Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2X Snowboard Review by Davey

2018 and below Lib Tech Skunk Ape Review

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.

Camber / 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.

2013 Lib Tech Skunk Ape

Comes in 2 Models.  There is the Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2 Power BTX and the Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2 Horsepower. Both are more aggressive rides than C2 BTX but the Horsepower is lighter and a little more lively.  The C2 Power Skunk Apes has a very similar ride as last years model but the Horsepower has somewhat lighter and livelier feel than the C2 Power but both are great boards.

2012 Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2 BTX

Lib Tech stepped it up by offering C2 Power BTX tas well as C2 BTX.  C2 Power BTX makes the board ride more aggressive and stable between the feet compared to the C2 BTX. Carving and straightlining if more fun here.

2011 Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2 BTX

We were stoked to see C2 BTX on the 2011 Skunk Apes.  It gives you more spring off the tail in an ollie and especially a carve.  A much better all around ride than the 2010. Suddenly you could lay into a carve and it wouldn’t wash out.  It was still a little squirrely between the feet.

2010 Lib Tech Skunk Ape BTX

With the 2010 BTX Skunk Ape model it had it’s uber fans and some people who love parts of this board but not others.  One of it’s biggest complaints is even though it’s damp at high speeds the banana shape can make it feel squirly when the conditions are firm.  It also couldn’t carve like a cambered board and the tail would give out if you leaned into it hard. This model had the most limitations out of any model we reviewed.  It was a fun freestyle to all mountain freestyle ride but was really lacking when it came to mountain riding.