Lib Tech Attack Banana
Lib Tech’s Attack Banana has won a raft of awards this year from snowboard industry insiders but what’s it like for a normo like you or me to ride? I’ve just spent 4 days in Serre Chevalier getting used to my brand new Attack Banana. Read my review to find out what I think of it…
I bought a Bataleon Evil Twin a year ago and I must be the only boarder on Earth who didn’t fall in love with it. Maybe mine was a lemon, or maybe I picked up some bad habits that were accentuated by the Triple Base Technology that I’d been so excited to try out. Whatever it was, I had some really sketchy moments on it last season. On tracked hard pack I’d feel more like a passenger than a driver. My rear leg would swing round making me brick myself about catching an edge at speed.
It also seemed pretty damned slow. Even after waxing it was way slower than my friend’s 3 year old Ride DH on the flat. After fantasising about owning a Bataleon for two years I was really deflated by the reality.
The Attack Banana has scooped several awards this season
Whilst on a trip to Sweden last season I had a quick ride on my friend’s Lib Tech Skate Banana just to compare boards. It felt totally different; way more fun and faster I had to have one.
Roll forward ten months and after a brief consultation with SnowKaz and some chit chat with people in the know at the Metro Ski Show I took the plunge an invested in a Lib Tech Attack Banana.
Banana Basics
The Attack Banana is a more all-mountain version of the Skate Banana. Lib Tech describe it as a twin tip all terrain freestyle board. It sports ‘elliptical camber’ which in Lib Tech’s own words ‘…moves the apex of the camber inward (closer underfoot), which helps distribute tip and tail pressure more evenly, provides a more focused pop, and creates better suspension to absorb big landings.’
You can check out the full spec here if you like the nerdy stuff.
Sticky Banana
The conditions in Serre Chevalier were mainly hard pack to icy, always challenging for a boarder, and possibly the best conditions for testing a snowboard as you get to push it to the limits of it’s grip and stability.
The Attack Banana has huge amounts of grip on the hard stuff, sticking to it’s edge when carving down steep icy reds and long fast blues. Only the steepest, baldest black runs caused a couple of minor slips. This is probably down to the Magne-Traction tech whereby the the edges are ever so slightly ‘serrated’ to give you extra contact points with the piste when turning on hard pack, icy slopes.
Speedy Banana
This grip gave me loads of confidence, letting my riding style start to flow and setting me up to push the board harder and harder. On long undulating reds and blues I could push my speed past it’s usual limits on rock hard pistes that I’d normally ride more cautiously.
The base is super slick and felt incredibly stable even when I gave it the full beans, soaking up all the vibration. According to my Ski Tracks iPhone App I topped out at 41mph which broke my previous top speed by 7 mph. Big grins all round!
Fun Banana
The confidence the Attack Banana gave me was also present when mucking about at slower speed teaching myself to pop 180′s on the flat and buttering. I didn’t catch an edge once thanks to the rocker tips on the board. The board has a medium flex, enough to manual down the slope with ease but not as floppy as my old, battered Ride DH. I’m not a big freestyler so I haven’t tested it on rails and kickers but on paper it has all the right ingredients to please most park rats.
Ugly Banana?
If I have one gripe it is the design. The air brushed graphics remind me of the first board I bought back in 2004 (a Burton Cruzer I believe) and it feels a bit dated. I prefer something cleaner and bolder like the Bataleon, Signal and this season’s Salamon designs. However, if the only flaw with a board is it’s graphics I’m a very happy boarder!
Robust Banana
Build quality seems solid. After four days of French skiers trampling on my tail in lift queues, the top sheet looks completely unscathed and the edges seem perfect too. The base has a couple of scratches from the Gallic rocks but nothing out of the ordinary.
Verdict – Lib Tech Attack Banana (2012)
In summary, the Lib Tech Attack Banana is by far the most impressive board I have ever ridden. It inspires confidence, it’s fast enough to induce a nose bleed and most importantly it’s incredibly fun!
Surfdome still has the Lib Tech Attack Banana in stock and you can compare all Lib Tech snowboard deals at Snowboarding Deals UK.
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