Lib Tech EJack Knife Snowboard Review

An Un-Paid, Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the Lib Tech Ejack Knife Rides Review by The Good Ride

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An In Depth Breakdown of the Lib Tech Ejack Knife For Average Riders

How The Lib Tech Ejack Knife Was Tested:

I borrowed the Lib Tech Ejack Knife for a few laps at a demo but rode the previous model (little to no changes) extensively

Size: 157
Days: 1 on the 2026 and many on the older model
Conditions: Firm but fair groomers with the 2026 but all kinds of conditions including
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-195lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards and close to 1,000 if you count different versions of the same Model over the years.
Boots: Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Method
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt

James’s Set Up

21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3 for the 2026 and set up close to reference. For the earlier model I rode it 18/-3 in pow and +18/-9 on groomers. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

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Similar Boards We Like (but not the same): 

Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, United Shapes Cadet, Jones Flagship Pro, Stranda Descender, YES Pick Your Line, Korua Otto, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Nitro Alternator, United Shapes Horizon, Gnu Antigravity, Lib Tech Dynamo

Construction / Durability / Weight

The Lib Tech Ejack Knife has 60% Aspen / 40% Palownia Wood Core with Birch Internal Sidewalls wrapped in a Bi-Ax / Tri-Ax with Basalt Alloy sprinkled in the mix. Then there is an eco-sublimated top sheet that holds up well despite the fact its on the easier side to scuff. The UHMW Exterior Sidewalls continue on from the edges and then wrap the whole board. I’ve found that overall the protection from UHMW is better than most boards with steel wraps from tip/tail and it makes it a little lighter too. Overall, this is a very well made, super green long lasting board if treated well.

One other thing to mention is Lib Tech / Gun / Mervin has been altering the construction process since the 90’s to make boards and that is longer than most brands have been around. There is literally no other brand even close to this level of green construction. This is ironic because they don’t scream green like other brands do. They just do it.

This overall construction makes The Lib Tech Ejack Knife is a nice balance between weight and durability.  It’s medium and maybe a touch on the heavy side of medium but most won’t care. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 157 Lib Tech Ejack Knife fit really well for my specs and while I can handle the 159 no problem I really felt comfortable with the 157 and that would be the size I want to buy. Sizing is all subjective though so if you are my specs and want a little more float, speed and drive

Lib Tech is really old school and doesn’t even recommend boot sizes, which sucks, but at least they are pretty open/loose about recommended weight on the top end.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size (most important), weight (second most important) and height (third most important) for how you like to ride. Size down for more control and size up for more speed/stability/carving power. Here are Good Ride recommended boot sizes so you stay in that sweet spot that makes it safe to turn in all conditions and stay toe/heel drag free.

If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape / Setback

The Lib Tech Ejack Knife is tapered and directional with eight millimeters of taper. And it’s one inch back on sidecut. So if you set it all the way back with a 22.5″ stance width, which is a little wide, you can get three inches back from center of board, which is a good bit more than the one inch back on sidecut.

But it’s still not quite as far back as a lot of full-on freeride boards that are often around three and a half, or maybe even more. But the overall feel of this board is very centered, doesn’t feel very tapered, and doesn’t feel that directional.

Camber / On Snow Feel

There seems to be a decent amount of early rise wit the Lib Tech Ejack Knife but take into consideration that that step is not level in the pick above and what I felt on snow is this didn’t have that forgiving feel of the Lib Rig 157 I tested on the same day did.

This feels a little more technical, a little more locked in, like it is almost full camber vs a lot of the Lib Tech boards that have early rise. It’s more for advanced expert riders and a committed intermediate who’s willing to take a few lumps when they get off their game. But there are a lot better boards out there for intermediates, for sure.

It does track super well and feel very stable in all conditions from hard snow to powder and everything in between.

Edge Hold

The Lib Tech Ejack Knife seemed to change up the edge hold technology a little bit. The old Jack 157 that I tested extensively had a more aggressive disruption, and while this has a more mellow disruption, it seems to be almost as effective as the old disruption, but not grab as much in soft snow.

So I think overall a lot of people are going to be really pleased with this new sidecut like I was.

Flex Personality

On snow, I felt like the Lib Tech Ejack Knife was medium-medium stiff. It took a little bit more work to butter and to ollie than it did the Lib Tech Lib Rig which was easy on both accounts, but it didn’t feel as challenging as, let’s say, the Lib Tech Dynamo. That took a little bit more work and felt a little bit more aggressive than this. I think most advanced to expert riders will be fine with this flex personality.

Switch / Mtn Freestyle Personality

This tracks into a jump really well, feels much more centered than you would think for being one inch back on sidecut. It can track into a complicated side hit really well, launch off it and land really well, too. I think it’s a great board for getting air.

This is a great board for riding pipe. I love the narrowish (well for these days) quicker turning design along with this grip and stable camber profile to drive wall to wall.

You can throw Lib Tech Ejack Knife around switch really easy for how directional and tapered this board is.

This is not not ideal for jibbing, for sure.

Uneven Snow

And while the Ejack Knife has a poppy, energetic flex to it, it can still handle hard micro-bumpy snow very well. It’s no ultra chatter buster like many antiphase boards from Amplid, A few From Nitro and Osciliate boards from Sole but but it’s better than many boards I’ve tried for sure.

Then if you get soft, messy, uneven snow—it can buck and bounce a little bit, but overall it’s not going to be that bad and it’

So overall, this is a very good all-day ride and most will be ok with it’s uneven snow performance.

Turning / Carving

The turn initiation of the Lib Tech Ejack Knife was medium-fast bordering on fast for me.  It went wherever I needed it to go and while it feels like there’s more tail behind you in tight spots, like in tight tree lines that are uneven, it’ll be a little catchy. Not the smoothest making hard rights or hard lefts, but it’ll slalom really well between the trees. I think most people will be really fine with the overall turn initiation if sized correctly.

When you get this disrupted eight-meter sidecut engaged on a carve, I found first off that it had very fun, almost full camber-like spring out of the turn, which I really enjoyed.

What I liked about this board is the neutrality it had when it comes to weighting your turns. Sometimes a board with eight millimeters of taper feels like it needs a lot more weight on the back foot. This felt like it needed little to no back foot weight on the turns. Center-weighted turns were fine, and front-foot weighted turns were pretty good too.

So I think any way you want to weight your turns will be fine with this board, even though it might lean a touch towards center to back foot weighted turners. I felt like I could make all kinds of radius turns—everything from circle carving to across-the-groomer type carves, to medium radius turns, to longer drawn-out down-the-line turns that might lead into a straight line.

Speed

If you like to straight line and point it, the Lib Tech Ejack Knife will do a really good job for what this is. It’s not a full-on bomber, but this is very good overall for the kind of shape and flex personality it has.

Base Glide

So when it comes to base glide, it felt fine on the firm snow I tested this on but most bases do. In the past when I extensively tested the Ejack Knife in all conditions I found it wasn’t as fast as many bases I compared it to but it didn’t need to be waxed a lot and it feels stronger/more durable than the knife Cut Sintered bases on many Lib Tech / Gnu boards these days. I’d like to test this more but I think most people will be ok with this. Especially if you don’t wax a lot.

Powder

I didn’t get this new Lib Tech Ejack Knife board in powder, but I got the old one in about a foot and a half of thick Pacific Northwest powder, and I felt like it took a good bit of work, especially in low-angle powder. But if you ride steeper-angle powder, this is going to be just fine—especially with what seems like maybe a touch more early rise than the older model, even though it doesn’t seem to have more setback on board than before.

If you know how to ride camber in powder, this is going to be fine for you. But if you’re like me and you like that cheater float, you might look towards a different ride—like the Lib Tech Lig Rig, that I felt floated easier than the old Ejack Knife for sure.

Final Thoughts

And overall, I think the Ejack Knife is a great board. It’s highly recommendable for people who love to turn, love to get air, might ride the pipe on occasion, want a one-board quiver for just about everything, see a lot of hard icy snow days, but don’t want a board that grabs in soft snow. This Lib Tech Ejack Knife could work pretty well for you.
I personally vibed with this board and was surprised at how little it’s changed over the years. I would have loved to test this more and compare it against many of my All Mountain Favorites to see how it fairs but as it stands now, it’s pretty recommendable.