Cuei Griptape (coarse longboard grip) review

Today’s product review is on Cuei Griptape. For the last few years, Lokton has been the go-to grip for most downhill skaters, but with the introduction of Cuei grip, Lokton might be seeing itself dethroned. Check it out below to see how it held up.

Specs

• Grit – 24 grit
• Length – 40inches
• Width – 11inches
• Backing – Plastic
• Price – $27

Cuei 24 grit griptape review

It’s easy to apply

Cuei grip is super easy to apply. It sticks easily to the deck and has no trouble with complex concave shapes. I was even able to bend it around a torque block with ease. It also folded around edges pretty easily too and I was able to bend it over the rail of my board easily.

I think this feature is thanks to the plastic backing of the grip and the good glue. The plastic backing allows the griptape to be flexible and the good glue allows it to stick to most surfaces.

Cuei grip is sharp

Cuei grip is quite sharp. I think on a scale/spectrum, it would be as sharp (or sharper) than Mob grip. Possible sharper than Vicious (I haven’t ridden Vicious in years, I can’t be 100% sure about that). It’s not as sharp as Lokton though.

Even as sharp as it is, I could comfortably shift my feet, even with brake soles on. This was nice and I really enjoyed that for freeride. However, please note that I have been skating Lokton almost exclusively for the last 2 years, so you might find Cuei grip to be stickier (Lokton feels very sticky) than what I have described, especially if you’re coming off finer grip.

The sharpness was just right for ..

It felt perfect for both freeride and downhill. The griptape was sticky enough to keep me locked in when going sideways, but still allowed me to shift my feet with ease. 

Being able to shift my feet was key for my comfort when it came to freeriding. It made heel to toe transitions smoother and easier – rather it made it easier to get into the optimal positions for either toeside or heelside slides.

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I’d say it’s good grip if you want something if you’re mainly freeriding and skating freeride wheels, but are SOMETIMES running grippier downhill wheels. I didn’t feel fully confident on it with grippier wheels (eg. Hawgs Cheetah and Venom Magnums) and would opt for Seismic Lokton if I was mainly riding those wheels. However, I think my opinion is naturally biased as I’ve been riding Lokton exclusively for the last 3 years.

Not being as sharp as Lokton isn’t a bad thing though. The grip will be a bit easier on your shoes and not wear them down as much. 

It’s durable

The sharpness does get dull a little bit, but the grip maintains its overall sharpness for a long time. It doesn’t develop any bald spots like other less durable (Vicious and Mob) grip does. 

It’s a good price

For $24, this grip is hella affordable. For griptape you’re likely going to use throughout the life of a deck, this is an excellent price.

You also don’t have to use all the grip. You can cut up the sheets and have enough to apply on 2 decks.

Cuei Grip vs Seismic Lokton at a glance

Cuei is on the left, Seismic on the right. I’m going to be using my experience with the 36grit version of Lokton to compare between them.

• Grit – 24 vs 36 (and 60)
• Length – 40inches vs 40inches (and various options)
• Width – 11inches vs 11inches 
• Backing – Plastic vs Paper
• Price – $27 vs $30 (and various options)
• Durability – Both durable as hell
• Ease of application – Cuei is easier to apply than Lokton. You can also bend Cuei around edges easier. Lokton has trouble with complex concave.
• Grip –  Lokton is grippier than Cuei. Cuei wears your shoes less though
• Glue – Lokton sticks after applying pressure, a lot of people have trouble with that. Cuei just sticks.
• Best use – Lokton 36grit is good for grippy wheel downhill. Cuei for everything downhill and freeride (might be overkill for freeride for some skaters though). 
• Lokton looks cooler. The cutouts just add to the steeze factor of most boards haha.
• Which is better? They’re both excellent and have their best use cases.

Why not both?

I did have a lot of success running both Lokton and Cuei. I had Lokton in front and Cuei in the back. Lokton kept my front foot stuck to the board and gave me confidence to really drive and push my front foot into the board.

Cuei kept me on the board in the back, but allowed me to shift my feet freely. It made shifting my back foot between the positions for tucking and sliding feel easier. It also wore my shoe down less, which was nice.

Though I’ve reverted to Lokton all-around now, I would happily use both of them this way in future.

Which would I choose?

For pure downhill with grippy wheels, I would go with Lokton. For a mix of downhill and freeriding, where I need grip but don’t want to feel stuck to my board all the time, I would go with Cuei.

What I liked about Cuei Grip

• Affordability
• Easy application
• Durability

What I didn’t like about Cuei Grip

• It didn’t grip enough for super grippy downhill wheels. I always felt like my feet were on the verge of slipping off when I was sliding – they never did though. Perhaps I was just used to a more secure feeling after having skated Lokton for 2 years … and perhaps that “secure feeling” wasn’t needed? Idk, what do you think?

You should get Cuei if

• You want durable, affordable griptape.
• You want griptape as durable as Lokton, but slightly duller and easier on the shoes.

Don’t get Cuei grip if

• You want super grippy griptape. It is grippy but it’s not the grippiest option out there.
• If you want to do flip tricks and ollies, Cuei grip isn’t right for you. It will destroy your shoes.

What do you think? Is Cuei right for you?

I’m definitely going to be buying Cuei grip in the future and using it on most of my decks. As much as I love Seismic Lokton, Cuei grip is a better fit for me for skating non-grippy downhill wheels. However, I have yet to try the 60grit version of Lokton and that could change my opinion completely.

Big thanks to all my patrons for the support – Jed, SuperbadJuju, Mowgii, Bryan, Andrew, Jan, Jay, Owen, Samil, Daniel, Alex, Kasajja, Leah, and Justin. I couldn’t write articles like this without you guys’ support. I used the money from my Patreon to buy this grip.