The Lao x Caramel Sun complete, part by part

Straight from Caramel's product page, the complete includes:

• 1 Lao deck, handcrafted in Argentina, 5 plies
• 1 set of Caramel Chrome C4 trucks
• 1 set of Caramel wheels, 7mm, 70D
• Bushings, locknuts, screws, pivot cups and inverted kingpins
• 1 grip tape
• 1 tool
• Stickers

That hardware line is worth reading twice. A bag of spare bushings, pivot cups and locknuts is the difference between a bad session and a finished session the first time a nut walks off onto the carpet. Caramel doesn't say how many of each you get, so treat it as a starter supply rather than a lifetime one.

The product is titled "Lao x Caramel Sun Complete Fingerboards 32mm". The size field underneath reads 34 x 97mm. Both can't describe the same deck.

It is most likely a leftover from a listing template or a width option that didn't make it into the title, but we're not going to guess which number is live. Two or three millimetres is a real difference under your fingers — it changes how the board feels on flips, how much nose and tail you have to hook, and whether your existing grip or spare trucks fit it.

So: message the shop and ask which width ships, and whether 32mm and 34mm are both available. It's a one-line question and it saves a return.

Caramel describes the Lao deck as handcrafted in Argentina with 5 layers of wood and "excellent finishes". That is the whole of what the listing tells us about the construction — no wood species, no mold or concave name, no kick angles, no weight.

What five plies tells you in practice is that this sits on the stiffer, more durable end rather than the soft, heavily shaped end of the spectrum. Thinner layups flex more and pop differently; a five-ply tends to hold its shape and take abuse. Whether that suits you depends on how you ride — riders genuinely differ here, and plenty of people who love a soft deck find a stiff one unresponsive and vice versa.

"Sun" is the graphic or colorway on this version. Caramel hasn't published anything else about it in the material we have.

The trucks are Caramel's Chrome C4, running inverted kingpins — which is why loose kingpins show up in the spares bag rather than only in the assembled trucks.

The wheels are listed as 7mm, 70D. 7mm is a standard middle-of-the-road diameter that clears most obstacle surfaces without raising the board awkwardly. The listing doesn't state whether they run bearings, and it doesn't describe the core, so don't assume either way.

Out of the box, do this before you judge the setup:

1. Ride it as it comes for a few minutes. You want a baseline.
2. Loosen the kingpin nuts a quarter turn at a time, testing after each, until the board turns under light pressure but doesn't wobble when you set it down.
3. Check the locknuts on the axles. Wheels should spin freely with no side-to-side play.
4. Only then decide whether the stock bushings are too stiff or too soft for you.

• Trusting the title over the spec sheet. Ask before you buy. See above.
• Swapping every part in week one. If you replace the deck, trucks and wheels immediately, you paid a complete price for a tool and a sticker pack. Ride it stock long enough to know what you actually dislike.
• Never touching the trucks. Most complaints that a complete "feels dead" are a kingpin that was tightened for shipping and never loosened.
• Treating the included grip as permanent. Grip is consumable and personal. If you prefer foam over tape, that's a cheap change and not a mark against the setup.
• Expecting bearing wheels because the price is high. It isn't confirmed. Ask.

The complete is sold by Caramel directly: the Lao x Caramel Sun complete is listed on caramelfingerboards.com. Caramel is a Spain-based brand and shop run by William and Estefania, operating since 2020.

Once it's in your hands, the honest next steps are small ones. Keep the spare pivot cups somewhere you'll find them. Learn the bushing swap with the included tool — it's the single cheapest change to how a setup feels. And give the stock wheels a few weeks on whatever surface you actually ride before you decide they're the problem; a lot of what reads as bad roll is a dusty table, not urethane.