Lib Tech Magic BM 2020 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 had a couple of laps at a frantic manic demo day.
Size: 161
Days:  1
Conditions: CO snow that is hard
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs), Zobel (Size 11.5, 6’ 180lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV, Adidas Response, DC Shacksum
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Salomon Highlander.

Similar Boards (but not the same) That We Referenced This To: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker

Set-Up: 22” Wide. 18 front -9 back. Close to Reference

Approximate Weight: Feels pretty light but not like the ultra-light boards we have ridden. Borders on being medium and light.

Sizing: The Magic BM definitely got a wider overall width this time and it looks like the board can handle a lot of mid/wide sized boots from 10-12 but it also didn’t feel like any trouble for my size 9 and Peter’s 8.5 boot. When looking at the specs we never would have guessed that the Magic BM had this width. We would have thought that the waist width would have been in the low to mid 25cm range. I can’t believe this 161 has a 26.5cm waist and a 31.1cm nose/tail. That’s a good size for Zobel with his size 11’s but it turned soo easy for Peter and I that the 157 would easily work as a daily driver and not even feel like a mid/wide. So I would say it works for a wide range of sizes from 8-12 depending on the length you get. Doesn’t feel like it can handle a really heavy guy though but most average weights will be more than fine.

Flex/Buttering: So there is a medium flex underfoot but the tip/tail feels softer. The Lib Tech Magic BM is very buttery. Still, it has that lively poppy feel underfoot that has a lot of energy/snap/return or whatever you want to call it after you butter or flex it. It pops more from between the feet than the tip/tail because of the rocker in the middle with a very mellow mellow camber in the tip/tail.  Lib makes lively boards and it’s hard to explain but it is very unique to Mervin. To me, it feels like they are trying to accentuate the feel of the Wood core in the ride and that it’s not as hidden behind all the other stuff that it’s wrapped around.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: This camber profile of the Lib Tech Magic BM is called C2 on the website but it is also called enhanced banana in the description. Whatever it is on the site it feels like it’s just a touch more camber than something like the Original Banana tech that’s on the almost continuous rocker Skate Banana. It’s a very loose feel underfoot and it’s very spinny. It doesn’t one foot easy off the chair and you need to keep the pressure on the edge or it wants to auto-spin on you. Same for long flat cat tracks. The good news is it doesn’t want to catch an edge when it does and it effortlessly skids turns. Even though this costs a lot it can work with a rider of any ability level. It feels even looser than the Terrain Wrecker and it’s the kind of board that feels lose to semi-lose in almost all conditions. Wood bends differently from board to board so some might be more stable underfoot than the demo we tried but overall it’s going to be more on the lose side of the spectrum of the Lib Tech Line.

Edge Hold: The Lib Tech Magic BM  still has the pretty aggressive Magnetraction between the feet that mellows out a good bit as you get to the tip/tail. It makes for a really solid ride when on icy snow. It isn’t stable but when on edge there aren’t many other boards out there that can grip like this. It does grab a bit in softer snow though. Some get used to that and some won’t ever get past it.

Turn Initiation: Very fast edge to edge and we never would have guessed it was this wide. Maybe all that rocker and whatever is going on with the sidecut make this board turn on a dime for most boot sizes.

Turning Experience/Carving: Pretty uneventful on a turn or carve. I think what makes this board turn so quick is what makes it not as fun to carve. It really hurries you up through the turn. One thing though is all that edge hold helps it carve just as well in harder conditions as softer so it doesn’t lose more game in hard snow.

Powder: There is a massive improvement here in terms of directional float. The old Banana Magic floated well in powder for a twin but this new directional shape with a longer nose than tail, all that rocker, a 1″ setback on sidecut and probably a lot more setback on board should make for a much more effortless floater. Seems like it would do better than our well-liked Terrain Wrecker. It will grab harder than most boards in thicker powder and might take a little more work to turn than it normally does so some might be ok with it and some won’t but the float is for sure there.

Speed: Kind of a chattery mess when you pick up speed. Probably because of the rocker, softer flex, and pretty light overall ride.

Uneven Terrain: Great for weaving in and out of bumps but not good powering over stuff. If you weave through bumps and messy snow areas then this will work all day.

Switch: The old Banana Magic was way better but the Lib Tech Magic BM does a pretty good job still. It feels different either way but it’s still very doable.

Jumps: There is a lot of pop in this board that feels like it pops best between the feet but it springs pretty well when loading it from the tip/tail too. The Lib Tech Magic BM doesn’t seem like the kind of board you want to get big air with but it’s fine for small to medium air for riders like us.

Jibbing: The flex and overall ride feel pretty doable but we didn’t jib with it.

Pipe: It has the grip but not the drive from wall to wall. Still, it’s a very forgiving ride so you could lap the pipe with the Lib Tech Magic BM if the mood strikes you.

So, all in all, if you want a hard gripping, buttery, forgiving easy riding, easy floating board for any condition the Lib Tech Magic BM can for sure work. It’s really transformed from a great freestyle/mountain freestyle ride to a good one board quiver that you can ride centered on groomers but then set it back pretty far to get really easy directional float in powder with.