Lib Tech Cold Brew 2018-2023 Snowboard Review

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Lib Tech Cold Brew 2023 - 2018 Review by The Good Ride

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Update 2023: The Lib Tech Cold Brew hasn’t changed much or at all since we reviewed it so this is still relevant in 2023. 

The Lib-Tech Cold Brew offers up a pretty reasonably priced and forgiving freeride board that feels somewhat tapered but still has a pretty solid do anything kind of feel for those looking to get 1 board to do everything with.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

How This Review Happened:  We borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it.  We borrowed this for a day and then returned it. We had a couple of laps at a frantic manic demo day so take it with a grain of salt. We liked it so much we asked to keep it (we only do this with our favorites).  After a demo, we liked it so much we bought it.  We spent our precious Good Ride dollars to buy this and review it.

Size: 157
Days:   1
Conditions:  Hard CO snow in most places
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Jimbo (Size 11, 5’11” 160lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Salomon Hologram,
Set Up: 22-22.5” Centered 15 front -15 back

Similar Boards (but not the same) That We Compared This To:
Yes Pick Your Line,  Burton Flight Attendant, Gnu Mullair, Jones Flagship, Never Summer West Bound, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD, Lib Tech Lost Round Nose Fish

Approximate Weight: Feels pretty normal.

Sizing: The Cold Brew comes in a lot of sizes. It used to come in narrow sizes in 2019 and 2018 but now only comes in regular and wide sizes. The Regular sizes also feel like they are closer to the mid/wide side of the regular spectrum. So with a size 10 boot you could even fit the smaller sizes well. 10+ is a good match from there and even the bigger regular sizes seem comfortable holding an 11 boot without having toe/heel drag.  That being said Peter and I had no problem riding this with size 8.5 and 9 boots. The wides would work well with bigger boots like 12-13 no problem.

Flex/Buttering: Pretty easy to butter and the Cold Brew has that typical lively energetic poppy feel underfoot.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The hybrid rocker or C2 camber profile feels somewhat loose in harder snow and can feel a little more stable in softer snow but overall it has that auto spinny feel that most hybrid rocker shapes have. It likes to be on edge when one footing off the chair and isn’t easy to flat base. The Lib Tech Cold Brew does skid turns incredibly well and it is a very forgiving ride for those that get off their game. It’s a great entry-level freeride board for any ability level. You just need a little bit more weight on the back foot on groomers so it doesn’t wash out when turning.

Edge Hold: Very competent grip that can ride well in hard to icy snow as long as you keep it on edge.

Turn Initiation: So the Lib Tech Cold Brew turns really quick for how wide it is. Even my size 9’s and Peter’s size 8.5’s moved this pretty quick edge to edge and Jimbo with size 11’s had this thing turning super fast.

Turning Experience/Carving: The edge hold helps the Lib Tech Cold Brew carve and turn better in harder snow but it isn’t like C3 or other more camber dominant rides out there. Still, it’s not boring or anything. You can feel the little bit of taper going on and it does like a little more back foot weight.

Powder: There is a good set back on sidecut of 1.5″ so it leads us to think there is a good bit more back on board that makes this a pretty good directional floater when setting all the way back. That and the taper in the tail makes it a board that should be the opposite on groomers when it comes to back foot weight so it would not be the kind of board that gives you much or any rear leg burn unless you are in super deep thick powder.

Speed: There is some chatter picking up speed and that is often the case with hybrid rocker profiles like this but it’s not too bad with the Lib Tech Cold Brew.

Uneven Terrain: What makes the Cold Brew so poppy also makes it a little sensitive to uneven snow but it isn’t over the top. It can handle hard bumpy snow well enough and weaves in and out of bumps really well. So overall its a pretty good all day resort rider and you wouldn’t have a bad day from 1st to the last chair on a Saturday.

Switch: Pretty good switch for how much set back on sidecut and taper there is. Moving it up 2 inserts would get you pretty close to being centered on sidecut but it wouldn’t feel like a twin. Overall, it’s very doable.

Jumps: Lib Tech makes pretty poppy boards and you can feel this easily pop into the air on an ollie. This is a fun board for finding natural features on the mountain to get air.

Jibbing: More doable than you would think for a tapered directional board but not perfect like a small soft twin.

Pipe: Great edge hold for pipe riding and forgiving so good for someone that doesn’t need a super technical powerful camber kind of ride.

So, all in all, the Lib Tech Cold Brew has an easy-going forgiving ride to it that could work for beginner/intermediate riders and still be pretty fun for advanced to expert riders as long as they don’t need too much power in their carves.

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