Yes Libre 2018-2020 Snowboard Review

YES Libre Snowboard Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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• Product Specs
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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 borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it.

Size: 154
Days:  4
Conditions:  Pretty good spring conditions the whole time we rode it.  Only a few hard mornings.
Riders: James, Jimbo, Matt, 
Boots: Burton Almighty, Adidas Tactical ADV, Burton Rover,
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Superpro with team ankle straps (similar to the contact but with taller straps), Burton Genesis, 
Set-Up:  Always close to centered, 22.75″ 15 front -15 back

Our Recommended Boots: Burton Ruler or any med/soft to mid flexing boot.
Our Recommended Bindings:  Union Force, Union Contact, Burton Mission, Salomon Quantum,  Salomon Hologram, Now Pilot, Arbor Cypress, or any medium to med/slow response binding.

Approximate Weight: Feels normal.

Flex: Nice med bordering on med/soft flex throughout the whole board. Feels a touch stiffer than the Typo and Basic from 2017.  I think the 2018 models are closer to the 2018 Libre. The flex is pretty interesting as it has a little bit of a flexy/rubbery feel without being a popless noodle. It isn’t about being a super poppy board but it’s not a slouch either. Kind of in the middle ground.

Sizing: The 154 was a little too small for me.  I would of much better off with a 158 or even the 156 for my specs.  Zobel and Jimbo would have been much happier with a 159w or 161w at size 11’s.

On Snow Feel:  Feels like a low-cost Standard from 2017 and that’s a great thing. Nice and stable between the feet but not catchy either.  It’s great for those that want a board that will flat base well on a long cat track or one foot easy off a chair.  The Yes Libre has a very consistent personality in all conditions from hard snow to soft snow.  Just like any good all-mountain board, it does nothing excellent but everything good.  It can center up and act like an all-mountain freestyle board and then set back a little bit and then give you a little more directional float on powder days.

Edge Hold: If you often ride in harder conditions the Yes Typo is the better call.  However, if you see more normal conditions than the Libre will be fine.  It’s not as sure-footed in hard snow as the Typo with underbite but it can hold an edge well enough to not be too sketchy.

Turn Initiation: Very quick edge to edge and where ever you want the Yes Libre to go it goes there.  It’s very confidence-inspiring in trees, tight spots and weaving in and out of tight bumps.

Turning Experience/Carving: It’s a really good turning experience for $369 and it’s great for riders of all levels.  Short radius to wide radius turns is pretty fun. There is enough camber to get some spring out of a carve and it’s not bad when the conditions are good to lay it out.

Skidded Turns: Very easy to skid turns with the Yes Libre and It’s a great board for those who skid their turns all the time or still get off their game from time to time and need to skid out.

Speed:  It’s not going to set fire to the world of all-mountain riding but it’s fine with big wide-open groomers.  The extruded base does a great job at keeping the speed consistent even if you don’t wax all the time.  It’s never going to be the fastest compared to a waxed sintered base but when the wax comes off both bases I’d rather be on the Yes Libre.

Uneven Terrain: This is a great board for all-day resort riding.  As the day get’s messy the Yes Libre will hang in there and be easy to weave in and out of anything from rutted snow to a wrong turn down a super bumpy run.

Powder: The directional volume twin shape makes for a little better float than you would think for how little set back on sidecut there is as well as set back on board. I’d love to see 6×2 inserts per binding instead of 5×2 or Slam Back Inserts so there is more directional float. There is a difference between nose and tail of 2″ so that makes it 1″ back from center on board. That is not much and we would love to see more directional float. Still, the less surface area in the tail helps make the Yes Libre float a touch better than the YES Basic but both are super close to one another.

Buttering: We like the slightly stiffened flex compared to the 16 and 17 SWS model Typo and Basic.  It’s easy to butter but not so soft that the first time you try it you butter right onto your ass.

Switch: Very good switch and it almost feels like a true twin when centered or close to centered.  It was easy for all of us to ride the Yes Libre fakie.

Jumps: Good pop for such a low-cost board and, although it has a bit of a rubbery feel underfoot it pops rather well on an ollie. It is better for small to medium-sized kickers.

Jibbing:  Not a bad jibber.  Jimbo liked it and even I did and I’m a pretty weak jibber.

Pipe: We like the extra grip of the Typo or the Basic but this is still a really fun board to ride the pipe.

So, all in all, we feel the Libre is going to have good appeal for beginners or intermediates on a budget but an advanced to expert rider on a budget could do a lot worse in this price range. Even with the cheaper tech and the lack of much directional float in powder, the Yes Libre does a lot of things right.