Lib Tech Lost Rocket Snowboard Review

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

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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 MT, Lib 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.

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.