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 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