Brainwashed

Okay, at this point your just making things up and I get really tired of people in active sports who do what you are doing. You haven't ridden any of these boards. If you had you would know that your 'shop knowledge' is incorrect.

Also, Libtech does not market the Magic as a backcountry exclusive board. It's their dream quiver killer board as far as I can tell. Quote from Lib Tech's web page:
"The Banana Magic Horsepower series is completely Volcanic Organic and features all basalt construction (no traditional fiberglass) BEANs top material, Columbian Gold eco timber core combined with deep sidecuts and “enhanced” banana. Lib Tech has tuned this combination of geometry, construction and flex to create incredible edge grip in all conditions especially ice, unbelievable float in powder and broken snow, effortless jibbing and damp quiet stability at speed. You carve, you jib, you carve, you jib."


Note the above key words: Carve, Stability, and Damp. Those are all terms you claim the Magic is not and claim Lib's markets says other wise.

I personally would appreciate it if you stopped confusing people about the Lib Tech line up. I cringe to think that you are in a shop telling people the things you are writing here. You also clearly don't read the marketing material you cite as gospel.

Regardless, anyone looking at these boards should go out of your way to ride them for yourself and see what you think. Just because some guys online are yammering about something doesn't mean you should buy it blindly. I can guarantee that if you can carve a snowboard you will be very happy with the Attack or Magic Banana or the TRS. They are just different takes on the same ideal and all rip.

walove

if you dont know what your doing or your lazy, riding a board with lots of rocker on firm snow can be a challenge, as when your not on an edge they are quite loose. If you do know your doing on a snowboard, and you like to turn (<--liking to turn is becoming less popular with the new gen of snowboarders) boards with more rocker are really responsive and quick to turn. pair that with a stiffer layup and some edge tech and you have a board that loves to crank turns. I have the original re carnation of the gyrator with over a inch or rocker in the tip and 3/4" in the tail and the board carves like a dream.

boards with flat/flatter profiles give a stable ride, lifted contact points make it not catchy. a good board to cruise around, land tricks other groomer activities. not great for laying trenches.

in summary

"good for groomers" doesn't mean "great turning / carving board"


side note, whats your opinion on the side cut on the magic banana. lib has it listed at 7m and "Numerically enhanced" 7m seems super tight. i like boards with a side cut around 8.5+.

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SHRED HAPPENS

hktrdr

I was going to let this rest, but now you are misquoting me and putting words in my mouth. I specifically mentioned that the Magic is damp and does hold a carve.
I only claimed that the Magic was not very stable on groomers - which Lib-Tech agrees with and acknowledges. The above statement stressing the the deck's virtues in "ice", "powder", and "broken snow" does not contradict this at all - note the absence of any reference to hardpack and groomers.

I have tried to keep this as discussion of issues but you keep making this personal so here it goes: I could not care less what you "would appreciate" and what makes you "cringe". I have made fact-based arguments based on my experience riding these boards, the Lib-Tech materials that our shop receive, our communications with Lib-Tech and their representatives, and a number of other riders.

As I said before, some of our shops buy/sell Lib-Tech and the Quiksilver/Mervin guys certainly do not seem to have issues with how their line-up is presented.

This will be my last post on this, unless some real new facts/issues are raised (as opposed to personal attacks) or somebody else has a question.

DesireeM81

Thank you for posting this. I am a newer snowboarder getting my first set up and I got a GNU B-Nice with Banana Magic and Magnetraction and I am thankful to see the kinds of performance I can get on this board.

someguy

That's also one thing I'd like to know.

I want to thank all of you for the most valuable input

Meanwhile I tied myself down to two Boards and I already ordered both of them: LibTech TRS 157 and LibTech Attack Banana 156.

The only thing I need to do now is to make a wise decision between those two boards . Then I will return the other board.

Brainwashed

Is it possible to ride both boards? I think you have it narrowed down to the two best boards Lib makes for you riding style. It's like deciding which beer you like. Pilsner or a Porter. No one can tell you which one you will like best.

As you can see as well, people will disagree as to each boards characteristics and how they handle. Just like hktrdr and I, I'm sure we would get along great in person but it's as if I like Porter and he likes Pilsner. We just need to agree to disagree - even though he's wrong. I kid, I kid!

I know a decision like this is hard, I was just there. Just remember that you get to pick between two of the best boards made. The best thing to do would be to ride them back to back in the same conditions to choose one. If you can't ride the, go through all of the online reviews you can find and pick the one that sounds more like what your looking for and don't look back. Both of those boards are great and I honestly think you will enjoy either one. I honestly think I would have loved the TRS I nearly bought just as much as I like my Magic. They are just slightly different.

someguy

You say there's zero difference, but the GNU Rider's choice has asymmetric sidecuts and a sintered base. The TRS and the Attack Banana both have an extruded base (TNT).

What do you guys think about the asymmetric sidecut? Is it really a big advantage in your view? What do you think about the sintered <-> extruded bases?

Since the RC has these (potential) advantages and it costs the same as the TRS and the AB, I'm starting to think about whether or not the Rider's Choice would be a better board for me. I tied myself down to the TRS and the AB, but maybe I should reconsider this decision.

What do you guys think about these things, especially regarding the asymmetric sidecut and the sintered <-> extruded bases?

Jeb

So, you ordered the other two boards - and now you're gonna go with a Gnu? I think you're thinking too much. Take one of these things out on the snow and point it downhill. They're all going to work.

Weipim

hey there, I was exactly in your situation at my local shop, hesitating between trs, AB and Gnu RC. I finally went with the RC just because I told myself, heck I am about to try new stuff and why not just push it further? Asym sidecut, the shape of RC with full mtx, and the
c2btx is a jack of all trades to me and I've had only 3 days on them but really loves them to death. I paired them with ride delta mvmt, union asadachi and rome 390; among the bindings i especially liked asadachi, i never thought i can handle small jumps (not park kickers) this good, never fell on landing: which i was right, i am not good at jumps at all since I don't perform as good on the 390 boss with that deck.

So down the road I guess the gnu rc is a really versatile board when combined with different bindings. I wish i could try trs or AB or even BM, but now I am damn happy with my setup and maybe next year i will grab a new deck again and this time it will be Lib for sure. Hope this helps.

btw, im 6' 180lbs and RC was 154.5

Nolefan2011

Thanks for the review. This thing is sitting my house collecting dust right now because I tore my meniscus and had surgery a week ago. 7 weeks to go....

Anyway, I am looking forward to riding this thing, and really comparing to the rest of the Lib line, which I have ridden.

I was hoping you would have had more experience with modern tech, because truth of the matter is, you could have bought a Proto, Magic, Happy Hour, Coda, etc, and it wouldn't have matter, they would have all blown away your last equipment and you would have loved all boards.

Technology has just changed so much.

I have promised to review this bad boy this year, and will get it done in February it looks like. Still plenty of days that time of year.