Tested - 2012 Lib Tech Skate Banana 156

Anybody interested in finding-out how next seasons Lib Tech Skate Banana rides? No? Didn’t think so…

Little more than a week ago a strange yellow tent appeared outside Sierra at Tahoe’s main building; the resort where I work as an instructor. As I was busy instructing that morning I only managed to stick my head around the corner in the afternoon and ask the guys whether they were demoing next season’s boards. Much to my surprise the decks were next season’s offerings so without delay I ran over to my supervisor and booked the afternoon off work…..I then grabbed next seasons Skate Banana, and headed for the park.

My afternoon was spent riding perfect mid-season snow in Sierra’s ‘The Alley’ park and even managed to get a couple of cheeky laps in the newly-shaped 20ft Super Pipe. Anyway, below is what I thought of Lib’s best seller.

Lib Tech Skate Banana 2012

Length: 156

Tester: Tom Ewbank

Weight: 150lbs

Stance: 26”

Snow conditions: Perfect mid-season snow; grippy and soft.

Weather: A beautiful February day in Tahoe……sunny and warm!

Terrain: Medium snowboard park (10m kickers, hip, jibs and rails)
  20ft Super Pipe
  Blue and green runs

Pop: At slow speeds the Skate Banana has tonnes of pop; it’s great for ollying onto rails and jibs. On jumps and hips the Skate Banana isn’t as poppy as some other kicker-focused boards but it’s still very capable and you won’t compromise too much pop.

Flex: It’s pretty soft but it isn’t a noodle. Along the board, longitudinally, the flex is medium/soft which combined with the boards’ banana rocker profile means it’s very easy to press and butter. Although the Skate Banana definitely prefers the rider landing on ‘bolts’ (in the centre of your board) landing in the back seat doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to fall, which is nice. Torsionally and laterally the flex is jib-focused, soft and easy to press, which means that you feel absolutely everything through your feet. This is fine on jibs and soft snow but when you encounter crud or harder snow it can definitely affect stability.

Carving: I had fun carving this board on Sierra’s soft well-groomed slopes. It was lacking some of the energy of a cambered or hybrid rocker board but it was still fun and pretty stable.

Bumps: I only took the Skate Banana through a short section of relatively small bumps. Although I got through the section quickly and without any issues the bumps were definitely more tiring than they would have been on other boards I’ve ridden in he past. Due to the soft torsional flex I found that my feet were really aching and I wasn’t as stable as I would have liked.

Steep Terrain: Short turns on steep terrain aren’t as easy as they are on a firmer freestyle or all-mountain board. If you’re planning on becoming a Snowboard instructor you might want to look at some different boards to take your exams on.

Park: The Skate Banana is a really fun board for hitting the medium park, I felt immediately at home hitting the medium features in Sierra’s Alley park. Although it’s a lot of fun on medium-sized features if you’re looking for a board to help you spin off kickers above 45ft (15m) then I’d look at something with a little more torsional rigidity for landings and stability on run-ins.

Jibs and rails: Jibs and rails are what this board was designed for. Despite having brand-new edges I was more than happy to boardslide through kinks and spin onto rails. The Skate Banana is a jibbers wet dream.

Pipe: I’ve definitely felt more stable in the pipe but I could still get small airs above the lip so I was pleasantly surprised. Nevertheless if your focus is pipe then look elsewhere because this board is not going to take your pipe riding to the next level.

Freeriding: Although I didn’t manage to do any freeriding on this board I can imagine it would be a lot of fun on easyily accessible off-piste….I just wouldn’t take it anywhere that you really need to depend on it; this is not a board for AK lines!

What we reckon:  According to the Lib Tech rep no changes have been made to the 2012 Skate Banana apart from a new lick of paint……so if you’ve got the 2011 model I wouldn’t rush out to the shops for a replacement! With regards to performance; as always the Skate Banana is a lot of fun to ride and eats-up rails and medium-sized park features. As with last seasons board; if you’re a jib kid and you’re looking for a board that is jib-focused but will give you the versatility to ride the medium park and cruise around the whole mountain without too many problems then the Skate Banana is on the money. If you regularly ride icy conditions then the Mag edges will definitely come in handy too. With regards to sizing; I wouldn’t size down too much unless you want to ride it just for jibs and rails.

Posted by Tom Ewbank in Features.

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