreciate an honest review . Thanks again brother . Peace and blessings !

They’re pretty rad. It’s nice to be able to skate to a spot and then skate the ledge at that spot with the same set up.

might be weird but im in a wheel review crave right now so i just got done re-watching the old spitfire vs. bones video you made. thanks for reading my mind lmao.

The wheels that broke the internet 😂 This is the most I've ever thought or heard about skate wheels in 30 years of skating

I dont think I've ever seen a wheel as hyped as these in the nearly 20 years I've been skating (on & off lol).

THE review we've all been waiting for and the ONLY review you need to watch about these wheels. Thanks for being so comprehensive.

thank you for sharing your perspective on these, Ben! i am sending you those healing vibes for your knee and achilles. I was thinking these would be nice for my local curb spot but even the asphalt there is pretty damn smooth already so i think ill stick to my 99a spitfires for now. Like you mentioned i think they would only benefit me on the really crusty parts where i ride over on the way to or from the spot but its a pretty smooth ride all the way there. have a blessed day ben peace love and infinite blessings to you bro.

great review! feel like ive learned a lot about them from this vid that a lot of the other vids don't show. I live in SF and bomb hills and have wanted a wheel like this for a long time (slideable, handle the crust, and if the slide is as they say should be confidence inspiring and let me slide from even faster speeds then i am comfortable with even with f4s). From some videos from Powell's downhill riders on instagram it seems like they slide easy for days, but we shall see...(hard to accurately guage because those guys can easily slide a 78a, I cannot hahaha). Curious how they will wear tho; for reference I usually run through a 58-60mm formula four down to 50mm in 1.5-2 months from slides. Ordered the 56mm and they should come today. Super hyped! Update: these wheels are cracked they slide like a 99 F4 on steroids. Was gassing it and literally hit a 12 foot slide to a stop

Thanks for the review Ben, I am an older skater always looking for an advantage in my gear to compensate for age, everything is fairly crusty near me and I wanted a compromise wheel that could run the crust but didn't need changing for the smooth indoor skate parks. Ended up with the OJ Nomads and they are ok, don't run too smooth over rough ground but defo better and I find them fine but not great for smooth park riding. These wheels seem like a better compromise for my needs. Always enjoy your content brother.

Observe the master at work!! I know you said you were done with reviews, but thanks for coming out of retirement. This was one of the most helpful reviews you’ve ever done. All of the old buddies thank you for your service.

Skate dad back at it again with a review! Very in depth, and your video really got me scratching my head on trying them out.

oh yeah! I’m reading and looking at dragon wheel videos and just minutes later a new Ben video drops talking about it… good universe alignment 😎

I don't get why you don't have much more subscribers. Thanks so much for all your videos. You're the first I found who really tested the dragons. Just respect for you, greetings from Europe

I got a pair of 95 nomads that work pretty well on rough stuff , you have definitely sparked my interest in the Dragon’s. Thanks and hope your Achilles gets better soon

Yay Thanks Ben ! I think everyone was waiting for this after we saw the nine club vid 🤘🏻❤️. Much Love from South Africa 🇿🇦❤️🤘🏻🛹

Roger from the nine club said the smoother vibration felt better on his joints and he could skate longer. There must be some truth in that as the same can be said for good quality insoles. I am interested to try anything new. I like to feel and play around with the differences in my gear. Based on your (excellent) review, I will stick to my spitfires on my daily ride as most of my spots are smooth. However, I would set some of these up on a second board as this would open up more spots for me. Variety is the spice of life!!!

Thanks for getting on the dragons! So glad you threw in the comparison to 97a spitfires. Did you do any other vids talking about those? FYI they can be had in a classic shape too, only other shape besides conical full currently. The madness is real! If nothing else we have some awesome options for different spots. Stoked to experience the differences myself. Hype levels at maximum!

Nice! Great video! I ordered mine yesterday. I mainly casually skate 56mm Ricta cruiser wheels, but would like to power slide and skate asphalt parks a bit more. I tried some other 94A wheels but they’re weirdly slow. Looking forward to trying these! I have never gotten used to skating hard wheels, so this seems like exactly what I’ve been looking for.

I am late to the party but I'm glad you did a review cause as a 43 year old skater I can relate to a lot of your points and my body can't take the abuse of long ago. I am from Massachusetts and a lot of places outside of parks is really gnarly and the constant vibrations is killer on my knees. I believe like you said will solve my problems hitting street spots. Ride on my dude.

Hope your Achilles feels better soon dude 🙏 appreciate the review, I been looking at these.

Great stuff. I love how you cant resist reviewing things lol. Ben, whether you like it or not, you ARE the ultimate human skateboard-gear-reviewing machine, the chosen one !!! 🙏💪

Luv this vid. Wanted it to keep going. Great work here

Thanks for doing the review on these. The hype was real for your review! 😁

Yes!! Just put these on my board today and lo and behold a Ben video on them. Fucking rad Edit: alright so just finished your video. As always man your review was on point. I skated with them today at my local park and the asphalt in the parking lot is fucking awful but the park is super smooth. From the parking lot to the park itself, absolute game changer and I can tell why anyone skating street with shitty asphalt is preaching about these. At the park, they were about 90% as slippery as my 99a formula 4s. I actually slid a little better on my noseslides I felt like then I do with my spitfires, but I could have just been having a good day. For grinds in general they felt fine. They did feel a little slower than my 99a’s, and they’re eerily silent which takes some getting used to. But they powerslide and revert great. All around a really great wheel and I’m going to take some time to get used to them and compare them more with my 99a spitfires before I settle on which I prefer. Thanks for the review man, love your channel!

So glad you made the review, Thanks Ben.

great honest review..on the lookout for these wheels.

Got them as the first wheels back after 15 year hiatus. After about a month of the nice bouncing ride, I switched to Spits 99a because I missed the sounds of 'real' street wheels and flatground was too smooshy feeling on the dragons. The first snap off Spits immediately felt like coming home and I love the high pitched power slide scream! I'm spoiled with smooth AF terrain where I skate though. Ben, thank you for another great video. Also nice tennis court set-up!

Glad to see you post more frequently on this channel Ben!

i mostly skate a crusty old diy park so i think im gonna try a set, thanks for an honest review as always Ben

Thank you for doing a review of the wheels I'm trying to decide between at my home skatepark! Damn, does this make it easy for me!! 👍😜

These wheels are DIFFERENT! My buddy and i were hyped when they arrived at the skateshop when we were working, threw em on and they were amazing, grinds like crooks didnt pinch awkwardly like softer wheels tend to on a dry ledge, slid really well on grippy ground, and powerslid down hills with control i didnt know i had. So used to spitfires just abruptly gripping during a powerslide

Quick update after I finally rode them: fucking yes, they are insane! at first I was a bit disappointed they are not quite as quiet on the street, as my actual cruiser wheels. but it still is a very big difference between them and any hard wheel around 99A and harder. secondly the vibrations are very minimal, these dragons are smooooooth! and most importantly: the slide. oh my god the slide ... its crazy! they slide so easily and especially on rough ground, I actually slipped out 2 times, cause I wasnt ready for it! so definetely, as Ben said, get used to them before you shred. holy moly, finally I can cruise around town, slide whenever I want to and skate rough spots. for cruisng long distances I will still go back to my cruiser setup, but these are the actual perfect hybrids! where the nomads disappointed me to no end, these actually keep their promise! so in short, the 60€ I spent on them I do not regret at all. finally able to skate that crusty af parking lot, with wheels that actually slide, and my feet do not hurt at all.

Love all the new videos! Keep it up

Love the review. Let's stay on the Powell train and see a Mini-logo truck review next!

Always the voice of reason, great review Ben. I wasn’t going to rush out and buy these but I know plenty of people that might. As I only skate smooth concrete parks, these would be pointless. I will stick to my tried and tested Speed Lab’s (as good as Formula Fours in my opinion). Maybe one day you could do a review on them, I think their 97a’s and 99a’s are excellent wheels.

Im so happy bro is reviewing this one, i was waitin on this one

Good sliding soft wheels have been existing for a long time, this is just a new addition to them. The slide-ability is more in the formula, not the hardness (for example, I found the Bones SPFs to be really sticky and they are 84B). However, this review is awesome and rational as always and everything you've said is true for all slide-able soft wheels out there (where and how can you benefit the most from using them, etc). Thanks for the quality content Ben!

great review can't wait to skate my set

Was curious, questions answered. Appreciate it Ben hope the Achilles is doing well.

Finally got some Dragon Wheels. I love that I can now skate along the rough streets to the concrete skatepark before skating the park. I'm only a bit disappointed that they started getting splits in them on day one.

The wheels are great. The more you break them in the better they work at the park but these work best in the street.

The review we've all been waiting for. Love it Ben, thanks.

I am on the OJ nomads (95a) for a year and a half now and these have been a game changer already for me as I skate mainly rough street spots. I have bought some spare nomads but then those wheels came out. I’ve ordered a set and I hope to have the same feeling on the streets, just a tiny bit slickier. OJ Nomads can really powerslide and grip when you want them too. I just want to see if I can have a little more fun with the slide-ability of the wheels when power sliding or grinding/sliding stuff. OJ Nomads are perfect for me "form wise" as they are square but thin and insanely light ! We'll see !

I was thinking when you were gonna drop this review props to Ben 🙏🙏🙏

Thanks for doing this, keep healing up!

Nice skating , hope your injury gets better soon . Different location is good every now and then , i enjoyed it .

I bought them for my indoor bowl. Fairly new to bowl skating. My bowl is indoor and surfaced with gator skins. When the ramp gets dusty my Spitfires would slide out a lot sometimes unexpectedly. The dragons give me a very very confident ride which consequently makes them faster. Because they feel so good and I’m way more confident on them. Perfect pair for my 19 Indy’s on a 8.5. I’m carving waaaaaay better. Not a single tick tac turn. All wheels down and fat carves in n out of the pockets. I like the way they bonk off coping also.

All the wheel brands are sick! I love my Bones SPF, Spitfire Formula Four 99as, Ricta Clouds, and my OJ Bloodsuckers! I go between three different setups depending on what I feel like skating lol

Just grabbed a set of the 56mm’s! So excited to try them out!

I’m super stoked to get these in, I skate a bunch of ditches in my area but man the vibration kills my knee and back. I’m hoping these make the ditches more enjoyable

In time for the real review🙌🏼 thank you Ben👊🏼

This wheels must be perfect for the place I live in (Riga). Street is rough while all skateparks are concrete.. so I guess it should be perfect! Thanks for the review, Ben.

They don't just slide better than soft wheels normally do, and they don't just slide better on rough ground than they do on smooth ground- they cess slide better on that rough ground better than any wheel I've ever ridden, including the hardest wheel on the smoothest ground.

I skated them at a smooth park and then I skated formula fours 99a at the same park. I had a lot of the same experiences…but also as a /oldskaters member, I may have noticed that my knees and back may have felt slightly less roughed up after the Dragons sesh. But the FF’s are def way more satisfying to do boardslides on the ground, slide on the ramps, and slide on coping.

was waiting for Ben to review these, nice!

Hell yeah! The one person I wanted to hear talk about these wheels.

I started on Power Paws and Road Rider 4's, so things have changed a lot in the last 48 years. The best wheels I've ever ridden on vert were (97A) Kanoa Rollouts, (88A) Street Cubes on the, well, street and your average skatepark. I'm on (90A) RatBones now, but these intrigue me. I'm in my 60's, but still have some skating in me. Thanks for the "deep dive" review

Admittedly I need to catch up on your vids Ben, but I'm glad your finding the time for this channel again!! ,you've always inspired me to try everything out there , been a f4 guy for years now I'm loving my oj elite easy's the slide is so fun but scary on real creamy concrete

Great review Ben, I think there were just a couple things that would help make a direct comparison with your 97A wheels is grabbing the V6 shape which has a wider contact patch or comparing. I have the Spitfire 56mm 97A as well as the Powell Dragons 56mm V6 shape which are pretty similar width wise. The biggest difference I notice with both these wheels is riding bigger transition. My Spitfires would feel a bit soft once I hit a certain speed while my Dragons did the opposite going from soft to hard as I would gain more speed and get up higher in the transition. I definitely would like to see a follow up review as you break in these wheel comparing them directly to your Formula Four Classics 99A and 101A as Powell has been doing a lot of their marketing mentioning both durometers they are most similar to.

So stoked to watch this review. Txh Ben!

Mini logo 90a A cuts are a good cheap wheel that slides decently and are good on the wallet. I've been skating them almost a year now and still going strong. Same for the bearings. Mini logo has been around for a long time and if I remember right is a sister company of powell.

I just tested mine. I have two pair, the classic shape dragons and I have the conical shape dragons. First I will describe the classic shape dragons 54mm. What I previously have been riding are the spitfire 97A classic shape 54mm for my comparison. I skated three different surfaces from smooth to rough, then actually crusty. I did power slides, reverts, and very fast pushing to see how they hold my speed for street skating. On a scale from 1 to 10, the spitfire 97A felt about a 1-2 point difference from the Dragons in 4 different ways. It felt a 2 point out of 10 difference in speed. the Spitfire 97A classic shape was faster than the classic shape dragon. It felt one point difference in vibrations, the dragons translating less vibrations, but just by one point. The slide ability of the dragons in classic shape was about 2 points less slick than the spitfire 97A classic shape. And lastly the sound was about 1 point louder for the spitfires vs the quieter dragons. Now I will describe the conical shaped dragons in 56mm. The 56mm dragons were about 2 points different in speed from the spitfire classics 97A. The spitfires were faster = less need for pushing. Slide Ability felt 1 point less slippery compared to the spitfires. Vibrations were about 2 points softer on the dragons vs the spitfires. And lastly, the sound was even less at 2 points quieter for the dragons vs the louder spitfires while riding, HOWEVER they were louder when sliding about 3 points vs the spitfires. Over all, this was on a scale from 1 - 10 and so these differences were small. The best thing I could do from here is to get the spitfire 97A in conical shape to see who the true all terrain winner is. Since the spitfire 97A classic did so well against both the dragons (only a 1-2 point difference in softness feel), I am going to assume the spitfire 97A conical will make up for the vibrations difference and retain the speed.

Thanks ben doing an informative review

I mainly skate my mini ramp in my backyard but have been looking for a wheel that is both great on that and slides ledges well. I liked the F4 97a classics but I think ill try these next. Currently on the OG classic 99as and there great on the ramp but i dont like the way they crook a ledge.

While waiting for these wheels to be released ive bought 2 sets, 1 being the OJ 95a nomads. These wheels are amazing, im surprised theres not more hype around them as theyre softer but slide great. Im hoping theyll come with a 78a that slides for old folks like myself but great video Ben, thanks for the review!

Was waiting for this one!

In the early 2000’s Powell made 92a Bowl Bombers that were my favorite wheel. Based on this review it’s the same wheel so I’ll be ordering some asap!

This is the type of review I like and I want this type of review for the clothes you review.

crazy detailed. thank you

Thanks for providing a legitimate review. I just tried them today (V5 93a 56mm) and was not happy with the slide. Great comparison with the 97a F4. I would be interested to see you compare the OJ Elite Nomad 95a wheels

Excellent fair review. I wanted to see somebody other than Roger and Andy talk about them

love that the original ledge u made at the park is still going strong!

I got the oj nomads 95a a while ago and they are really similar but seam to stick on slides a bit so I think I'm getting these dragon wheels. And roger braag loves them too.

I know you said you weren't going to review these on the last video, and I almost commented something about them anyway... lol. I was really going to just say "they really are that good". It's reassuring to hear that you seem to like them, since I'm loving them. My local park has terrible ground, so they fit the bill.

I’m not gonna try these but you did influence me to buy the Tiago pants! 😂

Thank you! needed this

How do they feel on revert-y flatground tricks? bigspins, cab 3s, that sort of thing. I alternate between 50mm F4 99a classics and Bones STF V3 99A depending on what I can grab, and skate some pretty crappy flatground spots...but due to my inadequacies on fully rotating certain tricks, I'm all about the revert-ability when looking for a good wheel. The F4s are great for this, but I've grown to quite like the bark of the STF V3s, especially on concrete.

These are for rough street not skateparks IMO. They keep speed way better than a 101 or 99a spitfire on rough ground. They slide way better than anything in that durometer range.

killer content g ur killing it braa

Would love to hear your thoughts on the OJ nomad, one of my favorite wheels right now. It’s a 95a and gives me a good mix. Might have to check out these dragons though

I’ve been a formula four guy since they came out. Was a spit classics guy for a decade before that. I just know how to control them in slides, reverts, & grip. Plus I love speed. Now that I’m a little older, I’m tempted to try these for a little more grip and smoothness. With my large size, 6’3 220lbs, I don’t know if the speed deficit would be an issue for me. I can pretty much force speed. Tempted to try. I would always recommend a smooth asphalt hill bomb session to help break in a new set of wheels.

I saw that Roger from 9Club just posted a video saying they’re the best wheel ever and he went from being able to skate a few hours for a normal to 8.5 hours. I only remember ever having one soft wheel as a kid. I remember loving it in the park but not on street so much. I had a hard wheel slide out on me carving a bowl today and it caused me a hipper. I can’t afford hippers at 40 years old.

To anyone watching this, I’ve been skating for 25 years, and I’ve NEVER had a better set of wheels. If you’re on a slight incline, you’ll gain hella speed without pushing. They’re fucking crazy lol

Thanks for giving us your thoughts on these even tho you said that you werent going to!

i have pretty rough streets and spots near me, so i was always rocking 86a rictas. now that im getting to a point where i want to learn powerslides and slappies/grinds, ive switched to the dragons and i couldnt be happier, its like best of both worlds. i can actually slide them, even though they still feel soft and nice. i usually hate hard wheels, but these are awesome!

Mine are on the way!!!!!!🔥🔥🔥

I'm pretty sure the reason they grip a little bit better than a normal spitfire classic wheel is because the inside of the wheel is actually more of a conical shape. Which is why I'm not getting these wheels. I usually flip my wheels and I don't want the rounded part on the inside cuz I like conical shape for basically anything. Also spitfire makes a wheel with that shape. They're called the lock-ins which have a classic outside but a conical inside which makes the wheel lock in better. But those wheels definitely sound like they grab more since of the softer durometer.

I absolutely love these wheels on rough street spots or rough DIY parks. Even after hill bombing and bunch of power slides, no damage on those wheels. But they stick on metal coping at skate parks and mine got chipped on a several spots after one session.

Love from Sweden and thanks!

Seen these wheels at shop 2 or 3 times but didn't know anything about them. Found out they do what I'm looking for now I can't find them anywhere

Interesting, but I will stay on my hard 99 or 101 SF F4! But you made a solide review as usual Ben!

I you haven't already, you (anybody) should try the OJ Wheels NOMADS 95a ! Quite the equivalent of what you described about the Dragons, and they were out a couple of years ago 😉

I went from Spitfire 101s @54mm to these dragons at 54mm and they're a game changer IMO. The speed thing is negligible, in the sense that I can't tell the difference, but the sound and *softness* along with the ability to slide make them my go to from now on.

While I agree with you on the sidewall chirpiness, I haven't found a smooth or rough surface that isn't made smoother and faster with this wheel. In fact rolling from rough to smooth on these wheels feels very much like actual acceleration. MMV.

Ok, now here's the review of these I've been waiting for.

Thanks for the review. I'm F4 team. My only concern is how they wear down and if they flatspot. Being "supposedly" soft wheels, how they do perform over time is a must know. Besides that they seem to fulfill their purpose, soft enough to ride rough places and hard enough to slide.

Would love to see ricta clouds review, or some softer 80a...good content!

Do you think waxing the inner wall of the wheel will help? I do it on my F4s when I'm trying long 5-0s