Snowboards

09-10 Burton Custom Review

0
2 years ago
by User Review in

I agree with everything positive that people have said about the 2009 Custom, EXCEPT . . .

I agree with everything positive that people have said about the 2009 Custom, except that the board is just not going to hold up for more than a season. After 5 days on the mountain, the top sheet is delaminating at the nose due to standing on a lift line. Yes, I watched it happen as someone shifted their ski back into the nose of my board.

How many times have I been out on my Never Summer over 5 years, and while it has it's fair share of lift line scrapes, the top sheet has never just been pulled off like that.

Never buying another Burton board again. Nice to ride, just too expensive to keep buying each season.

09-10 DC BFF2 Review

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2 years ago
by Maggie in

I would suggest this to new buyers who want a board that will be used to cover a lot of varying terrain, in addition to girls who are already on boards that sound similar because the transition is really easy.

The BFF2 is a fun ride for all mountain and works well in a range of conditions. I like a reliable ride that isn't going to buck me around because it is too soft all over but also doesn't feel like a dead fish or a gangplank. Sometimes getting on a new board makes you have to think about what you are doing for the first few runs, but I felt at home straight away on this one. The BFF2 eases smoothly into turns while holding a solid edge. It is great in powder and rides well through choppy snow. It has spring for jumping off things and enough support in the tail that I was super comfortable landing.

It rides true to size and as a firm believer in shorter boards, I wouldn't go over a 148 if you are between 5'5" and 5'9 because it is plenty of board. It has cute graphics on it that look like a bunch of bubbles and remind me of a colorful aquarium. All it needs is fish stickers.

09-10 K2 Believer Review

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2 years ago
by User Review in

K2 believer for all mountain riding and focusing on park.

K2 believer, good board easily broken! i have broken 2, my mate bought one cause i liked mine and he has broken his aswel. another dude who i ride with sometimes broke his so i would not recommend them.

09-10 Burton Custom X Review

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2 years ago
by User Review in

Overall a good board, but really ideal for east coast riding as opposed to west coast.

Ultimately, the enjoyment of this board will vary by what type of riding you do and where you ride. In my humble opinion (I've used it on east and west coast mountains), this board was made for advanced east coast riders. It's stiff, has a fast base, and a strong edge. That means it's fast, stable, and carves groomed runs like a thanksgiving turkey. I haven't tried it on an icey day, but I feel like it would hold up with the best that's out there. Graphics and materials used to make the board are also a plus.

However, I think a west coast rider will find a lot to be desired. It doesn't float well in powder at all. It's so stiff that navigating through trees or on un-groomed terrain is difficult. I'm also not a fan of the binding lay-out. They designed it to match with Burton bindings (though other brands will work on the 08 and earlier models).

Final thought: This board is very, VERY, similar to the Arbor A-Frame. In deciding between the two, I think the only difference would be which design and which company you like better. Personally I give the edge (no pun intended) to Abror, I'm a fan of their work and think the A-Frame is a great board. However, whichever board you can get a better deal on should be the one you choose.

08-09 Arbor Abacus 160 Review

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2 years ago
by User Review in

Slay the fresh all day long and love it with this board, keep it at home if there is no snow in sight. There is an old adage of “No friends on pow day”, on pow days the Abacus is your only friend.

If you ride east coast ice, hard packed, groomers and never see powder days nor yearn for them. The Abacus will not be your friend, Arbor has many others to fit your needs the Abacus is not it.

However if you are looking to ease out those bad ass pow days with something that will ALWAYS perform on the fresh, be it on the groomers, in the trees, slaying a bowl, dropping into the fresh stashes .. this is your new companion on the mountains no matter how large or small.

Riding Revelstoke during a 30cm snow and accumulating was spectacular. The Abacus slayed the pow, kept me up top and grabbed as much speed as possible. It split the tight trees with ease, sent me off rollers and landed without any nose dive. Carving ?? Who needs that in the pow, just lean back and cruise. However, throw a spin and watch your landing gear ! The Abacus sits you so far back in your stance that rotations soon become corked and off axis. Even BIG AIRS will tend to lean towards the back … grab a mute to correct or else you’ll be rolling down some windows !

Riding the day after and following sessions without fresh snow saw the humidity, cold, groomers, and chop to create a packed surface. And it became clear this board does not like to hold an edge. As well, the edge it does hold is pretty weak. This is not a carving board, if you know you are going to be in more than 4? of snow this is the board for that day, otherwise leave it at home.

08-09 Burton Vapor Review

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3 years ago
by User Review in

It has upped my game and I fell in love with it instantly

In my opinion, the standard issue deck graphics are uugly they get a “2? although for another buck fiddy you can get custom graphics. The board itself gets a “10? handsdown this puppy has power steering. It’s like an extension of your body, you dont ride it, it rides you, like you almost forget its there! It turns everything into butta’ rich creamery butta’ hand-churned by Amish bitches in the Black Forest of Pennsylvania, then waxed by hobbitts, Old world craftsmanship baby!

08-09 Burton Custom X Review

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3 years ago
by User Review in

There's a reason why a lot of pros ride this board.

Pros: The Burton Custom X is a great board to take all over the mountain. It holds an edge extremely well and allows you to ride with confidence. It is stiff enough that it has little to no chatter for those high speed runs. Thank goodness for the pressure distribution edges that Burton has incorporated into this board, giving it that extra bit of ooommph when carving hard. But it also has a reasonable amount of flex (but not a significant amount) to perform a few tricks in the bag.

Cons: Perhaps I have not been able to ollie off this board with perfection yet, but I did find the pop in the Custom X a bit lacking, and it requires a bit more effort to get that extra height off the ground.

Other Thoughts: I found my Custom X 158 great to take in the pow and tree runs. It was the perfect length so that I would not wash out in those hard carves in the pow and was not too long nor difficult to maneuver in the glades. This is definitely not a freestyle/park board so if you're looking for a super soft board, look elsewhere. While attempting butters may require a bit more effort, this board can still do it all. The price of the board may seem a bit steep, but with price comes quality design and a great board to add to your quiver.

08-09 Ride DH Review

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3 years ago
by User Review in

I'm a beginner snowboarder, and am not qualified to really write a full on technical review, but thought my experience might be helpful to some other newbs.

I purchased a board that was over my head (Forum Warrior 158), before I'd ever ridden. After really getting my arse handed to me my 3rd time out, on some steeper slopes, I decided to look for another board. I scoured the internet, posted in forums, and went to as many shops as I could.

I'm 5'11", 145 lbs. Beginner looking for a forgiving board that was easier to initiate turns on than my other board. Presumably something softer and slightly shorter. I don't really have any park aspirations – just all mountain cruising and the occasional jump. I also wanted something I'd be happy with for at least a couple/few seasons.

A number of the suggestions I started getting were for Freestyle boards, which seemed odd to me, since I'd mentioned I didn't have any real interest in park riding. Most explained to me that freestyle boards did generally have a softer flex, but many could easily handle all mountain riding. I cross referenced all of my sources/reviews, and the board that popped up more than any others was the Ride DH, followed by the Never Summer SL. I went to my local shop with the intent to get the SL, due largely to the fact that I wanted to support a home grown operation, and secondly because those that ride them seem to swear by them (it didn't hurt that they look sick as well). Once there I did mention to the salesman that I'd heard NS boards tend to be a bit stiff, asking for his take on that. He backed up that assertion, and said (w/o me asking his opinion on the DH) that if he were in my position he'd get the DH. So, I walked out of the shop with an 07/08 155 DH DFC edition at 30% off.

I took the board out for the maiden voyage yesterday, and could not have been happier. This was my 4th time boarding, and by the end of the day I was able to keep up with my girl, who has been boarding for years, on relatively high speed runs down blues. It's so easy for me to initiate turns on this board. I also had a number of instances where I could feel myself starting to catch an edge, and I was able to maneuver out of it. On my other board I would have immediately been on the ground at those points. I also went down a few steep runs that were clearly over my head, but I was still able to get down with some modicum of control. Generally, with the other board, I felt like it took so much effort to initiate a turn, and once I got the turn started the board would take off downhill, before snapping around hard or skidding out at the end. With the DH I was able to make smooth, accurate turns all day. This probably sounds cliche, but I felt like I was controlling the board, whereas the other board was most certainly controlling me. I also made 30% – 40% more runs yesterday (product of going on a weekday), and felt like I could have kept going for hours, whereas previously I was spent (and beaten to a pulp) after a half day.

I know this is probably the longest non-technical review ever posted here, but I hope it helps some other newbies that might be looking for a board. The one thing I couldn't find when I was looking around was reviews from beginners about experiences on their new equipment.

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