Positives

  • Excellent Pop
  • Carves Super Hard

Negatives

  • Slow Base For The Price
  • Less Float Than Most Swallow Tails

Summary

The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper has a pretty thirsty base but lots of pop and a very turny, floaty and carvy nature.

Update 2024: Other than graphics, there seems to be no changes to the Lib Tech Retro Ripper so this review still stands. 

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

Locked In

Turn Initiation

Medium/Slow

Skidded Turns

Hard

Flex

Medium/Stiff

Buttering

Semi-Hard

Edge Hold

Hard Snow

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Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Written Review- How it rides and who it is for Review by The Good Ride

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews and this is our unfiltered opinion. 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.

Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper 2023 Review

How This Review Happened:

Precious Good Ride dollars were spent to buy this and review it.
Size:156, 161 & 166 – Most of this review is about the 161 though.
Days: 8+
Conditions: Hard groomers, perfect groomers, shallow pow, boot high pow and then knee to waist high pow along with some early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards
Riders:
 James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket. Burton AK Helitak Gore-Tex Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Clutch Glove, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, CG Habitats Work Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Korua Dart, Korua Pencil, Korua Café Racer, Weston Japow, Moss Jellyfish, Gentemstick Barracuda, Season Forma, Soul Shift

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +24/+6. Close to Reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.

How It Was Tested

I tested this against the Weston Japow, Salomon Wolle Nyvelt Fish, Jones Storm Wolf, Capita Spring Break Powder Pill, Korua Dart and Korua Pencil

Approximate Weight

The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper felt like a normal weight for this width and height but it isn’t light. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

The 156 Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper was way too small for my specs, the 166 was too big and it was too wide for my boots to really engage the sidecut. The 161 was just right for my specs.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
156: 8-9
161- 9-10
166- 11-12

For weight I would stay close to the Brands recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

There is a very set back directional board with a good amount of taper but not as much as a lot of swallow tails have. You really sit back far on this ride like you are on a surfboard.

There is no early rise that I can see with the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper and this is pretty much full on old school retro camber. On top of that it is a very pronounced high camber that even goes well into the swallow part of the tail.  Not the modern camber most brands have where they say it’s full camber but it has some early rise. You really feel all that camber and it’s pretty technical and not for intermediates.

Retro Ripper 2023 Camber

Flex Personality

The flex of the Lib Tech Retro Ripper is very stiff between the feet but pretty medium to medium soft in the nose. The Swallow tail is pretty soft too and you really feel it when you lean into the tails on a carve or a butter.

There is soo much pop and spring you get from all this camber. It ollies really easy and does well for getting air for being this set back on tail. You can actually tail and nose butter pretty well too. 

Uneven Terrain

Lib tech makes boards that really accentuate the pop that you can get from the wood core and it can be a little chattery compared to some of the damper rides, Lib Tech Los Retro Ripper does pretty well in all conditions.

Edge Hold

There is no disrupted sidecut like you see with most Magnetraction boards. It did well in the hard snow I had it in but it isn’t there with mellow or full mag. I don’t think most riders will want more grip though.

Speed

So the base glide isn’t in the same peer group as most boards this price. It’s not slow but every other board I tested this against (all were freshly waxed) were a little to a lot better. On top of that the Lib Tech Los Retro Ripper needed to be waxed every couple of days where many other boards would hold the wax/have better base glide longer.

Lib Tech Retro Ripper Base

Not the best board for pointing it either but its doable on ocassion. It’s happier turning than straight lining.

 

Turning Experience/Carving

The Lib Tech Los Retro Ripper is an absolute pleasure to carve. I actually liked carving this more than riding it in powder. There is soo much spring and drive out of the turn that it would be a real shame if you just rode this in powder. What surprised me coming from the 166 to the 161 was how turny the board got. It as a little hooky until I detuned the edges. Speaking of I don’t usually talk about this with so many hybrid shapes out there these days but you need to detune the edges near the tip/tail. This is all about across the groomer to circle carves and not super strong when pointing it…if you size it correctly.

Powder

Lib Tech Retro Ripper Pow Set back

There is a shit ton of set back on board. Measuring from the V in the swallow tail there is a -9.25” setback from center of board with a 20.25” stance width. Because of this set back, the deep cut out in the swallow tail and the 16mm of taper I didn’t set it all the way back. I often do this with really pronounced swallow tail boards but with the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper it didn’t float as well so I had to set it all the way back. When I did it floated really well for having all that camber but wasn’t all time like many of the boards I tested it against. It did have exceptional pop in powder that I really liked so it’s a trade off.Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper 2023 In Powder

Conclusion

So overall the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper has very competent float in powder and exceptional carving skills. My only real complaint was the thirsty base at this price point. If you like full camber in powder but want a surfy/set back ride this could for sure work.

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Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Past Reviews

2021 Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Review

Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Review 2021 Snowboard Video Review Fast Forward Markers

0:00 – Intro, 0:17 – Conditions, Bindings & Boots Used, 0:42 – Summary, 0:56 – Sizing, 1:18 – Camber, 1:48 – Flex, 2:31- Speed, 3:21 – Uneven Terrain, 4:04 – Edge Hold, 4:39 – Turning/Carving, 5:25 – Powder, 5:42 – Conclusion, 6:09 – Outtake..lift me up!

Swipe Right: Big, Fast & Powerful Swallow Tail Carver
Swipe Left: Full Camber and not an easy ride in uneven snow.

Summary

The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper carves really hard for a swallow tail and has very groomer friendly personality with all that camber. It is more than just a powder board. It just isn’t a mellow mood or a board you want to turn in messy uneven snow with.

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.

Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper 2021 Snowboard Review- How it rides and who it is for

Lib-Tech Lost Retro Ripper Snowboard Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How This Review Happened: We had a few laps at a demo.
Size: 166
Days: 1
Conditions: Great morning groomers with only a few small hard patches.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs), Jimbo,  Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Bent Metal Axion

Similar Boards (but not the same):
Korua Pencil, Korua Café Racer, Weston Japow, Rossignol XV, Jones Lone Wolf

Set-Up: 21.5” Wide. 21 front +3 back.

Approximate Weight

Its a big board but not too heavy for its size.

Sizing

166 -8-11ish US Boots

The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper is pretty wide in the nose and waist but still isn’t that narrow in the tail so it can fit a bigger rider. I would’t go much past a US 11 so you can carve really really hard without booting out. You can go above 11 but best to keep it with reduced footprint boots after size 11. It can easily fit larger boots but it seems like this board should be ridden a little wider than you normally would so you can really lay it over.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

There is a really locked in feel with the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper and its not a chill ride. The full camber and wider width makes this 166 not feel like many easy riding Swallow Tails we have been on the last few years. This isn’t an easy board to skid turns with or play about. You really feel that full camber driving the nose/tail into the snow and it is an old school powerful ride.

Flex/Pop/Buttering

Not easy to butter with the medium/stiff flex of the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper but you don’t get this board for that kind of riding. It takes some work to make it Ollie as well.

Speed

The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper is such a bomber. Peter loves to point it and this board really called to him. If the base had a little more glide it would be perfect.

Uneven Terrain

So the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper can power over just about any kind of micro bumpy snow and keep those vibrations from getting up into your joints. However, we would all want to put it away when conditions get tracked up and messy just because it is so big and not easy to manage and throw around if you have to get through bigger bumps to find some good snow. Powering over a traverse line or some areas with more tracked up powder would be easy though.

Edge Hold

Pretty solid grip for having almost no disruption in the sidecut. The Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper is not like most Lib boards.

Turn Initiation

Slow for Peter and I but medium/slow for Jimbo. It is a long, wide ride and not for slaloming through tight tree lines. Taking the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper down a big open face is what we would like to do.

Turning Experience/Carving

Such a powerful carver. I personally haven’t had this much fun carving on a swallow tail in a long time. It feels like the more speed you give the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper the more it rewards you in a turn. It really powers through turns in such a satisfying way. The wider and longer the run the better.

Powder

We had no powder but you can tell this will float really well even though it’s full camber. The big nose, pretty wide width and 15mm of taper leading into that pretty large swallow tail should float really well. It seems pretty set back on board too.

Conclusion

So the Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper isn’t going to be for everyone but people like Peter would love to own this for perfect morning groomers and bombing down a wide open face on a powder day.

 
Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Specs

 
Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper Images

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

2023

2021

Lib Tech Lost Retro Ripper User Reviews

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