Summary

The Lib Tech Lost Rocket offers up a pretty balanced directional ride in all conditions for those who want a more surf-inspired ride but also don't want to be super far back on the tail in comparison to similar shapes.

Update 2024: The Lib Tech Lost Rocket has not changed much or at all since we reviewed this so this review still stands. 

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Riding Style Alternative Freeride
Riding Level Advanced - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) 8-10, 10-12
Manufactured in USA by Mervin
Shape Tapered Directional
Camber Profile Mostly Camber
Stance Setback over 20mm
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Good
Base Glide Good
Carving Great
Speed Great
Uneven Terrain Good
Switch Average
Jumps Good
Jibbing Poor
Pipe Good
On Snow Feel

Stable

Turn Initiation

Medium

Skidded Turns

Moderate

Flex

Medium/Stiff

Buttering

Moderate

Edge Hold

Medium Snow

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
Lib tech Lost Rocket 22/23
€ 629.95Buy it

Lib Tech Lost Rocket Table Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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 spent our precious Good Ride dollars to buy this and review it.
Size: 157.5
Days: 3
Conditions: Not very good, very ugly snow. You could barely call it a session but many more are on the way when the snow falls again.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles
Bindings: Union Atlas

Similar Boards (but not the same) That We Compared This To:
Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Korua Dart, Korua Pencil, Rome Pow Division MTLib Tech BRD, Lib Tech Lost Round Nose Fish

Set-Up: 22” Wide. 21 front -6 back. Close to Reference and Set all the way back.  22” Wide. 15 front -15 back.  Centered.

Approximate Weight: Feels normal for this surface area and size but maybe a touch on the heavier side of normal and it seems a little heavier than the older HP model. Seems more durable though.

Sizing: I felt conflicted with my purchase. The 153.5 was really appealing for my size 9 boots but the 157.5 felt like the better call for my weight.  It’s easier to handle than the weight would suggest.

Flex/Buttering: So in a shop, this will feel the same or maybe a touch stiffer than the older model Lib Tech Lost Rocket but on snow, it’s going to butter easier than before with the early rise in the nose/tail.  The Lib Tech Lost Rocket won’t butter with ease but it’s now more doable since the tip/tail are already bent before you start.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The new C3 profile that matches up to boards like the Lib Tech BRD is a massive difference than the older C3 model we tried. The camber between the feet with a long mellow early rise starting a little after the inserts in the tail and especially the nose really changes up the game. I’m not even seeing a passive bend in the middle like with the BRD’s early rise. This went from feeling pretty technical and catchy to feeling stable and pretty forgiving. The Lib Tech Lost Rocket is more on the semi-locked side of stable but it’s soo much more easy to skid turns and appeals to even strong intermediates who come from a surfing background. It still tracks like a C3 board so one footing off the chair and long flat bases work well but just have less consequence.
Lib Tech Lost Rocket 2020 Camber Profile

Edge Hold: This is the mellowest of mag Mervin (Lib/Gnu) makes and I don’t even see it. It borders on being a medium snow kind of ride and isn’t as competent in harder snow as the other mag boards. Still, it holds an edge well enough to go out and ride it in hard snow. If you don’t like the way Magnetraction feels in softer snow then this might be the Lib-Tech board for you because it doesn’t grab at all.

Turn Initiation: With a size 9, the Lib Tech Lost Rocket 157.5 turns well enough but not quite as quick as I might want in really tight spots but it responds to me with a little extra effort. If you are a 10 to 11 boot it’s going to do a lot better.

Turning Experience/Carving: The older model Lib Tech Lost Rocket was a better turning experience on groomers and it had more spring out of the turn than the 2020. The 2020 Lib Tech Lost Rocket is missing that magical spring out of the turn that the older model had but It’s still a good bump up from any C2 model so it sits in between full C3 and C2x/C2 in terms of spring out of the turn. Still, it’s a great board to take out on groomers and rips some hard, back foot weighted turns/carves. Nothing in snowboarding is truly like surfing but this helps create some of that feeling you get in the water. I haven’t surfed the surf version of this ride but it seems that you can create some of that performance shortboard/groveler hybrid feel with bigger boots. For me, and my smaller boot size it felt more like a thicker, slower, small wave groveler but I bet if I rode the 153.5 I would have felt that more dynamic ripper type of shortboard feel that Lost describes the surf version to be.

Powder: The float in powder was good but it was a bit behind some of its peers. It rides a little more centered than many boards with a similar shape. From the very end of the tail, there is a 7.25″ difference between nose and tail, or 3.625″ setback from the center of the board. If you measure from where the little nub of a tail begins it’s 9.5″ difference between nose and tail and 4.75″ back on board. I would say it will feel something in between there when setting all the way back. The only issue is the 23.5″ stance width is a bit too much for many riders so many, like me, who like a 22″ or less stance width, might find this really opening up the taint if you try to set it all the way back. This setback on board, the 20mm of taper, large surface area and a nubbin of a tail makes for a pretty floaty ride while still having some tail to make getting air feel comfortable. The Dart and Pencil are almost twice as far back on board with a 14″-15″ difference between nose/tail and 7″ plus set back from center of board so while they won’t be as fun to air out with as the Lib Tech Lost Rocket. They will have easier directional float being so far back on the tail as well as having 11mm more taper. However, we all would prefer to be on the rocket if you like to launch off things a lot or just like a more centered ride.

Speed: Nice and stable. The new model didn’t chatter as much as you picked up speed as the older model did. The base has good glide to it as well.

Uneven Terrain: The change from their HP/Horsepower construction makes the board a bet less chattery and it can power over uneven terrain better. For me, at a size 9 boot, it’s not ideal for weaving in and out of bumps but I can do it pretty well.

So, all in all, the Lib Tech Lost Rocket sacrificed a little turning/carving power but not too much to give a better floating ride in powder as well as make it a little more mellow for when you get off your game.

 
Lib Tech Lost Rocket Past Reviews

The Lib Tech Lost Rocket was probably our favorite board of the Lost line we tried.  It’s pretty much all camber (C3 with a passive bend in the middle) so it feels pretty old school. However, it is very lively, not super stiff for its shape and super fun to turn. The 2018-2019 models are pretty much the same but the 2020 model got some new sizes and it’s been re-shaped. So we can’t speak to how the 2020 rides.

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:  Grant owned this

Size: 157.5
Days:  3 for me and many for Grant.
Conditions: Pretty good but a bit firm CO snow and really good Mt Bachelor snow with some powder.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs) and Grant
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV, Adidas Acerra,
InsolesFootprint Insole Technology Gamechangers Lite, Sandsole Custom Insoles
Bindings: Bent Metal Solution, Union AtlasBurton Genesis X
Set-Up
: 22.75”ish and 22″.  15 front -6 back.  A little wide of Reference stance and set all the way back.

Approximate Weight: Feels kind of on the lighter side for a board with so much width/surface area.

Sizing: So for Grant with his size 11’s and his weight the 157.5 was just right. It was a little wide for my size 9 feet and it wasn’t a perfect fit but it worked pretty well for me and I didn’t have problems riding this.

Flex/Buttering: So what surprised me is I could butter off the tail rather well for a board with this much camber. It wasn’t super easy but it for sure worked. The flex was more on the medium side but it had a lot of snap to it and it popped really well. Like a lot of Lib-Tech boards, there is this energy underfoot that feels like all the stuff in between and including the sidewalls/top sheet etc, are made to enhance the feeling that you are riding on wood instead of hiding it.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The Lib Tech Lost Rocket has a pretty full camber feel from tip to tail in comparison to some camber boards with an early rise in the nose that we tried it against. Even though the flex of the ride I tried was more medium the tip/tail feel like they have some consequence if you have to skid your turns. Best for advanced to expert riders.

Edge Hold: Very mellow mag but it still has pretty competent grip for hard snow riding.

Turn Initiation: So not super fast but not super slow either. It felt like the 17mm of taper worked well with the sidecut to make it turn quicker than it should for a 26.9cm waist.

Turning Experience/Carving: There was good spring out of the turn and if you like to make a backfoot weighted carve at any stance angle that works for you this was one of the Lib Tech Lost Rockets best qualities.  It had a solid satisfying spring out of the Turn and it’s just a fun board to carve. Some that like a really stiff board for carving might be uninterested but Grant and I sure had a time. The Lib Tech Lost Rocket lived up to its name in the way it accelerated out of a turn.

Powder: So in comparison to the other boards we rode against, The Lib Tech Lost Rocket just didn’t have the directional float that boards like the Korua Puzzle did. I think what made it carve soo well on groomers might detract it’s powder performance a bit.  It’s a good board in powder for being mostly camber and even is compared to some hybrid shapes but it just didn’t feel as far back on board and it took a little more weight off the back foot. If you rode camber boards all your life this will rip though. It’s set back pretty far on board and sidecut but not as far as many of it’s peers. Still, if you like to get air there is enough tail back there to make it fun in powder.

Speed: The Lib Tech Lost is fast but not super fast. The medium flex and it’s pretty poppy nature can chatter a bit at higher speeds but isn’t something that will bother you if you live to turn and occasionally point it. If most of your day is getting to the bottom as fast as you can the Rocket is not going to live up to its name.

Uneven Terrain: For Grant, the Lib Tech Lost Rocket turned super well through bumps and was good enough to power over them without bucking too hard but for me, with a smaller boot size and an extra 25lbs, it felt a little more bucky and a little harder to turn. So it is good but not exceptional for crowded all day resort riding.

So overall, the Lib Tech Lost Rocket might be a little limited in easy directional float compared to some of it’s peers but it sure is a fun groomer rider. It could easily work for those looking for a surfy/tapered/directional one board quiver.

 
Lib Tech Lost Rocket Specs

 
Lib Tech Lost Rocket Images

We try to get as many images of the Lib Tech Lost Rocket, but forgive us if they're not all there.

2020

2019

2018

2017

Lib Tech Lost Rocket User Reviews

Lib Tech Lost Rocket 2018-2024 Snowboard Review SKU UPC Model

LIBxLost Rocket

Jan 02, 2020 by Jess
Ability Level: Advanced • 
Riding Style: Charging! • 
Days You Ride A Year: As many as i can • 
Height, Weight And Boot Size (for Boards, Boots & Bindings): 5'8" 155lbs, 8.5 foot 

I had a lot of questions for James and he delivered! After taking a 15yr hiatus from riding and focusing on surfing only - I was getting back into it at 42yrs old and was a little intimidated with all the tech change and lots of improvements....he helped me dial it in to making a choice for the Rocket at the 153 size. I've only been up a handful of times so far but I am very happy with my choice - super floaty and good turns in the trees and able to crank out a back footed power turn at the top of lips and walls...so fun. Great board and would recommend to anyone that wants a kind of surfy feel but still wants to charge freeride.


4.0 4.0 1 1 I had a lot of questions for James and he delivered! After taking a 15yr hiatus from riding and focusing on surfing only - I was getting back into it at 42yrs old and was a little Lib Tech Lost Rocket 2018-2024 Snowboard Review

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
Lib tech Lost Rocket 22/23
€ 629.95Buy it

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