# Overall impression/review on Magnetraction...?



## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Its been a while since I rode boards with magnetraction. 

From what I can remember...magnetraction to me felt a little 'grabby' and aggressive. It made my turns/carving feel unpredictable and a little 'un-safe'. Its kind of ironic because libtech/gnu claims magnetraction to be more of a 'safety feature' that helps with carving/turning. And yet...I know that for some riders, magnetraction actually makes the board feel more sketchy and 'un-safe/un-stable' than stable/safe. 

To me...the magnetraction made the board feel like it had a mind of its own and on my own I couldn't manipulate/control the board thru its full arc on a turn/carve. I felt like the board was doing all the work for me and I had no power/control what so ever. 

So...

1. Is Magnetraction mostly a HATE IT OR LOVE IT kind of thing for most snowboarders out there...? Or is it more just 'whatever'...? 

2. Do most people feel it helps with edge control and turns/carves and is more of a 'safety' feature...? 

3. Are there also people who would agree that magnetraction makes the board feel more sketchy and therefore like it has a mind of its own that you can't control...? 

4. Is liking or having magnetraction dependent on the terrain/region you ride...? For ex...eastcoast vs westcoast vs midwest...? Groomers vs Powder vs Park...?

Also...I have heard that LibTech has actually 'mellowed out'/tone down the magnetraction now over years past and its not as 'grabby'/aggressive anymore. Is this true...?

Because my interest for trying magnetraction just recently came up again after many years of not trying it, even though I felt I didn't like it before. So...I am looking to try a Libtech board for next season. I am really interested in the LibTech Utility Knife.


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## Bataleon85 (Apr 29, 2017)

I live in the northeast so usually lots of crust and ice. Never rode a Mervin board but I have ridden a few Smokins which license the technology from Mervin. Did not care for it. As you said, the edge hold on those boards is unpredictable. I was catching edges with a flat and hybrid worse than a traditional camber. Just not my cup of tea. Just cemented my decision to stick with TBT or similar since jibbing and buttery playfulness is more my thing, it's a good fit for me heh. If I wanna carve and charge hard, I'll jump on my freeride board.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Not gonna lie, I hate it.


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## Alonzo (Dec 30, 2015)

I also hate it. It's too grabby, and it slows you down.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Well, I loved it for what it does, perhaps more for an intermediate to advanced (tight-technical riding that the terrain determines). But for skill level beyond that meh. 

For some conditions like hard pack and you want more control...works great, for pow...its not needed, for hard ice better off on old traditional camber. Conditions in pnw are highly variable and thus is useful for negotiating these conditions...its a utility thing of riding pow on top, ice/ball bearings in the middle and slush at the bottom. 

There are variable degrees of mag...like full and half and number of mag points which offer degrees of utility. 

Lastly, for a geezer such as myself...it will also depend on my energy and intent...aggressive, cruising or goofing around. So terrain has some factor, here we don't have wide open...but more of tight technical...so having lots of agility potential is useful.

Currently, have/had a old school cambered with full mag...loved that thing for snappy goofing around..and wish that gnu would get it togather and do it again...the current c3 cam dominate with mag is shitty (bad) compared to old school cambered with mag (badass). A old c2btx bpro/rider's choice fun for hot rodding around with lots of control. And a old c2btx billygoat with half mag...love it and you don't feel the mag, unless you need it for natty...but the torsional flex with stiff cam sections are the more important secret sauce for the billygoat.

Grabbiness, catchiness, safety...that is a matter of skill and is the board doing what you want it to. Yes it will slow you down if doing high speed carves...compared to blasting with a traditional camber...but if you don't care about the speed and just cruising around and want some more short radius control and hockey stops...it fun.

Ime, the camber profile also is something to note. * Loved* the old cambered mag for hard-soft pack goofing around, love the c2btx mag for soft pack to about 6-8-12" of pow. And for ice/hard pack blasting groomers...old school cam without mag.

But yea, they made the koolaid here (pnw), I drank me some and it can be tasty for certain things.


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

Magnetraction is one of the greatest tech innovations in snowboarding. There is a reason that almost every major manufacturer has been trying to copy it in some way (Rome, Arbor, Capita, Yes, NS) or that smaller players have licensed the technology (Smokin, Jones).


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Most of those other sidecut techs aren't at all similar to magnetraction and aren't nearly as prominent. There's a reason why Mervin keeps introducing milder and milder versions of magnetraction. Not everyone likes the way it rides.


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## Bataleon85 (Apr 29, 2017)

linvillegorge said:


> Most of those other sidecut techs aren't at all similar to magnetraction and aren't nearly as prominent. There's a reason why Mervin keeps introducing milder and milder versions of magnetraction. Not everyone likes the way it rides.


Word. The magnetraction on the Smokins I've ridden and the one I own is easily visible to the naked eye. The edges on NS boards are much more subtle and don't hook you up nearly as bad.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

Faded_Butters said:


> 1. Is Magnetraction mostly a HATE IT OR LOVE IT kind of thing for most snowboarders out there...? Or is it more just 'whatever'...?
> 
> 2. Do most people feel it helps with edge control and turns/carves and is more of a 'safety' feature...?
> 
> ...


1. I've been on mag since 2007 and I am on the whatever side. I can take it or leave it. I liked Libtechs before and after magnetraction.

2. It might help with carves in that it grabs, some might say this hinders. It has saved my ass numerous times from the unexpected hidden sheet of ice resorts can sometimes get. Basically it lets me ride looser or more lazy in sketchy conditions.

3. It does not ever feel sketchy. If it has a mind of it's own I'd say it's all you. Maybe the board is too stiff and unforgiving or something? Or maybe the edges were brand new or just sharpened? It is hella grabby when fresh out the wrapper.

4. No I would say it's not dependent on terrain. A lot of east coasters are interested in them because of the ice. I'm in the BC interior and ride pow more than not along with lots of variable conditions. It's good in the park too because you can detune the hell out of them so they never will hang up on rails but still hold an edge really good. It's more like the price of admission for a Libtech is all.

They have made .5 mag for years where it's not as pronounced. I wish Lib would make straight edges and straight up camber again. 

Personally for me the pros outweigh the cons. I like how it handles icy or hard snow. It is less catchy. Low maintenance, you don't need to sharpen them edges ever really. Kind of changes how the board handles, makes it more skatey kind of responds to your feet more like a skateboard than a snowboard if that makes any sense.

The cons are it does slow you down a little on carves. You get kind of a washy feeling when making drift turns that takes some getting used to. But that washy feeling is the same on any snow condition and it never ever slips out. 

I like it but I also don't miss it on my other boards. I haven't tried the .5 mag but I bet I'd like it more.


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Thanks for all the tips and advice guys. I really appreciate it. 

I think I am definitely going to give Libtech and magnetraction another shot. I am hoping the Libtech utility knife will be a great choice for SoCal snowboarding/resorts and the type of riding that I do.


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## francium (Jan 12, 2013)

I thought lib introduced it for the full rocker boards originally due to the edge hold being shit without it? I've had a couple of libs without it c3 profile and got a mayhem on order without it as well, so perhaps on camber dominant even they realise it's not needed. Personally for edge hold I don't think you can beat full camber with sharp edges.


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## Rhidian (Oct 27, 2018)

I've had my libtech jamie Lynne for over 5 years with magnatraction, during this time I've rented other non magna edge boards and would not go back to non magnatraction. Its edge grip on ice, hardback n piste is phenomenal often reminding me of hard boot slalom board grip. I would say it may not be for everyone as you need fo be able to alpine carve to really benefit not slide. It needs to be ridden hard or it can bite back.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

First had it on a Gnu Park Pickle which is full rocker, and when I got that board the edge hold was far better than the Burton Dominant park board I'd been riding. I found that I'd been compensating for the lack of edge hold on the Burton so the mag actually gave me more confidence and I started riding better in hard conditions.

Magnetraction is not a must-have feature for me but it's certainly not a gimmick. On more camber boards it's not as necessary, but I've never found that it hinders my riding.


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## PalmerFreak (Jul 13, 2009)

I agree with Wrath, I had a c2btx Travis Rice that was full mag and there were times when it was "catchy". I replaced the Travis Rice with a C3 Billy Goat that has "mello" mag and it's great.


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