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2021-2022 Lib Tech T.Rice Golden Orca Review

The Golden Orca from Lib Tech is a new board in the growing trend of freestyle powder boards. These boards are bashing the norms of traditional twin or directional boards giving you the best of both worlds while offering tech that your average directional twin doesn’t have. Tired of feeling like you can’t land a drop on your powder board? The G.O.’s Power Kink Tail has your solution. Hate the way your back leg feels after riding powder all day on a twin? The shape and camber profile of the G.O. help ease that stress by making floating on top of the powder nearly effortless. If you enjoy riding the entire mountain, live for powder days and like to throw down some tricks this board has you covered.

CAPiTA Mega Mercury Shape

About the Snowboard

The Lib Tech T.Rice Golden Orca Snowboard is a cross between the "regular" Orca and the ripping T.Rice Pro. It's a little more centered, with a new tail profile that makes it better riding switch. Just who's riding pow switch? Well, now you are. Takeoffs, landings, pow pillow blastings, everything is possible on this dream machine. Developed as Mr. Rice's Natural Selection stick, you'll be inspired to push yourself beyond your everyday riding. Stay gold!

Sizes (cm)	153, 157, 161
Dimensions (Tip, Waist, Tail - mm, 157 length)	(309-265-300)
Turning Radius (m, 157 length)	8.0
Camber Profile	Camber/Rocker/Camber

Technical Details

The C2X profile is one of my favorites out there, the float is amazing in powder and makes the board very nimble. The hybrid rocker profile also makes the board easy to butter and press on boxes/rails. It also features Mervin’s tried and true Magne-Traction which helps round out the rocker profile and cuts on that ‘washy’ feel. The star of the show though is the Power Kink Tail, this extended version of the original Orca tail makes this board a threat in either direction. While it is not a true twin it does significantly improve the switch riding and still retains 1” of setback and 9mm of taper for float. All this wrapped around their lightweight FirePower core construction makes for one killer Orca.

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About the Reviewer:

Name: Landom Harmon
Age: 29
Height: 6’
Weight: 180 lbs
Size Reviewed: 157 cm
Location(s): Mt. Baker, WA
Bindings: Union Atlas, Size M
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV, Size 10.5
Riding Style: All-Mountain Freestyle / "Is that a side hit?!"

Ride Impressions:

Powder: I was able to score a 12” powder day on this board and it delivered! The G.O. has great float in powder due to the slight setback, taper, hybrid profile and wider width. It can handle deep days like a dream and tackle the lighter refreshes that turn into afternoon chop. If you have been having a hard time committing to a full-on direction board for powder days this could be the one that dips your toes into the directional world. It still rides like a playful twin but has enough guts to be stable when charging down a bigger line. Since the tail is kinked up it also gives you the quick turn feeling of a board that’s more directional when riding in powder until you press down and engage the tail. I really enjoyed getting this board up to high speeds, making a big spray and buttering out the bottom of it. It turns quick, doesn’t make you worry about dipping the tip and is able to stomp big landings in the pow.

Resort: As you may have heard from reviews on the original Orca, these boards lay absolute trenches when it comes to carving! The extra width gives riders with mid to large feet more confidence when leaning into the carve that you won’t get toe drag. That combined with the Magne-Traction allows gives this board so much grip you forget it has rocker at all. The rocker will come into play once you start to initiate a butter or press, both of which this board is great at. I had a blast riding this board in springtime slush and throughout the park. The camber sections help you pop off jumps, this gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to riding park. If you have been interested in the normal Orca or another directional board but don’t want to give up performance on hardpack you should really be looking into this board.

Pros

Freestyle inspiring playfulness and agility
Amazing edge hold for carving
Great at riding switch thanks to the Powder Kink Tail

Cons

Width will make for slower edge to edge transition with smaller boots
Performance and innovation come at a higher price tag
Hybrid rocker might not be for the Camber Purist

Who's It For?

As the G.O. can easily be a 1 board quiver for someone looking to ride powder, groomers and even park; it makes for a great dedicated powder board for more freestyle inspired riders. The extra width also allows a bigger range of riders to be able to get on the board. I would recommend that the rider be of at least intermediate if not advanced level, especially for the price tag. If you are somebody who finds themselves wanting more playfulness out of your powder board or more float from your freestyle deck, you’ll want to give the Golden a GO!

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Lib Tech T.Rice Golden Orca Review - Bottom Line

This innovation of the Lib Tech Orca elevates the powder freestyle category for snowboards. It will give you all the performance of a powder board without compromising that freestyle feeling of a twin. The extra width and directional C2X camber profile make staying afloat in the deepest powder effortless while the Power Kink Tail and lightweight core make this board easy to spin and land switch. This board is a great powder deck for the rider who still wants to be on a twin for park/groomer days. The G.O. can easily be a quiver killer due to the versatility it offers. This board is a great resort ripper to boot, it’ll have you blasting side hits, carving fresh cord, jamming a slalom course, bonking jibs. If you can think it, this board can handle it.