Hello and welcome to my Lib Tech Box Knife review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Box Knife as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Box Knife a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Lib Tech Box Knife
Price: $499 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium (5/10 to 6.5/10, depending on size)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 82.0/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 24 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
- The average price was $479 (USD)
- The average score was 79.5/100
- The highest score was 92.7/100
- The lowest score was 69.7/100
- The Box Knife ranked 9th out of 24
Overview of the Box Knife’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Box Knife’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style | All-Mountain-Freestyle | Flex | Medium-Soft (4/10) |
| Ability Level | Intermediate to Advanced | Feel | Semi-Stable |
| Weight | Normal | Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber but mostly camber (Lib Tech’s C3 camber) | Shape | True Twin |
| Stance Setback | Centered | Edge-hold | Good in hard and icy snow |
| Price | $499 (USD) | Base | Sintered |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 148 | 151 | 154 | 157 | 157W | 160W |
| Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 251 | 252 | 253 | 262 | 262 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 90+ | 100+ | 110+ | 120+ | 130+ | 140+ |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 41+ | 45+ | 50+ | 54+ | 59+ | 64+ |
Who is the Box Knife Most Suited to?
The Box Knife is great for anyone looking for a board that can carve well, has good edge-hold but is also soft flexing and can hit the park for either jibs or jumps and is great for side hits, spins and butters.
Great for all over the resort but not the best for powder.
Whilst the C3 camber on this is easier/more forgiving that most boards with Lib Tech/GNUs C3 camber profile (due to a bit of rocker in the tip and tail and a very short contact length) it’s still not beginner friendly – there’s still quite a bit of camber there. But certainly suitable for an intermediate rider that suits the style.
The Box Knife in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Box Knife is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Lib Tech Box Knife 2019, 157 (253mm waist)
Date: March 3, 2018 (& April 14, 2018)
Conditions: The snow had a great medium feel to it. Relatively firm but certainly not hard and not overly soft. Off groomer was nice too and there were a few pockets of untracked powder from snow from a couple of days previous. Sunny and perfect visibility. Temperature was -7 with wind.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Width at Inserts: 259mm (10.2“)
Weight: felt about normal or possibly slightly light (didn’t get a chance to weigh it though)
Powder
Didn’t feel like it would be a great board in powder – and the specs don’t suggest it either. I had a little bit of powder on the day and it was ok but you had to work to keep on the back foot as it felt like the nose was going to sink.
The one thing it does have going for it, in terms of powder, compared to other C3 camber profiles, is that it does have that little bit of rocker tip and tail.
Carving & Turning
It feels nice on a carve and that camber in there really helps with that. Not an out and out carver, and favors a tighter carve radius, as opposed to a wide arcing one.
Nice and agile with turns and pretty quick edge-to-edge and that made this board fun in the trees.
Speed
Can handle a bit of speed and very good in terms of stability at speed considering how soft it feels and given that contact length – but did get a bit wobbly when really opening out.
Not super fast in terms of acceleration, but pretty good – about average in that sense.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
Was pretty good in crud and with bumpy terrain.
Jumps
I found it had pretty good pop – not excessive but decent for sure, and it was really easy to extract that pop – didn’t have to give too much to get it, was an easy popping board.
In terms of landings it felt quite stable, as stable as you can expect for its flex and same with the approach, it felt stable enough.
Still something I would say favors small to medium jumps, as opposed to really big kickers but bigger jumps are doable, but definitely more suited to the smaller end of the spectrum.
Great for side-hits and great for spins.
Switch
Pretty much the same both directions. Great board for riding, taking off and landing switch.
Jibbing
Better than I expected on jibs. That soft flex helps and that early rise in the tip and tail helps too. Both those things help for presses/butters too. Surprisingly good at those things given the C3, but then it’s a different C3 than most.
Still not the Box Scratcher, when it comes to jibbing – but does have some other advantages over the Box Scratcher.
I’ve classified this as “all-mountain-freestyle” but you could certainly ride it as a dedicated park board too.
Pipe
I don’t ride the pipe, but given the edge hold and everything else, I think it would be pretty good. Probably a little soft and not quite fast enough to be ideal, but would be decent between the walls, I would say.
Changes from the 2020 Model
As far as I can tell the 2021 model is the same as the 2020 model, apart from the graphic.
Changes from the 2018 Model
Not sure there are any major changes here – though it looks like the Core might be a little different
Also, the 160W seems to have slightly different specs (262mm waist for 2019 vs 265mm waist for 2018 and a 98cm Contact length for 2019 vs 100cm in 2018 and an 8.3m sidecut for 2019 vs 8.4m sidecut 2018) according to the catalog. The other sizes seem to have the same specs as the 2018 model.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Jumps: | 4.0 | 16/20 |
| Switch: | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Jibbing: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Carving/Turning: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Powder: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Speed: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Spins: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Butters: | 4.0 | 4/5 |
| Pipe: | 4.0 | 4/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 82.0/100 |
Overall the Box Knife is a more intense, poppier, more stable, more aggressive version of the Box Scratcher.
Though it’s not as aggressive as I thought. I could have categorized this is a park/freestyle board, or as an aggressive all-mtn-freestyle, but I felt it fit best in this category. Not as aggressive as you would think and that’s likely mostly because of the softer flex and the early rise tip/tail.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Box Knife, are ready to buy or want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Box Knife compares to other men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards or want to check out some other options in that category, check out the next link.
>>My Top 5 Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
Hey man… Love your reviews, and your seem to be spot on. I am looking for a new ride. My current primary board is an old Palmer Honeycomb 4 (156cm) with some Ride SPi bindings. I am on the upper end of Intermediate in skill, and I like to bomb trails, hit random jumps on the trails, and play a little on the park. 6’1″, 180-ish lbs, size 12 Burton Rulers. Really love Melvin boards, so was looking at a Riders Choice 158w or Box Knife 157w. Would a Head Space or Finest fit my needs better? What about bindings…. Looking at Force’s or Cartels. Thoughts? Currently teaching my 9yo how to ride, so I want something I play around on while teaching, but will last into the future.
Sorry….I meant Mervin boards (stupid autocorrect).
Hi Shaun
Thanks for your message.
I haven’t had a chance to get on Head Space yet – it’s a board that seems to always allude me! But from what I know of it, it’s a more of a park specialist. I mean you can ride anything over the rest of the Mountain, but in terms of bombing at speed, it might feel lacking in that respect. Again, I haven’t ridden it so couldn’t say for sure, but that’s what I’ve heard, so for your purposes, I would look at the other 3.
I would say Rider’s Choice and Finest are kind of made for the same thing and I personally much preferred the Rider’s Choice, so that’s the way I would be leaning between those 2.
Between the Rider’s Choice and Box Knife, I would say both are similar for speed – the Box Knife is a little softer flexing, but still just as good for speed, IMO – I think likely because it has more camber. I preferred the Box Knife slightly for carving. But I did prefer the Rider’s Choice for jumps and uneven terrain and a little better in powder. Both pretty similar in terms of jibs and butters, IMO.
Size-wise, I think you’re right on with 158W and 157W for your specs for those particular boards and the style you’re describing.
Hope this gives you more to go off for your decision
Hey Nate,
I just found this website and I gotta say it’s frickin awesome! keep up the great work!
I’m kind of stuck between the Box Knife and the Salomon Assassin. I currently ride a Salomon Forecast Era that I bought off craigslist 4 years ago. I haven’t really been able too find much info about the board but I think its from 2009 and its a super stiff directional twin. I definitely want an all mountain daily driver and I board in Colorado so I ride a lot of different conditions.
I love the idea of the Box Knife being a more playful all mountain board but I am of scared that it might be a little too soft for what I’m used to riding. I really enjoy hitting 180’s and working on my 3’s, love buttering, riding switch, spending all day in the trees or carving groomers and stomping side hits. Gonna pull the trigger soon, any advice would be awesome!
Also I am about 5’11 165-175 lbs and I wear a size 9.5 currently but have worn 10’s in the past, what size would you recommend.
Thanks again for your help,
Jake
Hi Jake
Thanks for your message.
From the kind of riding you’re describing, I think the Box Knife would certainly be suitable. I think the biggest thing you will notice from going that much softer from your old board is stability at speed. If you’re not really out and out bombing a lot or are willing to sacrifice in terms of stability at speed, then I think it works.
The Assassin would give you a bit more stability at speed back – and would be less of a change. But I would still say that the Assassin is certainly closer, at very least in terms of flex, to the Box Knife than it is to a really stiff board. By my feel the Assassin is like 5 maybe bordering on 5.5/10 in terms of flex and the Box Knife more like 4/10 bordering on 4.5/10, if that makes sense.
Size-wise, I think 157 for the Box Knife and 156 for the Assassin. If you really wanted more in terms of speed/powder from the Assassin, then the 159 is a possibility, but for what you’re describing, I think the 156 is your best bet.
Hope this helps
Great review!
Looking to purchase a new board this season. Currently 5’7, 175-180lbs, 10.5 Adidas boots. Debating between the 154 and 157. Mostly riding Southern California resort, not much pow this way, mainly groomers. Usually split my time 70/30 between carving it down the mountain and playing in the park/hitting small to medium jumps. Been riding a VERY old K2 Spire 154 the past couple seasons. Been researching the board a lot, and advice has been kind of split between the two sizes.
Any help is appreciated!
Hi Stevie
Thanks for your message.
I can see the debate and why there might be differing advice between the sizes. I would be leaning 157 for you. Because you’re 70/30 carving, going on that longer end of the scale will work better for carving/speed – and better float in powder when you get it. If you were going to be predominantly riding freestyle/park, then I would say 154. But just because of how you ride, I would be looking at 157. 157 is what I would consider your advanced level, do-it-all, length (what I like to refer to as “standard length”. Often a good idea to size down for riding park and for beginners. So yeah, assuming you’re a relatively advanced rider and with that 70/30 split, I would be leaning 157 for you.
Hope this helps
Hi,
So I recently purchased the box knife as a daily. Have not ridden much the past few years. Anyway, I want to ask since I am getting back into it will this be a decent board to ride? I want an all mountain board and I used to hit the jumps and shred all day but it has been years. A lot of intimidating words from people saying this is an expert level board. Hoping I didn’t make a mistake and will fall back into things effortlessly. After taking so much time off I would say I need to get back into it, but have general flow idea. Hoping this is playful but not overbearing for me. What do you think?
Hi Josh
Thanks for your message.
Personally I didn’t find this board overbearing at all. Not an overly aggressive board. It does have the C3 camber, which might be where people are coming from, but it’s also a relatively soft flex (4/10 from my feel), which makes it a lot more easy going than if it was stiffer. Also the Box Knife has a little early rise rocker in tip and tail, which makes it more forgiving than most C3 Camber boards from Lib Tech/GNU. But yeah, it’s easy going enough that I decided it wouldn’t go in the aggressive all-mountain freestyle category, even though that’s where I would put most all-mtn-freestyle boards that are mostly camber. The Box Knife to me is too easy going to go in there. So long as your at least an intermediate level – and I’m guessing you’ll get back there fairly quickly, I don’t think you’ll have any issues in that sense.
The only thing is if you see powder regularly, particularly deeper powder, it might be a bit of a back burner. And if you’re going to be really opening it out and bombing it, straight lining at speed, it’s not super stable at higher speeds. But in terms of being overbearing, in my experience I don’t think you’ll have any issues there.
Hope this helps
Thanks so much Nate, this made me feel a lot better about my buy. A little concerned about powder conditions given I am currently using it out here in Japan, which is highly powder but definitely plan to rip the pacific northwest with it when I get home. Thanks a ton.
You’re very welcome Josh.
If you need a bit more out of it in powder, set the stance back a bit. It won’t make it an easy floating powder king, but it will help.
Hope you have an awesome time riding in Japan!
Oh Nate! One more thing… I am 5’9, weigh 160 and have size 11 boots, what size box knife do you think fits me best? I saw a lot of people saying the board is volume shifted. I want to use it mainly as all mountain.
Hi Josh
To me volume shifted typically means that it’s a wider board and you ride it shorter. I.e. the volume or surface area is channeled more into a wider platform and you go shorter. The Box Knife is a very standard width, so by that definition definitely not volume shifted. But there could be a different meaning for volume shifted that I’m not aware of.
I would say probably the 157W is the best option. Certainly a debate between whether 154 and 157 is the better length, and I think if you were going to be riding it more freestyle, then I think 154 would probably be the better length, but probably too narrow for your boots. However, for all-mountain riding I think the 157 would work for you and with 11s on this board, going to the wide size is a good idea. It’s not super wide even in the wide sizes. The 157 that I rode, with a 253mm waist was 259mm at the inserts, which IMO is too narrow for 11s. You might get away with, but there’s certainly risk for boot drag with 11s. The width on the 157W is likely to be around 268mm, which is a really good width for 11s, IMO and should work really well width-wise.
Hey Nate, which one would you say is more lively/snappy this or the dicey? Thanks
Hi John
I would say the Dicey is more lively/snappy. But that’s not saying that the Box Knife isn’t snappy – it is. Just that I found the Dicey to be particularly snappy. I haven’t released my review on the Dicey yet, but will be coming out later this month – but this is a quote from the draft review “It’s for those looking for a snappy, light, easy going yet more powerful than you’d think, buttery, spinny, lively ride, that doesn’t break the bank.”. So yeah, I would say Dicey is livelier/snappier, but Box Knife is certainly more of a snappy board than it is a smooth/damp board.
Hope this helps
Awesome, both of those boards describe what I’m looking for. Even the new jackpot sounds nice but I want to stay closer to the playful forgiving side but still be able to charge when the desire hits. I’ve spent a lot of time on the basic in various sizes and the camrock profile has always been good to me. I’ll keep a lookout for the dicey review. Thanks
You’re very welcome John. Dicey review should be out by end of the month.
Hi Nate looking at either libtech box knife 157w or 160w which size would suggest. I’m also looking at the gnu headspace 155w.
I’m 5ft10, 224IBs (102 KG) wanting to use freestyle preesing., Rails, jumps for park laps /upto medium kicker jumps and groomer /side hits Ollie’s – freestyle. I alreadyhave other all mountain, free ride boards.
Thanks
Regards
Jason
Hi Jason
Thanks for your message and apologies for the slow response. Have been in the middle of changing hosting for the website.
Given that it would be your dedicated freestyle board, I think 157W, assuming you need/want a wide board, would be your best bet for the Box Knife. 160W would be a better size if you were going to use it as a daily driver, IMO. But for the purpose you’d be using it for, and given that you have other longer, more freeride oriented boards in your quiver already, then I think the 157W would be the better bet.
Going 155W would be getting pretty short, but doable if you wanted something really playful/agile. Probably would feel a little wobbly at speed for you, for getting speed up for medium jumps and not that stable a base for those bigger landings. But if you’re not too concerned about that, and looking for something that’s really playful and not really going to be riding it too fast, then I think that’s doable as well.
Hope this helps
Hi
I want to buy this Lib tech box knife, i have 184cm and 83kg and 44-eu shoe.Mainly I spend my time on resort but i like to jump and make tricks and i wonder which size to chose?
do you thing this board will be good as allmountain?
Hi Michael
Certainly works for all-mtn, if you’re staying on the groomers mostly, but with a very freestyle flavor about it. So, from what you’re describing, I think it would be suitable.
Size-wise, I would be weighing up between the 157 and 157W for this board. You could probably also ride the 160W, if you wanted something bigger, but if it was me (and I’m very similar specs – 6’0″ (183cm), 185lbs (84kg), US10 boot) I would go 157.
Between 157 and 157W, it’s a close call. Since an EU 44 can sometimes be a US10, US10.5 or US11, depending on the brand, it’s hard to say. But based on it being a 10.5, I would say you’d be fine on the 157 regular width, if you ride with binding angles like +15/-15 (or at least a reasonable amount of angle on the back binding) – and/or you have low profile boots. With a straighter back binding angle, I would go 157W.
Hope this helps with your decision
thx a lot for the help Nate !
can you give me a few similar models of snowboards all-mtn type?
Hi Michael
If you can be more significant by similar models, that would help. Similar brand, camber, flex, price?
For some other all-mountain-freestyle and some all-mountain options check out:
>>My Top All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
>>My Top 10 All Mountain Snowboards
>>Top 5 Aggressive All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
>>Top 6 Aggressive All Mountain Snowboards
Hope this helps
Hi!
I am interested in a box knife, 151,. I’ve been looking for a smaller board, I’m 5’7” 167 lbs, and I’m hoping because of the shape that it may be too small. Thoughts ?
Hi Tony
Thanks for your message.
If you’re going to be using it solely for playing around in the park, I think this would be fine and a fun little size for you. But as a daily driver, one board quiver, I wouldn’t recommend going this short for you. So yeah, as part of a quiver, I think this would work (assuming the width is OK for your boots).
Hope this helps
Hi,
What would you choose, capita doa or box knife for an all mountain? Also which of the boards can be sized down to 148 whitout affecting speed and carving?
Thanks,
Alex
Hi Alex
I would consider both of these to be more all-mountain-freestyle, but if you were wanting to use them as all-mountain, then the DOA would perhaps be a little better. Neither are great in powder, so not what I would consider all-mountain boards, thought he Box Knife a little better in powder, IMO. The DOA a little better at speed and the Box Knife a little better in uneven terrain. Both equally good at carving, IMO.
Size affects speed and carving, so, IMO, if you adjust sizing, then the speed and carving will be effected regardless of the board. The size that will be best for you for carving will depend on your specs and ability level. But typically a longer board will be more stable at speed and often better for long/wide carves, but going too long and those benefits are negated if you can’t control the board properly.
But in saying that, the DOA 148 will be better at speed, than the 148 Box Knife, IMO.
Hope this gives you more to go off for your decision