Liberty SB 180 review (with more to come)

Burrito

Burrito

Active member
I rode my new SB 180s today for the first time. I was in the midwest, so it was mostly hardpack. I'll be in Colorado all of next week, and I'll update with a full review after my trip.

Pros: The SBs are really light with tons of life. They are stiffer than what I'm used to, TMs, but still soft enough to psuedo-butter. The sidecut is huge, and they ski like it. They're not too quick (after all, they're 93 in the waist), but they turn great and are by no means sluggish. Really fun to carve, even better to charge. They're really smooth switch. I suck at carving switch in my TMs but the SBs were easy. GREAT in the park. The large platform gives you tons of stability, and they have tons of pop on takeoff.

Cons: I'm not sure if they come with any factory wax. I waxed them, skied all day, and they were very dry. So I waxed them again, and they're still dryer than my TMs which were waxed a week ago. When I flexed them for the first time (without bindings) I heard a crackling noise as if some part of the ski was breaking. This noise did not reapeat during the seecond flex. Maybe it's a "breaking in" sort of thing like softball bats, but it's disconcerting. I'm going to email Liberty; I'll post what they say. Since they're made to handle some powder, the tips are relatively soft and chatter at fast speeds on hardpack, but this can be expected from this type of ski.

Right now, I would rate them a 7 on a scale where:

0=my dead, 10 year old K2 Black Magic Two's

10=Dynastar Candides, the best ski ever made.

So all in all, I'm pretty impressed with the SBs, but they are yet to be seen in their natural habitat. I'll have a full review at the end of the week.

 
Nice review. And i've picked up so many skis and they've made that cracking noise the first time you flex them.
 
So, Telluride officially sucked. There was no powder, nor was there a park. So my review is basically the same, but here is a little more info.

The stability on hard pack still holds true to my previous statement, but it was not as big of an issue when I put Booster Straps on my boots. It probably had a lot to do with my ability, not just the ski.

GREAT in the bumps. Despite weighing in at 93 in the waist, these skis have tons of life and pop through moguls very well. I'm a shitty mogul skier, and the skis still performed great.

The bases are very durable. Because of the shitty snow, there were rocks everywhere. I ran over a ton despite my best efforts, and the bases only show minor scratches.

The topsheet is a little questionable. I took a small chunk (approx. 2" x .125")out of one of the sides, and it is also cracked in a different location. It was probably from a wreck where both skis banged together pretty hard, but it's still a little unnerving.

P.S. It turns out that the crackling sound was the carbon fiber and is normal for these skis.
 
carbon fiber cracking? Its normal that all skis crack the first time, but whoever told you carbon fiber did bulshitt you!
 
nah, hes right. the cracking you hear is the bond inbetween the composite (in this case carbon fiber), and the core stretching out. its normal. almost all skis do it the first time they are flexed.
 
thanks for the good words. I'm interested in how you like the skis in soft snow. We designed these skis to rip up the soft stuff in the trees and glades as well!
 
I know. I'm so pissed that I couldn't find any pow. Oh well, maybe it will snow over Spring Break.
 
What makes you think he's a rep? Also, The guys at Liberty are awesome. They email you the same day you ask a question and will do anything for you. Great to do business with.
 
It depends how you ski. I personally like a stiff ski, but if you're partial to say the Salomon Guns or the Armada ARVs, the SBs will be stiffer and more responsive.
 
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