What a cast concrete kicker changes, and what to measure before you buy one

The listing gives width 80 mm, base length 150 mm, height 60 mm, and adds that dimensions may vary slightly from piece to piece because each one is handmade.

1. Width, 80 mm. That is a little over twice the width of a 32–34 mm deck. On a narrow ramp the usual frustration is landing half a wheel off the side; 80 mm gives you room to come in at an angle or land off-center and still be on the face. It also means a second rider's board can sit on the side of it while you take a go.
2. Base length, 150 mm. This is the footprint, not the ramp. It is the number to take to your park and measure against — the gap between your ledge and your wall, or the clear run of desk you actually have. A kicker you have to move every session is a kicker you stop using.
3. Height, 60 mm. Tall for a desk kicker: close to twice a deck's width of rise. The listing does not break out an angle, does not say how much of the 60 mm is the printed base, and does not describe the curve of the transition. Taken as pure arithmetic — 60 mm of rise over a 150 mm footprint — this is a steep piece rather than a mellow one, but that is an inference from two numbers, not something the brand has stated.

So: measure your gap first, then decide whether you want something this steep in it.

Two jobs, according to the listing: it "helps keep the obstacle securely in place while riding" and "provides a smooth transition between the base and the concrete ramp."

That second one is the part worth caring about. The point where a flat surface meets a ramp is where boards stop dead if there is a lip, and a cast concrete edge is the kind of thing that can sit a fraction proud of whatever it is resting on. Building the entry out of a printed part that the concrete sits into is a sensible fix, and it also means the piece that touches your desk is plastic rather than an abrasive cast edge.

What the listing does not say is what the base is printed in, how it is fixed to the concrete, or whether it can be replaced if it wears. Worth asking before you buy if you plan to move the thing around a lot.

Caramel is explicit about this: "Small imperfections and variations are completely normal and are part of what makes each handmade obstacle unique."

Take that at face value and plan around it.

• If you want a matched pair facing each other across a gap, do not assume two castings will be identical. Ask first.
• The ramp face texture is described as a "smooth riding surface", but the listing also says texture varies. Expect to learn your piece rather than expect a known quantity.
• The listing says nothing about wax. Ride it clean for a few sessions before you put anything on it — on a cast surface, wax is much easier to add than to take off.

• Buying on height alone. A tall kicker in a short gap just means you arrive at the transition with nothing set up. Footprint first.
• Leaving a gap at the top. If you are using the kicker to launch onto a ledge or box, butt the two together properly. A 2 mm gap at 60 mm up is where boards stop.
• Waxing on day one. See above.
• Treating a cast piece like a printed one. Concrete does not like being dropped on a hard floor, and a chipped lip on a kicker is a chipped lip forever. How this particular casting holds up is not something the brand has published.
• Forgetting it has to live somewhere. This is a desk-scale object that weighs what concrete weighs. If your park packs into a bag between sessions, factor that in.

If the numbers fit your space, the Triple Shell x Caramel Kicker is listed on caramelfingerboards.com at €29.90 as of October 10, filed under Obstacles. Caramel Fingerboards is a Spain-based brand and shop run by William and Estefania, and the kicker is a collaboration with Triple Shell.

If they do not fit, the method still holds for any cast obstacle: footprint against your actual gap, width against your deck, and a direct question to the maker about anything the listing leaves open. Makers who hand-cast their pieces are usually the quickest people in the scene to answer that kind of message.