About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the snowboard, which I purchased with my own money in November of 2022.

My take

The Lib Tech EJack Knife is an excellent intermediate to advanced freeride board that rips anywhere on the mountain. This board profile is very friendly and really plows through the chop like a freight train.

About the board I own

• Model: 2023 Lib Tech EJack Knife
• Size: 157

About me

• Height: 5’8”
• Weight: 165lbs
• Experience: 16 years of snowboarding

Test conditions

• When I bought these: November 2022
• Days tested: 16
• Mount position: Setback 1.5”
• Boots: 2022 Burton Ion
• Boot Size: 8.5
• Bindings: 2022 Union Falcor
• Where I’ve used it: Utah resorts and backcountry
• Terrain: Groomers, off-piste, trees, cliffs, chutes, jumps, pillows, deep and steep

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was on the hunt for a new board because my old board blew up. I’m a huge fan of Eric Jackson, and I’ve wanted his board for a while. I love his style, and he does the type of freeriding I want to do, so it only makes sense that it would be a great match. I was looking for a board that I could ride daily, one that would be fun to ride and durable enough to take serious abuse.

Why I chose this gear

I bought this board because I love Lib Tech. They are made in the USA with eco-friendly materials by cool people. They are also the most durable boards I’ve ridden. My options when shopping for this board were the Gnu Gremlin, Jones Flagship, and Ejack Knife. I was able to ride the Jones and had way more fun on the Ejack.

What I love about it

• Edge hold: This board has really good edge hold. It feels similar to traditional camber but more nimble. It has Magne-traction, which I think helps on the ice and steeps when I’m traversing.
• Turns: The turns I made on this board were incredible in deep pow and hard pack. I can lean this board over and trench. This board likes to go fast and is snappy but decent with slow turn initiation.
• Groomers: The Ejack slays groomers. It’s so quick edge-to-edge that I just attack every side hit and hand-drag every turn. The board is really stable when bombing down the choppy groomers at the end of the day and blasting through chunder and ice.
• Powder: I’ve ridden this board mostly in pow; it floats well but be prepared to lean back and ride that back leg. I’ve got the bindings set back, but it still can be bucky when landing big drops in deep pow. This board is built for pillows; it just eats them. I rode this board straight down rock faces into pow, and it just felt stable and composed the entire time.
• Trees: This board is so snappy that I just flew through the trees like a ninja. It has a decent amount of taper, so I can really have some fun in tight trees, even when it's choppy.
• Moguls: The EJack has a narrow waist width, and the flex pattern allows me to really get the edge where I need it in order to fly through moguls. It’s also poppy enough to just jump over bumps.
• Park: I only hit some jumps with this board. It is poppy off the lip and rides switch pretty decent for being a directional board.
• Backcountry: Any board is a backcountry board if one is willing to carry it.
• Durability: The durability of this board is amazing. I’ve hit many rocks on this board and ridden over small tree stumps a ton, and my base looks amazing. The edge is also really strong. There are just some light scratches where I rode over sharp rocks.
• Weight: This board felt really light, especially after riding the Jones Flagship for a week. The lightweight is really nice when floating in the pow.
• Stability: The board is super stable bombing down hardpack or in the pow. I can point it, and it feels right at home. I didn’t feel any chatter in this board, and I like to ride pretty fast. The EJack pops really well in the powder, which makes it much more playful.
• Versatility: I think this board is versatile enough to be a one-board quiver for most people interested in freeriding at resorts with some side country. Someone can play on the groomers, carve those windy/icy days, and then jump off-piste as soon as the snow falls. They can traverse to the goods, hit the cliffs, and then jump back to the groomer and hit the jump line on the way back.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Speed: This board is somewhat slow, which is unfortunate. I think it's due to having a white base. I had to wax it a couple of times to get it up to speed, but it doesn’t compare to a black base.
• Switch riding: For a directional board riding switch isn’t too bad. It's definitely not a twin.
• Flotation: This board floats really well in packed powder. It’s able to get above it and glide. It seems to dive a little bit in lighter snow that is really deep and can’t stay above it. I’ve also been riding the Lib Tech Orca for a few seasons, so maybe I’m nitpicking on this topic.

Favorite moment with this gear

My favorite moment with this board was a chute that led to a triple popper that I came nuking out of and trenched the deepest heel side carve of my life. I could feel my pants dragging across the snow because I was so deep, and it threw up the craziest-looking wave of snow. I felt like I was in a movie.

Value for the money vs. other options

It’s a great deal for the money, not to mention this board is made in the USA with eco-friendly products. I see many freeride boards going for $700-800 these days. This is a great bang for the buck in every way. Similar boards would be the CAPiTA Mercury ($599) and the Golden Orca ($799).

Final verdict

This board rips. For those who enjoy freeriding, this is one of the best. For any doubts about what this board can handle, just pop over to YouTube and watch some of Eric Jackson's lines on this board. Buy it.