Lib Tech Skunk Ape and Skunk Ape Camber 2024-2025 Snowboard Review

Who are the Skunk Ape & the Skunk Ape Camber for?

The Skunk Apes are sized for the big guys and are aimed at the intermediate / advanced all mountain charger but, the new camber version naturally leans more towards freestyle & fast resort ripping thanks to the responsive, true-camber profile. While the C2 Rocker shape lends itself to more resort, sidecountry and powder riding and would be the more forgiving option for beginner – intermediate riders.

“This being a Mervin board, It’s only natural that you’ll also find magnetraction edges on both that shape the edges like a bread-knife to create a better edge hold in icy conditions.”

Shape Profile & Sidecut

Both models share the same directional-twin shape, with an updated nose shape that’s a little longer and more forgiving in resort and offers more float in powder.

You’ll find a reference stance that’s set back 1” and a classic radial sidecut for consistent, reliable turns when riding regular and switch.

This being a Mervin board, It’s only natural that you’ll also find magnetraction edges on both that shape the edges like a bread-knife to create a better edge hold in icy conditions.

Now we’ve covered the similarities, let’s move onto the key differences.

The new “Skunk Ape Camber” finally comes in a true-camber profile, with all of the response, pop and narrower margins for error that everyone knows and loves about a classic true-camber profile. 

Our tester commented that it was instantly noticeable that this board had that classic “lively” feel underfoot that comes from this profile and absolutely loved the pop this board generated for sidehits. 

Whereas the regular Skunk Ape has Lib Tech’s C2 profile that has an overall rocker shape, but with two pockets of camber under the feet that are activated under your body pressure. This profile creates a more forgiving ride for beginner – intermediate riders as the contact points are raised so if you put in a sloppy turn you might not be instantly punished as you would on a traditional camber shape.

The C2 Profile also lends itself to increased float in powder as the rocker shape acts like a boat’s hull, raising the nose up and pushing the snow underneath the board. 

As someone who typically rides boards that follow a more traditional camber profile, our tester was blown away by how well the Skunk Ape performed in the resort. They described it as incredibly snappy edge to edge, had fantastic grip for carving and was playful and fun in the sidecountry.

Construction & Materials

Again, you’ll find both versions of the Skunk Ape share the same core construction of 60% FSC certified Aspen and 40% Paulownia wood. Aspen creates a light and lively feeling to the board while the paulownia adds stability and dampening. A combo of Bi-Ax and Tri-Ax fiberglass gives this board a solid flex that feels consistent underfoot, with just enough torsional flex for smooth rides.

With boards this big, weight is always a concern, so in the nose and tail Lib Tech have added some clever Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethelene. Which, for those of us that are little more Jesse Pinkman and a little less Walter White, is basically a man-made resin that is strong and lightweight, adding a layer of impact resistance for a damper ride and reducing the swing weight of the board for easier spins in the air.

A sintered base provides plenty of speed for blasting around and that haunting top sheet graphic is created using an eco-friendly, water-based process that removes a lot of the toxic inks that are often used in snowboard production. 

“The only choice you have to make is, Camber or C2?”

Roundup

Both boards are an excellent option for the larger snowboarder, they’re packed with tech that create a smooth, responsive ride with plenty of snap and play for sending big airs, laying out carves, cruising the resort or lacing the perfect slash in the powder. 

The only choice you have to make is, Camber or C2? 

Both are good options, for purists, the choice is easy – true camber delivers the classic snowboard feel you’re looking for.

For anyone on the fence, ask yourself a couple of questions:

What level of snowboarder are you?

Are you a resort charger who hits the park or a backcountry hunter looking for powder stashes?

Beginners, intermediates and those looking for the soft stuff might find the regular Skunk Ape with the C2 profile more fun.

Intermediate and advanced resort rippers that like boosting booters will likely prefer the feeling of the traditional camber profile which, now comes in all the same sizes as the regular Skunk Ape thanks to a limited early release of next winter’s new Skunk Ape Camber!

Skunk Ape Pros

• More forgiving
• Better float in powder

Skunk Ape Cons

• Fans of traditional camber may find the sensation of the C2 camber profile jarring, particularly for slower speed sliding turns.

Skunk Ape Camber Pros

• Traditional camber provides consistent turn feel at all speeds
• More pop and response

Skunk Ape Camber Cons

• Traditional camber is less forgiving of mistakes.

Tester Verdict
Patrick Nichols – Whitelines Commercial Manager

I’ll hold my hands up and say that truthfully, I wasn’t looking forward to riding the regular Skunk Ape. I’m usually a Camber guy (give me a smidge of early-rise rocker at most) and don’t enjoy rocker snowboards.

But serve my words up to me on a silver platter and I’ll fucking eat ‘em. I was blown away by the regular Skunk Ape snowboard, yes, at first the turn initiation at slow speeds on that rocker profile was not my favourite sensation, but once I got going the board absolutely delivered, was surprisingly quick edge to edge despite its size and had phenomenal grip for carving. 

Both boards were playful for side hits and absorbed the landings well. The Skunk Ape with the C2 profile noticeably had the edge when I jumped off the piste into the fresh snow whereas the traditional camber had a more consistent feel for turning and was more responsive and poppy for in-bounds riding.

All in all, as a rider who’s usually stuck choosing between the 2 wide sizes (neither of which are normally correct) it was rad to experience boards designed specifically for folks like me, available in a variety of sizes, and now – Two camber profiles!