Lib-Tech (Mervin Mfg.):
Park & Pipe NAS (Narrow Ass Snowboards) 2007-2008
117-85/82-111 @ 176cm
"HANDCRAFTED BY SNOWBOARDERS WHO HAVE FRIENDS THAT SKI."
"(not that there's anything wrong with that)"
[click here for large pic]
[click here for larger pic]
Manufacturer Info:
Lib-Tech / Mervin Mfg.
address: PO Box 981060
Park City UT 84098, USA
http://www.LibTech.com
http://www.LibTechNas.com
Suggested Retail Price (MSRP):
approx. $300 usd each street price (sold in singles) $600 per pair
Usage Class:
Freeride park & pipe
Your Rating (with comments):
(1="get me off these things"->10="I have to own a pair")
7 all around, 8 or 9 in the park (see other
testers reviews later) - I'm not a "park & pipe" guy, so my review
has to rate this ski for all-around-the-mountain usage, bearing in mind
the ski should pivot, ride switch, spin, pop with plenty of spunk at
any speeds off all kinds of terrain and handle any surface types
without whining or protesting, and be durable to the n-th degree to
cope with getting the b'jeepers beat out of it.
Summary:
This
ski plows through unfriendly surfaces steady-as-a-rock (for an 85mm
waisted ski), dead-on stable slapping back down to earth and actually
has pretty good bite on hard snow for a park and pipe ski. Pretty
strong and begging to be punished, it feels like you can abuse it on
any terrain. Keeps its manners at higher speeds, never getting
squirrelly or causing trouble. Predictable and solid. Not a willing
carver, but you can get it to carve with the right stance and go pretty
much anywhere on the mountain you want to go and it won't give you any
grief. Lots of rebound pop if you load it up and weight it properly.
Rowdy if you stay on it. Relax and it just wants to drift around.
Lib-Tech wanted a de-tunable P&P ski you could rip around the
mountain with without suffering from "one trick pony" problems
associated with other P&P skis with rounded edges. I think they got
it. One reservation: If you want to preserve your "Magne-Traction"
bumps on the ski, DO NOT run it through an automated tuning machine set
to grind the edges. It will grind down the "high spots" and you'll
gradually loose your bumps. DO THE SIDEWALLS BY HAND with a very small
stone and file when you need to. Go ahead and grind the bases and get
your bevel and roundings the way you want, but be careful with the
sidewall tuning.
Ski Designer:
Mike Wilson
Technical Ski Data:
Wood core ("from select dead trees"), fiberglass sandwich, PE sidewalls
"Handbuilt near Canada in the USA." Edges do NOT wrap 360 degrees.
Unconventional mounting position alert: Some people will want to use
traditional park & pipe binding mount positioning with this ski.
Lib-Tech recommends using the bump provided on the ski as the boot mid
sole point. It may seem a little "forward", but that's the way this ski
works with its Magne-Traction design. Use the bump for midsole. That's
what Mike Wilson recommends....or as it says on the ski "Mount mid-sole
on bump....or don't."
Unique "Magne-Traction" variable width running surface (looks
like a crinkle-cut French fry down the sidewall). The ski's width
undulates in waves. Waves are deepest and most closely spaced
underfoot, gradually becoming less aggressive in depth and more
spread-out as you go toward the tip and tail. (see pics below).
Lib-Tech borrowed this technology from their successful snowboard line
and applied it to their NAS (Narrow Ass Snowboards). Lib-Tech claims
you can dull your edges for optimal rail and pipe gliding as well as
catch-free tip and tails, for smoother tricks and fewer falls, and the
Magne-Traction bumps will still allow you to grip a hard surface better
than the other park and pipe skis. In theory, it should work.
Test Conditions:
First
test day: Re-groomered, reprocessed old ice storm junk ground into a
few centimeters of "Frozen Granular" (loose and packed) on top of
yellow hardpan with sections of some death cookies and death cookie
crumbs mixed in. Some really nice dense corn in the sun, deadly
pock-marked rotten snow ice fields off piste (you could bounce a
bowling ball across it). Not bad, but not packed-powder either....good
test for a ski's "friendly behavior" tendencies and anti-deflection
prowess across different materials.
Analogies: (this ski is like...)
This
ski is like strong truck that does great doughnuts and some wheelies,
but takes a steady hand on the wheel. Not for lightweights.
After Skiing These, I Want To...
Get some park and pipe pros to really work them over and tell me what they think. In this case, I am just the civilian tester.
Self-Description of Skiing Style, Ability, Experience, Preferences
5' 11", 190 lbs. Expert
groomed-surface carver, "old-style" race inspired, "foot steerer" with
fairly sensitive edging feel. Loves to hold long arcs with lots of
pressure on the downhill ski (you know the type), but also loves the
feel of both skis on-edge leaving tiny railroad track edge tracks. Not
an instructor, but 10 year coach for youth race team in New England
(bulletproof is the norm).
More reviews from some more days on snow to come in later posts and more reviews by more people coming...stay tuned...
I'll try to get more tester reviews up (as soon as they can type them up) at:
http://www.exoticskis.com/forum/defa...x?g=posts&t=41
=======================
Second day report:
Conditions: Packed powder, tightly groomed corduroy, 2-3 inches of
semi-tracked, slightly windblown cold snow with some bumps and junky
snow patches.
The Lib-Tech park & pipe NAS can pretty much go anywhere without
any complaints. Beats through the densely blown eastern crud just
fine...only problem is a very low shovel angle...not much "float" up
front, but then again, it has plenty of contact length up front when
you want it. Lots of muscular pop when you load it up. No problem
lifting my 190 lbs up and out with just a little flex and release.
Really predictable, really maneuverable, good swing weight balance when
mounted "mid sole on the dent" as recommended. The Magne-Traction
really doesn't make the ski handle any different than a traditional
design in factory tune, but when the edges are dulled for long lengths
along the ski's fore body and tail, the ski can still be made to bite
on the packed snow when you need to, probably more than a "normal" ski.
The P&P ski is pretty strong. I think you could get a lot of miles
out of a pair and it will still handle like new. I think a strong
P&P skier could rip on this ski and it would hold up great.
Lib-Tech has a really strong ski for the money.
I think the Magne-traction design would make more difference on the
wider skis (freeride 93mm waist and powder (149mm waist) than the
P&P ski. At 85mm underfoot, this ski can grab the groomers just
fine, even without Magne-Traction. A wide Magne-Traction ski might show
a more dramatic difference in grip than the same width ski without the
"wiggles." There are tons of people who rave about the NAS POW Series
for a reason.....
