Curated Snowboard Expert Arielle Busch got her hands on the 2023 Lib Tech Ryme this spring and put it to the test at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every rider is different; if you have any questions about the Lib Tech Ryme or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Lib Tech (Mervin) claim about this board? Lib Tech claims that the Ryme is a freestyle park twin. It's got a poppy catch free, early rise camber and it stops landings or surfing slashes with ease.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? My overall impression of the Lib Tech Ryme was that it was super, super fun. I am not usually a predominantly freestyle rider. I tend to charge hard, like to carve, but this board was super poppy. It was super playful. I could really feel the camber in the profile, and it really held me in all of my landings.

Carving

How does it turn? I felt like the profile on this actually lent itself to being able to make really, really tight turns. And it was super maneuverable.

How about edge hold? This profile is a C3 camber dominant profile. It does have a little bit of a mellow rocker in between the feet, but honestly, with that dominant camber profile, I felt a really nice edge hold in my carves. I mainly felt it when I was locked into a carve. And then getting into that carve, the turn initiation was really, really easy. If you are a rider that already kind of progressed in that intermediate zone and you want to move away from maybe a C2 profile, I would recommend a C3 profile because it's going to give you that locked-in feeling in those turns. And if you are someone that's starting to get into those carves and really wanting to rail them a little bit deeper, this one is going to give you that confidence. Between the Magne-Traction and the C3 profile, you're going to be locked and loaded. And it'll be a great place for you to progress into some of those more advanced performance skills on your board.

What about dampness? Any chatter in the board? At higher speeds, I don't think this board had that much chatter, but like I said, I did ride this board later in the afternoon when there was a little bit of snow. So it really just kind of floated on top of that powder.

How does it perform at speed? I do think it has a little bit of a speed limit, but not anything crazy. I think you'll be able to keep up with your friends, your skier friends, if you have fast kids or anything like that, but it definitely wasn't the hardest charging aggressive female board that I've ridden. But that being said, it also wasn't anywhere near a beginner board. This board should definitely be approached by an intermediate to an advanced level rider. I actually said while riding the chair that I really think an advanced level rider like myself, would have a blast on a board like this, or that intermediate to advanced level rider, someone who's looking to progress, whether it's in the park or just getting "floatier" in the powder, getting "sendier" on the side hits. This board doesn't only have to be ridden in the park. It can definitely dominate the whole mountain and be super, super fun. And you will feel very confident on this board.

Freestyle

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? It just had a really fun, playful flex. I was able to butter it, press it, and really just get playful on the mountain. I wasn't able to take this board into a true park, just because Powder Mountain right now doesn't have one. But like I said, I did take it over some side hits and some rollers, and I was able to really test out that pop in it.

What about riding switch? This is a twin. So riding switch was a breeze. I didn't really feel like I was riding switch. It felt pretty much the same on the nose and the tail, which is what it's supposed to feel like.

How is it on jumps? I could really feel the camber in the C3 profile. It made it super poppy. I was able to take it over some jumps and I sent it to the moon a little bit.

Freeride

How would it be in powder? I was able to test it in a little bit of powder. We got a little snowed on earlier in the morning, and then I took this out in the afternoon and it really floated.

What kind of terrain would it perform well on? I think this board is perfect for someone who likes to go into the park, whether that's jumps and or some features, and then someone who also likes to play outside of the park and on groomers, but this board can also handle pow. So if you are out west and you do get into some powder, when you're not in the park, this would be a great option for you. It definitely floated well; I had some great pow slashes on it.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? I would recommend this board for any park rider who is looking to take their park riding to the next level. Maybe they were on an intro park board and now they want to be on something, like I've been saying, that has a little bit more power behind it, and will give them a little bit more control outside of the park when they are railing those carves, getting into some deeper stuff. I do think this board would be good on the east coast because of the Magne-Traction; it will really bite into the snow, but then like I mentioned, it will also be great out west where you might get a little bit more pow. And when you're bored of the park and want to get out of the park, you'll have a stable table under your feet, that's for sure.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you need help finding the right board for you, reach out to Arielle or another Snowboard Expert here on Curated and they’ll help you get dialed in for your next adventure. Note that the 2024 version of the Lib Tech Ryme is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: