Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Lib Tech Waterboards

Forum for kitesurfers
User avatar
Vin Stefanelli
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1144
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:44 am
Gear: Ozone Frenzy
Naish Shockwave
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Nutley NJ USA #1
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby Vin Stefanelli » Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:15 am

so uh,... is there a Lib Tech twin tip?

that would probably sell,...

i like my TT lib tech snowboards

User avatar
pjhardie
Rare Poster
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:35 pm
Local Beach: The Slick, Cape Hatteras, NC.
Style: Waves
Brand Affiliation: REAL Watersports Inc. - Rider and Employee.
Location: Cape Hatteras, NC.
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby pjhardie » Wed Apr 17, 2013 4:50 pm

Hey guys - have been testing these boards like crazy and did a full riding review. These boards are awesome for kiteboarding because they are SO light! I bashed the rails of the board pretty hard against my spreader bar in the video review and it didn't seem to matter!
http://www.realwatersports.com/news/lib ... tesurfing/

DirkGently
Medium Poster
Posts: 137
Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:52 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby DirkGently » Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:47 pm

They're not heavy.... The start of that interview where Mike Olson talks about making wakeboards makes me feel light-headed.

I have figured out what sort of materials they are using, and the amount of investment involved in building just the blanks is impressive.

Props to Mike Olson for keeping it clean and keeping it local. Hire your friends to do a clean job, that guy is my hero.

User avatar
tautologies
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 10864
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Oahu
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 156 times
Contact:

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby tautologies » Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:53 pm

nice job on the review :-) :thumb:
I hope they will come out with more shapes. The new naish skaters also have a flat / concave deck..was a little weird first time I stepped on it, but I am thinking that the lib techs are going to be similar in that once you ride it for 5 mins, the deck will be better than the standard domes...

DirkGently
Medium Poster
Posts: 137
Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:52 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby DirkGently » Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:49 am

shut the f*** up about niash

Ecoastprock
Medium Poster
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:16 am
Local Beach: Folly Beach, Charleston, South Carolina
Favorite Beaches: Pavones, County Park, North End, 28.5 & Moletrees
Style: Surf
Gear: Slingshot Globetrotter 4 10
5 8 Libtech Waterboard
5 8 Coil Industries
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby Ecoastprock » Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:01 am

Image

I was lucky enough to score one of these boards off a friend of mine in CR. At first glance they look pretty awesome. The honeycomb tech and silver, shiny carbon fiber rails and concave deck are all good ideas. This board is basically indestructable, however, the glassing can be penetrated. The great thing about their honeycomb basalt tech is that it is not foam and will not suck up water when the glass is compromised.

I surfed the board a handful of times and personally i felt it to be way to heavy and not enough concave thru the center of the board. This was the VERT 5'8" model. I have since used the board for strapless kitesurfing and love it.

The concave deck, divit rails and durability are all great for kiting and because im not paddling or relying on the board for power the extra weight doesnt bother me. The only problem ive found other than the weight issue is the fin boxes.

Libtech went with some new fin system that imo sucks. Ive busted both fin boxes out and while the board doesnt suck up water it still exposes a huge hole on the bottom of the board. They can be fixed with regular epoxy resin so not a huge deal.

Overall I compare them to Coil Industries boards but slightly heavier, more durability but less surf performance and ****ty fin boxes.

I would prefer a Coil over a Libtech if you are focusing on just the surf performance.

User avatar
tautologies
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 10864
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Oahu
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 156 times
Contact:

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby tautologies » Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:53 am

I thought the fin boxes looked like a great idea. Being able to move fin is pretty cool. Did you hit something?

Ecoastprock
Medium Poster
Posts: 143
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:16 am
Local Beach: Folly Beach, Charleston, South Carolina
Favorite Beaches: Pavones, County Park, North End, 28.5 & Moletrees
Style: Surf
Gear: Slingshot Globetrotter 4 10
5 8 Libtech Waterboard
5 8 Coil Industries
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby Ecoastprock » Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:44 pm

No I didn hit anything, the boxes may seem like a good idea but in reality it's just a just a hassle. They say they work with FCS fins but because of the extra space allowed to alter the fin placement, the FCS fins will slide out of position and sometimes come completely out of the box.

I have had to repair and fix both of the side fin boxes more than once after kiting. I like the boards but they need another year or 3 of testing to be functional.

User avatar
tautologies
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 10864
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Oahu
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 156 times
Contact:

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby tautologies » Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:52 pm

Ecoastprock wrote:No I didn hit anything, the boxes may seem like a good idea but in reality it's just a just a hassle. They say they work with FCS fins but because of the extra space allowed to alter the fin placement, the FCS fins will slide out of position and sometimes come completely out of the box.

I have had to repair and fix both of the side fin boxes more than once after kiting. I like the boards but they need another year or 3 of testing to be functional.
Well there most certainly is more pressure on the fins in kiting than most surfers can accumulate, but it is a pity if it does not work since being able to move fins around really can change the board performance and increase its usable range and type of style. :-)

toyletbowl
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2808
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2003 1:00 am
Local Beach: Olbrich, Governor Nelson, Tenney, Burrows and McDaniels.
Favorite Beaches: Olbrich on SW and McDaniels on a SSW.
Sheboygan when it blows hard on a NE.
Style: Waves, Twin tip and Foilboards.
Gear: Whatever is available.
Brand Affiliation: Cabrinha, Slingshot, Core, Armstrong, Axis, NP Surf, Ride engine, Mystic. www.kiteridersllc.com
Location: Madison, Wi. USA.
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 9 times
Contact:

Re: Lib Tech Waterboards

Postby toyletbowl » Fri Apr 19, 2013 5:58 am

I scored (begged, pleaded, etc to get one for kitesurfing) a 6'0" Bowl at last fall's Surf Expo and had a fair amount of time to ride this board. If I knew what I know now, I would have gone with a little narrower and a little smaller board overall. I'm 6'2" and about 205 lbs, so I'm not a small guy at all, but the tail on the board is really powerful and rails harder to burry. I usually ride in stronger winds though so it was for a 6m - 10m mostly. The power causes me to ride a little slower than I like to keep it from getting bouncy.

What I liked. Love the deck and feel. Light weight, flex and really strong board for dings, etc. Well made. Fun ride when it's in the right winds. Goes upwind well.

What I didn't like. Came with plastic fins. No no in my book for any board. NO PLASTIC PLEASE for fins. I bought some nice replacement fins and it made a big difference on the ride. I could see a lot more turbulence from the plastic fins. Other than the fins and it being really powerful tail, it's a sweet board.

I hope this helps,

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Aberdovy kiter, arjas, Baidu [Spider], Bing [Bot], bragnouff, bshmng, Chriz76, DanielorDani, Devonkiteboy, Dirk, funalex, plasma180, SolarSet, suisd12, thatwildtype, voodoospirit, Windwarrior and 602 guests