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Snowboards

Lib Tech Swiss Knife 2018-2019 Snowboard Review

The name of the Lib Tech Swiss Knife snowboard doesn’t just allude to its versatility. It’s also a doff of the cap to Fredi Kalbermatten. Saas Fee’s favourite son was heavily involved in the design of this board, and it shows.

The Lib Tech Swiss Knife is primed for backcountry freestyle. It’s ever so slightly wider in the nose than the tail, but your stance is still centred, so you get all the freestyle feel you need plus a bit of help in the deep stuff.

“The Lib Tech Swiss Knife is primed for backcountry freestyle”

The ‘directional camber’ approach to the profile is effective for this kind of riding, too. There’s plenty of pop and edge hold, but by mellowing out the camber towards the nose, it’s easier to keep this afloat. Switch riding (and landings) isn’t off the table, but your preferred stance will be easier to control.

A blend of Aspen and paulownia wood in the core makes this light yet strong, and the nose and tail have been made thinner to reduce swing weight – something you’ll notice as soon as you launch your first spin. The serrated edges improve the board’s performance on hard-pack, and the relative stiffness makes it a powerhouse in all conditions.

The 155cm version has been dropped this year, but larger-hoofed riders should know that there’s now a wider take on the 161cm, boasting an extra centimetre across the middle.

Tester’s Verdict

Sam McMahonwhitelines.com

“Whisper it: some of Lib Tech’s ‘C3’ profiled boards these days feature so little in the way of rocker you’d be hard pressed to tell that they ain’t just regular camber. Not that that’s a bad thing; some of us like the traditional stuff, including me, which is why I was pleasantly surprised by the Swiss Knife, Fredi Kalbermatten’s pro board for Lib.

“It feels very grippy even on the iciest of hardpacks”

The 161W version is a great beast of a thing, but once it’s up and running it starts feeling a lot shorter, if that makes any sense. It feels very grippy even on the iciest of hardpacks, and although it’s large it’s not what you’d call heavy, so chucking it around feels fine.

In short, it’s kind of what you’d expect from the design mind of someone like Fredi K: solid, stable, dependable, but with enough forgiveness to play with if the terrain allows it. Packing your bags for the Swiss Alps this year? This wouldn’t go amiss.”

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