Curated Snowboarding Expert Mike Leighton got his hands on the 2024 Lib Tech Skate Banana Snowboard this spring. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that every rider is different; if you have any questions about the Skate Banana Snowboard or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboarding 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 unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Lib Tech claim about this board? Lib Tech claims the Skate Banana is a game-changing freestyle fun deck designed to turn the whole mountain into a freestyle playground. It features their original Banana Tech, one of the original full rocker progressions of profiles. It also features Magne-Traction and is a 6 out of 10 flex.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? It's approachable and fun. Riding it in the right conditions and terrain with the right rider is easy. The Skate Banana is a legend, in all honesty.

Carving

How does it turn? If you like spinning around like a top, buttering around, it will be engaging and catch-free. It'll encourage you to seek out places to have fun.

What is the edge hold like? The Magne-Traction will create more contact points, allowing you to hold an edge through many more conditions and chunder. The 6 out of 10 flex in there will lend some more stability. The original Banana Rocker will make it easier to engage on your edge.

How damp is the board? Do you feel any underfoot chatter? If you're looking for something that will charge and make hard, steep carve turns, this won't be the dampest or most stable ride in those higher-speed turns. There’s going to be a little chatter.

How does it perform at speed? I didn't get this board going too fast, but it is fairly stable.

Freestyle

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? If you're starting to learn how to spin, the rocker profile will engage the edge early, so you'll have to wait for it to get that pop to pop that board. Otherwise, you'll end up spinning halfway across the lip, which might kill some speed, but you might end up knuckling.

Is it good for riding switch? It features a twin profile and flex, so you can learn switch and regular in and out of the park pretty confidently.

How is it for buttering? You have the best of both worlds for buttering around with the Magne-Traction and rocker. You can engage when you want and keep spinning and popping around when you don't.

How is it on jumps? This is a really fun board on smaller to medium-sized jumps.

Freeride

How is it in powder? One of the great things about a rocker profile is that it automatically creates this upward motion encouraging the front half of the board to float automatically. Anything with a true or pure rocker profile will perform well in fresh snow.

How is it in uneven terrain and chunder? How is it riding in the trees? How is its maneuverability? Due to the rocker profile and Magne-Traction, the board will allow for a quick catch-free experience, edge to edge on uneven terrain and in the trees. At the same time, the Magne-Traction will dive in to engage your edges so you can use that rocker profile to move back and forth nimbly. You'll want something that probably features a bit of camber in there to have that extra bit of control for steeper, tighter trees and more tactical stuff, whether that’s a C2 Profile from Mervin or one of their other profiles.

What terrain is this board good for? This board is good for green through blue terrain. Terrain for low-speed carving is where this board will thrive.

What kind of terrain should riders avoid with it? I wouldn't say I want it on super steep technical terrain. In terms of what terrain to avoid, I would say anything black groomer and up where you're really starting to add speed in and need some control, steep, technical.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? This snowboard is targeted more towards the beginner through intermediate rider that is falling in love with snowboarding and is just having fun, linking their first turns. This is a great board for someone struggling with their control on green to blue terrain. It is a great deck if you're riding with the kids, and it is a good first deck for adults. It comes at a higher price point, but if you're looking to invest in your snowboarding, this is a good board for you to progress on and continue to develop your skills and confidence.

This is a good board for jibbing around, keeping things close to the ground. Once you start getting into the air and on the bigger features, you may want something with a little more control and stiffness.

Who should avoid this board? Are there other better options out there for them? Riders who want an engaging, locked-in feel or ride steep technical terrain should avoid this board. This may not be the right board for intermediate through higher-level riders. You may want something with camber in it.

Snowboards work differently for various types of riders. If you want or need help finding the right board for you, contact Mike or any other Snowboarding Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations on the best board for you.