Review: Lib Tech Lost Round Nose Fish 5’6″
Summary: The Lib Tech Round Nose Fish (RNF) 5’6″ works ok on a variety of high performance river waves, but it never felt like the best board choice. Continue reading for the full review…
I surfed this board on a variety of waves. Everything from steep shortboard waves, to some of the biggest waves in Colorado and Wyoming. Unfortunately, I never preferred this board over other boards (including other Lib Tech boards) in my quiver. It always felt just a little slower, and not as snappy compared to some of my other shortboards.
The RNF will work on any shortboardable river wave, as long as it isn’t too small, or just a foamy hole. If the only boards that are surfing your wave are being ridden by longboards, SUPS, or high volume shortboards, then the RNF probably isn’t going to work. But if the wave has plenty of shortboards in the 5′-6′ range surfing, then there’s a good chance the RNF will surf fine.
On big river waves like Glenwood that require dropping in from above, I found it harder than expected to catch the wave. And once surfing, I found I needed to surf the board further forward than I’d like and sometimes struggled to stay on the wave. I often found myself switching to a higher volume or a longer board for these types of waves.
On smaller, steeper, shortboard waves I found myself again surfing further forward on the board than I’d like. On these waves I often found myself going with a smaller, but faster board that would allow me to surf with my back foot on the tail pad to make snappier turns.
As far as skill levels go, the RNF feels like an intermediate to advanced board. If you are looking for a more beginner level board, the Puddle Jumper is more user friendly and performs as well if not better in most aspects.
Like all Lib Tech surfboards, the construction is top notch. It’s durable, won’t absorb water, is easy to fix, and doesn’t weigh a ton. If you’re looking for a durable board, all Lib Tech boards are excellent and are rivaled only by Hydrus in my opinion.
While the Round Nosed Fish is a decent board, it’s hard to recommend over other boards I’ve surfed. If you’re considering purchasing this board, I’d also recommend taking a look at the Lib Tech Puddle Jumper and Puddle Jumper HP.