Snowboard Review: 08-09 Lib Tech Mc Kink

Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Variable. I had the Mc Kink for 2 weeks here in Steamboat to test and ride. Conditions were variable from hard packed to icy groomers, slushy bumps and heavier powder.

Setup: I rode the Lib Tech Mc Kink with my Rome Madison bindings and my Vans Omni Focus boots.

First Impression: It’s been a while since I’ve rode a board with a 25.9 waist width…so lets see how well this rides with me.

Size: 157cm

Weight: Average

Flex: The Mc Kink is a freestyle specific board so combined with the Banana Tech (BT) it’s overall a softer, loose feeling board on the mountain. I found the flex great for messing around with, hit some small rails, any tail or nose butters and ollies. When I took the board to choppier, bumpy terrain the loose feeling of the BT came out and definitely had to maneuver more carefully with the softer flex. I took it in the halfpipe but definitely a softer flex than I’d like for riding halfpipe with.

Turning: It was slower edge to edge with the wider waist width, which I was expecting. The waist width on the Mc Kink is 25.9, I wear a size 8 women’s boot. I definitely had to work harder the first couple days as I got used to it. Quite frankly, it’s too wide for me and not a suitable board for my boot size.

Stable: When I took the board through the groomed runs, it was fine at speeds. But when I took it through more chopper stuff on groomed runs, it wasn’t as stable. I definitely speed checked with the board. I was also riding with skiers so it’s definitely a keep up and ride fast moments sometimes.

Pop: Definitely has pop, I had some fun ollie’ing off rollers with the mc kink. In the pipe it had more pop than I was used to, had a couple close calls on landing flat but made it out alive. One thing that I haven’t done in a while with a board is helicopters where you spin in circles going down the hill…this was where I got a good taste of how you won’t catch an edge on this board. I was showing others how to helicopter and it was just so easy, never had to worry about catching edges with the mc kink.

Switch: I got some good time in riding this board on the easier terrain at Steamboat during Gaper Day. This is where I spent a lot of time on the board riding switch as well as a couple other days during the last week. The board was fine on switch, no noticeable difference in flex that I could tell and I had a lot of fun doing nose and tail presses into riding switch on it.

Powder: I’m adding this powder in because I was able to ride a good amount of powder with this board. Not your typical Steamboat light and fluffy powder either…this was heavier, days old powder. The BT really came into play here in the powder. It was the best riding with this board was finally using the BT in the deep stuff. If you want to see pictures of the turns and powder from that day check here. Overall in powder, it excelled even for a softer freestyle board. I really had a good time making turns with the BT.

MagneTraction (MTX): It helped to have the MTX on this board, definitely combined with the BT and softer flex, you needed more to grab the snow on edge which is where the MTX came in. I didn’t notice it as super grippy on the ice but definitely held the snow better during those moments.

Pipe: Too soft and forgiving of a flex, the MTX was good to grip the icy wall but overall I didn’t feel as stable with the flex being too absorbing. It’s a park board…but when I did do a press on the deck of the pipe, it was fun to have around.

Overall Impression: For a softer more freestyle board, it was super fun on the mountain. It is definitely more forgiving and loose when riding which is personal preference on how you like it. I had some days where that was perfect for me and others where I wanted more aggressive. I’m definitely hoping to try more Libs with BT and MTX to get a better idea of the more all mountain/freeride boards for next year. The Mc Kink was an amazing ride in powder but for me on groomers it was too wide and didn’t suit me as a rider. However even still, it definitely suits people looking for a wider waist board, that can handle pow or the park.

Shay’s Honesty Box: This board is not for me…not suited to me, not a board I would ride. It was a harder board to review because of those issues and I reviewed it as a rider but definitely let it be known it does not suit me. I really struggled with the board and I hate that feeling.

On-snow Photos

Lib Tech Mc Kink Catalog Description
(click on photo to open bigger)