# Magna-Traction info?



## kimchijajonshim

Rather than having a standard circular/elliptical/whatever sidecut, if you look at the sides of a magnatraction board you'll see that it's wavy, like a butter knife. What this does is create additional contact points and greater edge hold. I myself have not personally tried it, but it seems like a real try and buy thing. A few folks I know love it, one of them thought it was kind of weird. Like most things in snowboarding, you have to try it and make up your mind for yourself. I am personally not hugely interested in it, but I will be demoing a handful of MTX boards this season because I am very interested in the banana tech stuff Lib is putting out starting this season.


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## landonk5

awesome. thanks for the info. please get back to me when you've demo'ed them.


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## PaoloSmythe

i had a go on a magna-traction plank last season, during a trip to Big White, where the runs were farking hard pack (to say the least)

I am more used to uber stiff, big mountain boards but i was having a tuff time holding an edge on the smoother black runs. when i tried the lib tech magna tho,it really did hold the edge infinitely better. the side chatter and slip that i had to get used to on my Nitro shogun, which usually caused a lack of confidence was gone and the runs felt more like soft groomers. it really was that good!

if you are prone to suffering hardpack, i would get magna over all others. if off piste pow wow was more your thng tho, it will be more limited. 

east coastwes ought to ride nothing else IMO!


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## Guest

I've rode most of Mervin's lineup including all of the magne traction boards and i've owned the dark with magne traction...they aren't bad boards if you ride ice...it does grip and hold an edge on ice better. But remember there is a difference in magnetraction, the lib magne traction board versus the dark or TRS with magne traction have different serrated edges...the lib magnetraction has less so it's less of a grip than the TRS. Just pointing that out cause it is noticeable when you ride the boards.

But again if you ride ice, it'll be great. The one thing I don't like about magne traction is that you cannot carve on the board, it kicks you out when you reach a dynamic carve on the board. Now most people don't do that, but I find it limits a rider. I just prefer a regular edge board, i'd rather ride Mervin boards without magne traction.

For 07-08, Smokin Snowboard is putting out Smokin Traction but I wasn't able to try it. Maybe that'll be a new take on it. Also Rossignol is putting out the JDUB board with magne traction as well. As well as Mervin making more boards with magne traction.


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## Guest

landonk5 said:


> ive heard good things about this stuff and i kinda get the basic
> idea, but can anyone explain? i know the "turns ice into powder"
> crap is an exaggeration, but to what extent? and how does it work?


If you're on the east coast ( like me ) and you run into ice a lot, it is a noticeable difference, but in powder conditions, or say towards the end of the season in slush/crud you won't notice any difference, at least I did'nt. It does work but it's something you should try first. It took me a few times to get used to it but I do like it.


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## Guest

My wife and I (being East Coasters) switched to Magne. I've demoed it awhile back before the switch - loved the feel of it. Rides like a regular board in pow pow, but shines on hardpack/ice. I recommend Smokin' Traction board, btw: http://www.smokinsnowboards.com/catalog.pdf


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## Guest

anthonybsd said:


> My wife and I (being East Coasters) switched to Magne. I've demoed it awhile back before the switch - loved the feel of it. Rides like a regular board in pow pow, but shines on hardpack/ice. I recommend Smokin' Traction board, btw: http://www.smokinsnowboards.com/catalog.pdf


 I heard a little bit about Smokin' boards. How are they anyway? I was always curious (if anyone had one) how they were.


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## Guest

porwal222 said:


> I heard a little bit about Smokin' boards. How are they anyway? I was always curious (if anyone had one) how they were.


Sigh, I might find myself in a world of hurt here, but here it goes. 

I've tried their non-magnetraction boards and they are great. Their new Smokin' Traction board is essentially the same as Mervin's Magnes(they license the technology) but cheaper than what Lib Techs, GNUs or Roxys retail for what *I and I alone personally *think is a better value in materials. Craftsmanship is about the same as both companies (Smokin' and Mervin) handcraft their boards - they are both superbly made, by riders for riders.


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## Guest

That's actually not a bad thing. Mervins boards are getting up there in price. When I think of what I spent on my Rider's Choice last year, I almost threw up. Don't get me wrong, it is a hell of a board, but it is good to know there's smaller companies turning out the same thing, and they're hand made. Which is a big thing to me.


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## lisevolution

I am looking at the Lib SkunkApe this year because I live here in NY and although I do get out west a few times a season, the majority is hard packed east coast ice so I figure it's worth the investment. If it doesn't work out, I still have my Ride to fall back on


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## Guest

If you're on the fence about buying a board with MTX, don't do it. 
demo one first, you might not like it. I've got a few boards, and there are some days I'd rather be on a good plain old freeride board. The Never Summer Premier is an unreal board for the money if you're not into the MTX, but want a durable bombproof board. Demo one, you'll be hooked......


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## lisevolution

I've been looking into NeverSummer just in general and I may indeed go with one but I'm very intrigued with the MTX technology and for the type of snow I ride... ice coast hard pack I think it makes sense. I've heard other people say the same thing about the MTX that it takes some getting used to, what about it is so different in the handling?


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## boarderaholic

Some people say it feels like the board is washing out from under them when they lay deep carves, or that it feels strange when it grips the snow.


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## killclimbz

I didn't have the washing out experience, then again I am not sure if I tried deep arcing turns either. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The nearest correlation I found was that the board seemed to ride larger than it was. I got grip and performance and feel out of a 161 mtx board that I would have expected out of a 168 or 170cm board. So yeah, they are a bit more grippy. Not ground breaking though.


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## Guest

lisevolution said:


> I've been looking into NeverSummer just in general and I may indeed go with one but I'm very intrigued with the MTX technology and for the type of snow I ride... ice coast hard pack I think it makes sense. I've heard other people say the same thing about the MTX that it takes some getting used to, what about it is so different in the handling?


Thanks Killclimbz, those were exactly the words I was looking for. The board has a kind of grippy feeling to it. Almost like if you're not paying attention to what you're doing, it'll fling you on your face or other parts! Once you get used to it, it's not really that bad. I just feel like I can lay much further down on my NS when carving, though.


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## lisevolution

ok so that being the case, how does the NS hold up in icy conditions? I can be persuaded away from the Lib but if I am I want something that can hold it's own when it's riding on the ice coast


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## Guest

lisevolution said:


> ok so that being the case, how does the NS hold up in icy conditions? I can be persuaded away from the Lib but if I am I want something that can hold it's own when it's riding on the ice coast


 The NS Premier, and the Heritage are about the same. They both hold ice / packed snow really well. Do they grip as good as an MTX equipped board, no. But stick both a NS, and an MTX board into a deep carve and see which one you feel most comfortable on. Me, I'l be on the Never Summer. That's why I have both an NS, and a Lib Tech MTX board. One for screwing around , and one for serious freeriding. That damn Premier is unbelieveable, demo one if ya can. I was actually looking at a Titan yesterday. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Man I gotta get a cheaper hobby....


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## lisevolution

The problem around here is that 99% of the shops don't stock anything but the big brands on LI... there's 1 dealer who even sells LibTech and I don't think anyone sells NeverSummer. I'd have to get lucky and demo from a shop near a mountain. I think I'm starting the season in Colorodo this year late November so maybe I'll just stick with the old Decade for the first run of the year and try to Demo one of the others when I'm there. Only problem with that is the MTX won't really show what it can do in that type of condition... I'm definitely going to look into the NeverSummer's though I keep hearing all this awesome stuff about them from a lot of different people. In a perfect world I'd have both but my live in GF won't let that happen, unless I buy her a new board too!


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## killclimbz

Conditions in Colorado are not always pow. Plenty of hardpack to go around. Maybe not ice coast ice cube conditions, but you should get an idea if what MTX can do for you. Unless it's dumping of course...


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## lisevolution

I hear you... looked at the Never Summer boards and I'm gonna have to wait till the new stuff comes out for this year to really gauge. I have a wide foot (13) so I need a wide board and none of the ones listed have the width I need.


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## killclimbz

Neversummer makes plenty of wide boards. The Titan TX being one of them. It's a powerful board though, be forwarned. You need to muscle it around or it will muscle you around.

The Heritage, Legacy, and I believe the Premier series all have wide models.


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## Guest

lisevolution said:


> I hear you... looked at the Never Summer boards and I'm gonna have to wait till the new stuff comes out for this year to really gauge. I have a wide foot (13) so I need a wide board and none of the ones listed have the width I need.


As far as Lib Tech wide boards, you've got the Skunk Ape MTX for freeride, and the Dark Series MTX for freestyle. You've also got Never Summers wide boards too. Just hit up the NS site and ask for an 07/08 catalog ( just got mine last week ). I'd be looking at a Heritage X If you are in the Never Summer mindset ( waist widths from 26.0 to 26.9 ). They do have a board called the Legacy which is the wide version of an SL, but it's an all-mountain freestyle board (waist widths from 26.1 to 27.0). There always is the Titan TX, but you'll end up muscling it around all day. Unless you're into a workout, if so, by all means go for it ! You've definitely got a ton of choices...


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## Guest

Had one. Rode it twice and sold it. I thought the ride was very unstable, wants to turn when you do not. The whole shreds ice thing isn't very accurate either. It does hold an edge in ice better as it does have multiple edges with which to grab it, but regardless, it is a sketchy riding board at best.

I'll stick with my Burton T6.


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## lisevolution

I looked closer at the NeverSummer site and saw what you guys are talking about... I think I'll just try to Demo an MTX board early this season and make my mind up about it. My other concern on the Skunk is that it may be too freeride focussed looking at the taper in the picture I may be more inclined to go with the GNU 11-up or the Dark from Lib. I have heard from a bunch of people that tried to ride a Titan and said unless your riding super steeps at ultra high speed you won't like it, you guys seem to be seconding that theory. I'm not trying to spend $5-600 on a board and not like it...I'll stick with the Ride for the early season and try to Demo an MTX and Neversummer board asap to see what I want to buy


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## Guest

*big wide freerides*

Hopped on this forum for feedback on the Skunk Ape--thanks, now forgive me as I throw in my two cents:

I've got big feet, work at very snowy Mt Hood Meadows, ride Alaska every year, I've ridden and/or owned numerous 170+, 26 wide+ boards, and have three snowboarding brothers in various parts of the west all with 13s or better...

My humble opinions:

All the big ones work in pow. Last winter I was on Never Summer Titan TX 169, F2 174, Salomon Burner 172, Never Summer Legacy 176 (?), Rad Air Tanker 177, Prior MFR 172, Ride Yukon 168(?), and my two old beater Eldorados early season. Tapers definetly help the back leg, but too much can feel like they want to crawl back up the hill mid-turn (Rad Air) 

I've found bigger sidecuts work better in ice. We do get ice on steep traverses, and I find it is spooky seeing space between your feet, and trying to control the digging in tips and tails. My Salomon Burner (90 days) and Prior Freeride (2 day demo), both 172s, worked great on ice. The Salomon lists a 9.8 or 9.6 sidecut,but measures higher in the sidecut calculators. the Prior goes 10.5 I believe.

Some boards seem like they want to fold in half when bombing deep crud (Salomon, F2, Eldos), others are stable, damp, bombproof(Never Summer, Prior)

The F2 and the Salomon I could actually turn easily at slow speeds--coincidentally, those two are the lightest and narrowest, and are at least part cap.

Look out for the progressive sidecuts on the Titan and Rad Air, not for me!

Now that you guys have all but talked me out of the Skunk Ape (I do like to dig trenches), I'm thinking Prior, the only one I've liked on ice and crud. 
(Note: If I could own one board only, I would stay with the Burner, which actually works in the park, is light enough for pipe, holds on ice, can be turned at mellow speeds, etc.--just lacks in late day day, beaten, deep northwest chowder)


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