Hello and welcome to my Lib Tech TRS C3 review.
In this review, I will take a look at the TRS C3 as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the TRS C3 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 TRS C3
Price: $599
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle (semi aggressive)
Flex Rating: Medium-Firm
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating Score: 86.8/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 28 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the TRS C3’s Specs
Check out the tables for the TRS C3’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain-Freestyle (semi aggressive) |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker - but mostly camber - Lib Tech's C3 Camber |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
154 | 253 | 120+ | 54+ |
157 | 253 | 130+ | 59+ |
157W | 260 | 130+ | 59+ |
159 | 253 | 140+ | 64+ |
159W | 260 | 140+ | 64+ |
162 | 256 | 150+ | 68+ |
165W | 263 | 155+ | 70+ |
Who is the TRS C3 Most Suited To?
The TRS C3 is best suited to those who want a board that they can take over the whole mountain and treat it like a park, but something that is on the aggressive side, rather than playful side. Not ultra aggressive by any means, but just on the aggressive side of the middle of the scale.
Very versatile for a bit of everything, accept not the best suited to powder.
Certainly not for a beginner, nor even a low intermediate rider, but fine for a solid intermediate rider with good technique.
The TRS C3 in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the TRS C3 is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Lib Tech TRS C3 2021, 157cm (253mm waist width)
Date: February 19, 2020
Conditions: Perfectly sunny day (as you'll be able to tell from the pic!) with perfect visibility.
A bit crunchy off groomer but quite nice on groomer. Hard packed but not icy underneath, with some soft on top.
Relatively cold, especially first thing, but got warmer and nothing crazy cold.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 555mm (21.9″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 260mm (10.24")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2880grams (6lb 6oz)
Weight per cm: 18.34 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.36 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of around 80 boards that I've weighed in 2019, 2020 & 2021 models. So, bang on average, and felt about that on snow too, in terms of weight.
Damp or Chattery?
Middle of the scale - not overly damp, not overly chattery.
Smooth or Snappy?
More snappy than it is smooth, but just to the snappy side of middle.
Powder
There was nothing to test it in on the day, but based on specs and feel, it wouldn't be a great board in powder. Virtually no rocker, true twin shape and a centered reference stance. Not designed for it, but if you're only in brief, moderately shallow powder, it would be just fine.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Fun to carve on. Not epic, but fun for lively shorter/sharper carves.
Turning: Easy to turn on, especially for the amount of camber, and just fun and a good bit of spring/snap to it
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Pretty good at slow speeds, it's a board you can ride fast or slow.
Skidded Turns: Not super easy to skid turns on, but not the most unforgiving either.
Speed
Not a bomber board, but pretty good at speed. Just a little better than what you'd expect from the flex.
Uneven Terrain
Nimble enough to be enjoyable weaving through bumps and not too bucky going over bumps or through crud. And can make necessary adjustments pretty easily when you get thrown off your line.
Let's break this text up with a video
Jumps
This is where the TRS C3 really shines.
Pop: Good pop and nice and easily accessible - with just that little bit more available when you really load it up.
Approach: The perfect balance of agility and stability
Landing: You can stomp landings pretty good, but at the same time there's just the right amount of forgiveness.
Side-hits: Really fun - was good on trickier approaches and had that good easily accessible pop.
Small jumps/Big jumps: If I had to say, then medium would be it's sweet spot, but good for all sizes of jumps, IMO.
Switch
Almost as good as it gets.
Spins
Good pop and easy enough to get the spin around. That plus being good for setting up and landing switch, made this a really fun board to spin on.
Jibbing
Not terrible for jibs, but not one of it's strongest features either, IMO.
Butters
Nice and buttery. It's not like ultra buttery, but nice and easy to press the tip and tail.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
JIBBING | 3.0 | 6/10 |
CARVING/TURNS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
POWDER | 2.0 | 4/10 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 7/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 9/10 |
BUTTERING | 4.0 | 4/5 |
PIPE | 4.5 | 4.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 86.8/100 |
Overall, the TRS C3 is a kind of a hybrid of the old TRS (C2X) and the old Hot Knife. Both boards that I really liked and the TRS C3 as a blend of the two is also a board I really like. I still think there was room for both, but the combination of the two does make for one sick deck, IMO.
For just generally tearing up the groomers, taking the occasional tree line, hitting the park and finding every natural you lay your eyes on, this is a really fun board.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the TRS C3, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
- CANADA
- UK/EUROPE
If you want to check out some other all-mountain-freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the TRS C3 compares to other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate,
What are your thoughts on how the Lib Tech TRS C3 compares with the Lib Tech Hot Knife (which I own)? I’m primarily wondering about flex, aggressiveness, and butterability.
Thanks!
Hey Cliff
Thanks for your message.
When they discontinued the Hot Knife, they kind of merged the old TRS and the Hot Knife to create the new TRS – and the new TRS is more like the Hot Knife than the old TRS, IMO, so it’s quite similar to the old hot knife, but I would say:
– Flex is pretty much the same – even though Lib Tech rate the TRS as slightly stiffer than they did the Hot Knife
– Camber profile is the same – they both have the C3
– I would say I found the Hot Knife marginally more aggressive but very little in it
– I found the TRS a little easier to butter. But again not worlds apart. And a brand new TRS versus a well used Hot Knife, I imagine the well used Hot Knife is probably going to be a little easier to butter or at least even them out as the same.
Note that the 2023 model of the TRS C3 is getting a 0.5″ setback stance. Nothing crazy, but will subtly change the personality a little bit.
Hey Nate,
To follow up on this, I haven’t seen anything on the Lib site that says the TRS is getting a setback. Where did you see this?
Thanks!
Hi Justin
It was in their catalog. But I do see on their website they’re showing it as a centered stance. Will try to find out if the catalog is right and they haven’t updated the specs on the site or if the catalog was a Typo. Will reply back here if I can find out.
Hey Justin
Just talked to the local rep and he confirmed that the TRS does have a 0.5″ setback this year. And that they’re still working on updating the specs on the website.
Thanks Nate!
Hey Nate,
I used to have the 2014 TRS and absolutely loved that board. I’m trying to find a new 2020 model (last one with c2x) but can’t find it anywhere. Do you know of any 22 model boards that you’ve tested that would be ride similar to the C2x TRS models? Cheers
Hi Matt
Thanks for your message.
Your best bet, IMO would be the GNU Rider’s Choice. It’s not exactly the same as the old TRS, but quite similar – and I would say it’s the most similar of anything else I’ve ridden.
Hope this helps
Thanks Nate, have been eyeing off the riders choice for some time, might have to give it a go.
You’re very welcome Matt. If you think of it at the time, let me know how you get on and how you find it compared to the 2014 TRS.
Hi Nate 🙂
Thanks for another great review.
Quite keen to step up my Proto Type Two to something more aggressive without being too aggressive. TRS seems like a very good option.
Would Union Falcors or Strata work best?
Hi Rick
Thanks for your message. The TRS is slightly more aggressive, IMO, but nothing drastically aggressive, so I think you should get what you’re after in that sense, with the TRS.
Both Falcor and Strata would work on the TRS, but I’d say the Strata are the more pure flex-match. If it was me, I’d put Strata’s on it, before I put Falcor on it.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
First of all, thanks a lot for the work you’re doing, I gained so much useful information from your reviews that really helped to shortlist the boards and select suitable bindings.
I’ll be really grateful if you can help me with the final choice and share your opinion. I ended up selecting between TRS 2020 (157 or 159) with C2X and new TRS 2021 C3 (I believe 157).
I started riding snowboard many years ago, but always used rental traditional camber boards that are stiff and heavy at the resorts in Europe, actually, that’s how I learned to ride, so I have no problems with cambers and like speed and carving.
Besides, I trained to do regular jumps and taking grabs just a bit – can evaluate myself as beginner +/upper in freestyle – that’s where I want to progress and also train switch (I’m a noob at this so far).
Most of the time I’ll be riding resorts and want to use them as big parks, catch side hits, so TRS with C2X seems to be a good option as it suits the objectives above and also allows me to ride off the track/pow (never tried it and really want to explore it too). However, I’m not sure if it would be stable enough on speed and it’s where the new C3 seems to be a great option for carving, allows to freestyle, and has sintered base as a bonus, but will probably kill any idea of riding pow.
I’m 73 kg, around 184 cm tall, boots ThirtyTwo Lashed Double Boa US 10.5, bindings Union Strata.
Please help me understand whether TRS C3 would allow me to explore not very deep pow based on my lightweight parameters or there’s no way to go except C2X for the backcountry. Also, does TNT base on C2X is significantly slower than sintered one on C3, or I won’t notice the difference?
By the way, I dropped GNU RC C2X off the list as I never tried asymmetrical boards (as far as I understood not all the people really like this asym feeling) and also because it seems to be more on the playful side than TRS C2X based on your reviews, thus less comfortable for carving and speed than TRS C2X which I find a bit more important.
Thanks in advance.
Best,
Vlad
Hi Vlad
Thanks for your message.
I think the TRS C3 is your best bet from what you’re describing. I think you’ll appreciate the better carving/speed aspects of the C3 version versus the loss of powder performance, particularly given that you’re used to more camber dominant boards.
The C2X profile is better in powder. But it’s not a massive difference – particularly considering you’re still looking at a centered true twin board. And for shallow powder, you’re not going to notice the difference that much. When the powder gets deeper you notice the difference more. The C3 TRS is certainly something that you can take in the powder and have fun in the powder for sure. It’s just if you were to get into look 2 feet of fresh snow or something, you’ll be fighting a bit to keep the nose from diving and get that back leg burn from having to lean back so much to keep the nose afloat. But to be fair you’ll get that with the C2X version as well. Not quite to the same extent – it will float a little easier, but it’s still not a really effortless floater in powder or anything.
I personally really like asym boards, but you’re right that some people don’t like the feel, so you’re taking a gamble on it, if you haven’t tried one for yourself. The TRS C3 is an awesome board, IMO, so I don’t think you can go wrong there.
So yeah, in short, I think you’ll appreciate the performance of the TRS C3 on groomers and in the park over the C2X version, particularly given you value carving/speed more so than you’ll miss the lower powder performance, IMO.
In terms of the sintered versus TNT base. The Sintered is certainly better, IMO, and it’s going to give you better speed – and also better glide in flat areas of the mountain and any slight up hills and that kind of thing. I don’t think it’s a deal breaker, but the sintered base is certainly an advantage. Also, I tend to prefer a sintered base in heavy powder. I don’t know what kind of powder you get, but I’m in pacific northwest and we get some heavy wet powder, and I find that a well waxed sintered base tends to glide better on it, than an extruded base does. And that kind of powder can make things quite sticky and slow, so you really appreciate a better base in those conditions.
Size-wise, I’d say 157 is your best bet, for either the C3 or C2X version.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
Thanks a lot for such a detailed answer. You’ve really eliminated all the gaps and helped me so much with this endless boards comparison.
It’s time to hit a board shop now)
Take care,
Vlad
You’re very welcome Vlad. Thanks for visiting this site!
Hi Nate, I’ve owned four Lib boards and I’ve sold all four due to bases that have poor glide. TNT and Sintered.
Have you experienced this with Lib boards? I can’t believe it’s just me.
Thoughts?
Hi Gonzo
Thanks for your message.
I haven’t noticed Lib Tech boards being particularly worse than the average. But I also haven’t noticed them being really good in terms of glide either. The best boards in terms of glide that I’ve ridden are Jones boards – particularly those with the sintered 8000 or 9900 bases.