Lib Tech DPR Snowboard Review

An In Depth Breakdown of the Lib Tech DPR Rides Review by The Good Ride

• User Reviews
• Product Specs
• Product Images
• Questions?

How the Lib Tech DPr Was Tested:

I borrowed the Lib Tech DPR for an extended demo because precious Good Ride dollars were spent on buying and reviewing it.

So I rode this with Union Force primarily, and my Nitro Team BOA boots. I got this in a wide variety of conditions, everything from some pretty hard snow that had lots of hard, uneven places. On up to a little bit of powder and some really good groomers.

And I compared it against a wide variety of boards, and you can see those comparisons on Patreon for paid members.

Size: 156 and 158
Days:6+
Conditions: 
Riders: James (Size 9 E, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards, 200+ bindings, and 120+ boots
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team BOA, Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas Step On
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Skyline Fase 3L Bib Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag Low Bridge Fit
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

James’s Set Up: 21” Wide.

Stance Angles: +18/+3,18/-9, +15/-15. Close to what I think might be reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Nitro Alternator, Telos DST, K2 Commonwealth, Ride Moderator, Never Summer Proto Type 3, Gnu Antigravity, United Shapes Horizon, Lib Tech Dynamo

Ethics Statement

I was not paid to write this review, and it reflects an honest, objective perspective with no brand oversight. If this review helped, we’d appreciate it if you support objective content by:

• Buying Through Our Sponsor, Blauer Board Shop
• Buying through our other Where To Buy Links, we get paid a small commission if you do. Please make sure we are the last click and don’t use a coupon or discount provider. They take our commission if you do.
• Become a Patron and get early access to reviews well before publication.  https://www.patreon.com/thegoodride
• Donate to https://venmo.com/TheGoodRide (@TheGoodRide) or https://paypal.me/thegoodride
• Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodride​
• Like & Subscribe on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thegoodridesnow

Sizing

The 156 Lib Tech DPr fits me really well. It felt a little quick, and I was surprised at what a difference two centimeters is in terms of feel.

The 158 felt more stable, more comfortable, better at speed. It had a better carve to it, yet it still didn’t feel too taxing on me.

At the end of the day, I’d go 58 as a one-board quiver for sure. I think this would be the choice if I were focusing more on park with a mountain freestyle emphasis. This would be the call, but they have a wide variety of sizes for most boot sizes in the normal range. This is very important when it comes to turning a board, but they can also handle a wide variety of weights and heights, which is important as well. All three are really important when sizing a board, along with your personal preference, so there should be a size for just about anybody out there.

Sizing is all about balancing what best fits your Boot Size, Weight & Height for how you like to ride.

NEVER TRUST ANYONE WHO DOESN’T REFERENCE BOOT SIZE, WEIGHT, & HEIGHT.

Boots

If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. This is the most important part of sizing a board, which is why so many models come in a range of widths, such as Narrow, Normal, Mid-Wide, Wide, and Ultra Wide.

Weight

Your weight determines how the board will flex underfoot.

Height

Determines a board’s swing weight.

Personal Preference

Some prefer control, so matching the boot size first for easiest turn initiation is the priority, with weight second. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up in width and length. Others like to ride wider boards with very responsive boots/bindings.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards because this is super important.

147: 6-7
150: 7-8
152: 7.5-8.5
154: 8-9
156: 8.5-9.5
158: 9-10
160: 9.5-10.5
159w: 11-12
162w: 11-12

Construction / Durability

The Lib Tech DPR durability is top-notch. I love Mervyn’s construction, Lib Tech, and getting boards is just incredibly durable. They even get rid of the rail around the tip and tail, and put in a much more impact resistant, polyurethane kind of protection. that does an amazing job at reducing impact. It’s still not perfect and some people have complaints about it. But overall I like it better than having a full edge wrap in the nose and tail.

The top sheet you can see almost has no scarring after multiple set ups and I’m pretty impressed with it. It’s not fancy, but I like the all black. I like this really tough material. Sidewalls are great overall. You’re getting a board that’s going to last a long time.

Shape & Setback

Now, when it comes to shape, you could call this a directional twin, but it feels kind of like on that directional twinish side. It feels very centered and there is a little setback on board.

But one of my complaints about the DPR is from the 56 on up to the bigger sizes, It’s the same stance range.

I would have hoped this 56 would have had a narrower stance range than the 58, but they’re the same, and it runs on the wider side so that can be problematic for those who love to use the whole stance range.

Set it back on powder days, ride it centered on groomers. I didn’t have a lot of setback options with this.

Camber/On Snow Feel

I love what they’re doing with the DPR. It has a healthy bit of camber between the feet. Going well past the inserts. It has a little passive bend in the middle that’s very mellow. But then you have early rise before the nose and tail.

So it makes the stable It doesn’t feel loose and auto spinny like there C2. It doesn’t feel locked in and technical like their C3. So it’s forgiving yet stable. A committed beginner on up to an expert. Can have a time with this, and it won’t be bad for anybody. And I think a lot of people will really appreciate that stability while still being able to get a turn when they have those, oh [censored] off their game moments.

Edge Hold

So when it comes to edge hold, you have a mellower magna traction. It’s what they used to call 0.5 MTX, I believe. there’s some good disruption, especially between the feet, but it really mills out in the tip and tail so it doesn’t grab very much at all in soft snow. But it’s very competent on hard snow and it borders on being like a icy snow specialist. There are better boards like the new anti-gravity, which has a much more aggressive disruption than the side cut, but it has full camber from tip to tail, so it’s much more unforgiving.

This might be a better option for you if you’re looking for hard snow performance, but still a board that is forgiving.

Flex Personality

I thought it would be a lot softer than it is. You’ve got a somewhat medium bordering on medium stiff flex in the tail, it goes to medium right here.

And with that rocker point before the tip/tail, you can really easily leverage into a butter. Then, in the nose, it’s longer and maybe a touch softer just because of that length. But then again, with the early rise, it’s very easy to butter there too.

Between the feet feels medium stiff. And overall, there’s a lot of pop. Mervin just always has great pop and easy Ollie power, and this is no exception. And I’m glad this flex is more of a middle ground, medium, bordering on medium-stiff. And this is a very competent all mountain flex.

Uneven Snow

And this does really well in hard, uneven snow.

It’s not the best in same day tests against some other boards like the upgrade and other a little higher in Mervin boards handled hard, uneven snow a little better, but this was no slouch and it wasn’t anything that really bothered me.

And then when you get it in soft, uneven snow in both sizes, the 56 and 58, it handles that wet, thick, uneven snow this will just never buck you and bounce you around as much as a lot of other boards out there.

So very poised, competent, uneven snow performance.

Switch/Park

This rides switch very well. it’s just a little behind a true twin.

And this can just lap the kicker line in the park. Not that I’m going there, but it’s going to be great.

And if you size this down just a touch like I did with the 156 versus the 58, this is going to be an exceptional pipe board. You’re going to really like it.

It has enough grip, enough drive and a side cut that likes to go up and down those walls It’s going to be easy for making quick micro adjustments.

If you’re like me and you’re sometimes off your game in the pipe, but you love doing it anyways, so you want a forgiving board for it, this is the one.

You can even jib with this if you want. I’m not going to be there, but if you want to be there, you can.

Turning/Carving

And when it comes to turning, this initiated a turn really quickly in a 56. The 58 was a little slower, but still really comfortable and really good for turning all day.

When I got it on edge and committed to a harder turn, I could front foot, center weight or back foot weight my turns, and really carve well for a board this forgiving. It’s definitely a step above almost every C2 board I’ve tried. And while it’s not as good as some of the full camber C3’s that are camber from the tip to tail, this did incredibly well for having a little bit of early rise, and I think a lot of people will be really happy with this carving ability for a board at this price point.

And it can make any kind of radius turn you want. It sits a little bit more on the turny side for Mervyn’s line. It’s a little below their standard side cut radius at about the low eights. This can across the groomer carve circle carve very well. Make quick turns. If you want to open it up a little bit and start making more narrower, faster S turns. This entry point in the nose doesn’t hook you up and fight you.

Speed

The Lib Tech DPR can straight-line pretty well for a board like this. especially in the 58. That felt great for me.

Base Glide

The Lib Tech DPR doesn’t have those low lows that the knife cut centered base can have if you don’t wax it. It doesn’t have those high highs either, but really, that’s Mervin, which is Lib Tech and Gnu. That’s one of their Achilles heels. they just don’t make bases on the level that many of their competitors do.

But at this price point, I’m not going to fault them. and it’s mostly black, so it’s going to be pretty easy to repair. And wax retention is okay, but not great. Better than the knife cut center base for sure.

Powder

And when it comes to powder, this longer nose than the tail, this little bit of early rise and the ability to set it back a little bit, I can’t set it back much with a 21” to 21.5” stance with because of this wide stance range, but it still floats very well for what it is. It’s a great one board quiver, especially for those who see more firm snow but want to have better directional float than a twin with a centered stance. This is a huge step up from there, and I think a lot of people will have easy directional float in it.

wasn’t the best season to get powder days on this. I tried, we’ve just had a terrible season And almost every time when we thought it was going to be ten inches and ended up being three, and that’s all I got to test it in. But it felt competent enough. And you can see some comparisons on Patreon.

Final Thoughts

And overall, other than the rather wide stance with options in the 56 and 58, I really wish they would have been narrower and the not so great, but decent enough base for this price point. There’s very little to complain about with the Lib Tech DPR. It’s a board I’m going to recommend the hell out of, and I think it’s very special.

It’s got that amazing balance of stability and forgiveness. Good grip, decent float. Just fun doing a little bit of everything. If you don’t know what you want or if you love everything, like a lot of people like me do, this is going to be an excellent choice.