Lib Tech Skunk Ape Snowboard Review

Lib Tech Skunk Ape 2016 - 2010 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.

Size 161 and 169

Days: 15+

Riders: Stephen and a few big rider friends not on the site. One was 6’11” with a size 15 boot.

Conditions: Everything from almost pure ice to a few feet of thick sierra powder.

The Lib Tech Skunk Ape is a great all mountain hybrid rocker board designed specifically for the big-footed fella on the mountain. The Skunk Ape starts small (in length) for all mountain freestyle to all mountain riding but then keeps extending to 180cm for those super deep days.

On Snow Feel: The newer C2 Power hybrid rocker profile has come a long way since the 2010 C2 BTX.  It’s pretty stable and you can only feel it become a little loose between the feet when the snow is hard.  It’s not bad for one footing and flat basing. The Skunk Ape is a pretty aggressive ride but its camber profile makes it mostly free of consequence. It’s the kind of board that makes for great directional mountain riding, set back directional powder riding, pipe riding and hitting jumps.  It’s a fun board to center up on most days and then set it back on pow days for a more surfy float.

Powder: The bigger you get the bigger the float but the .5″ (-12.5 mm) set back is the same from the 157-180.  There is no noticeable difference between the Power/Horsepower Models. It floats well and fights to stay up in powder. We’d prefer a -20mm (.75″) set back but we are splitting hairs here.  It’s a great directional ride and a good centered ride in powder. If you have feet that fit this board you will find the Skunk Ape pretty easy to turn and throw around in any situation from trees to wide open chutes.

Turn Initiation and Carving– This is a pretty easy board to turn for those with the right size feet.  Quick Edge to Edge transitioning is very doable without being twitchy.  It’s still a tiny bit loose between the feet but the C2 Power model’s of recent is a huge improvement over the BTX and C2 BTX.  Wide radius turns are really fun. Carving has come a long way and it’s pretty fun these days to engage on a carve.  It doesn’t have the C3 camber kind of spring but it’s about as good as we have seen a hybrid camber perform.

Speed: The Base is pretty fast, The newer models feel very comfortable at almost any speed you want.  There is still a little chatter that keeps them from hitting the excellent side of thing but the newer C2 Power BTX profiles have come a long way from the early C2 BTX days.

Uneven Terrain: The Skunk Ape is pretty stiff and aggressive but with a good pair of shock absorbent bindings it can do pretty well in the shitty crowded end of the day resort snow.

Approximate Weight- We don’t scale up and probably never will because the weights are usually inconsistent from board to board.  To us, the Horsepower felt Medium to maybe even Light when picking it up and the C2 Power felt Heavy to Medium for their perspective sizes.  They are well built and very sturdy.  They are made to last a decent amount of time.

Edge Hold: Very excellent and a great all conditions ride. It really works well in hard to icy conditions. In softer conditions, it can be a little grippy.

Flex: This is an aggressive flex that is closer to medium than stiff. Most people who ride this board are going to be pretty heavy but if you are a light person with big feet you will still be able to transition this edge to edge thanks to the hybrid camber.

Switch: When the stance is centered up the ride is pretty close to a twin but something doesn’t feel like a true twin.

Jibbing– This is a better board for jumps and pipe but it can hit a jib or two.

Pipe: Great pipe board.  If you like to lap the pipe you will have a good time with the Skunk Apes

Jumps: There is decent spring but it’s not like the very poppy Riders Choice.  You trade a little pop for stability at speed. Still, this is very fun jumping in the park or around the mountain.