Lib Tech, a subsidiary of Mervin Manufacturing, has been producing bomber snowboards in the USA for decades now. The company strives to employ sustainable practices in every step of construction. Examples of this include their biodiesel heated factory and soy-based sidewalls. The environment is at the forefront of their business model with no compromise to durability. This particular model has to put up with the thrashing that Travis Rice places on it.
Performance Comparison
Edging
The Travis Rice Pro is a top performer in edge hold and security. Because of its stiff flex and wide waist width, this board can handle a lot of turn before it buckles out on you. It won’t easily be overwhelmed by your legs or turn generated force. Although there is a speed threshold before you get to railing turns. Due to the stiffness and Magne-Traction, the board is a little more work to roll and edge and can feel catchy at slow speeds. In the end, this board isn’t made to be ridden slow, and when you play toward its strengths, this thing is radical.
Float in Powder
Similar to its edging limitation, it requires a higher speed to begin to plane and float. The speed threshold is based on the cambered contact points and a stiffer flex pattern. In high snow densities, we were fighting the camber and flex of this model for two primary reasons: The camber wanted to dive, and the speed threshold was hard to obtain. Once it’s up to speed, the wide waist width and length provide comfortable flotation, especially in good-quality snow.
Stability at Speed
The Travis Rice Pro is a relatively nimble tank at speed. The cambered tip and tail engage to provide a camber-like experience that offsets the stability threat from the rocker.
Playfulness
The Travis Rice Pro did not excel in this category. It’s difficult to obtain such high scores in the other metrics without sacrificing in others. The board is wider and stiffer than the others in our lineup. Not only that, but it’s pretty darn heavy and has a longer sidecut. All these things were great for the other metrics above but penalize the board here.
Pop and Jumping
As with the other rockered, or hybrid-camber/rocker boards, it has a little less merit in its vertical achievements. It is a stiffer board, which helps it keep some of its pop. The rocker section makes the pop more obtainable to harvest by lowering the amount of resistance throughout your ollie.
Value
This is a well-made board, and if it fits your riding style and goals, it’s worth the price tag. However, if you’re a sub-150-pound casual rider, there are better board options out there for you.
Conclusion
The Travis Rice Pro Pointy is a solid ride if you have powerful legs, like to go fast, and push it to the max. This board could be tough to handle if you’re on the smaller side. Our lead tester is 5’9″ and weighs 162 pounds and found that he had to ride the board powerfully. We estimate that if you’re under 5’8″ and weigh under 150 pounds, it might not be the board for you.
