Burton Custom: A Fun Board With A Fantastic Foundation
It takes a lot for one board to rise to the top. It takes even more for it to maintain its position while fending off challenges from other boards. It is an elite status that requires excellence across a mountain of categories.
How it handles across uneven terrain, what riding style is the best suited for the board, the edge, the bindings needed, and what the big difference between this board and any other great all-mountain board is.
It’s easy to get lost in the storm, buried under the thick snow.
Easy for even a great board to get drowned out by all the noise, but the Burton Custom is not a great board.
No, the Burton Custom snowboard has long superseded that title. It’s in a league of its own, an establishment of the snowboard industry.
Burton Custom Snowboard
The price of “Burton Custom Snowboard” varies, so check the latest price at
Burton Custom: An Open Door
You don’t become a pillar of the snowboard industry by locking people out of your experience. A major reason for the continued quality and relevance of the Burton Custom is the ability level required to shred on this board.
Any intermediate to advanced riders can pick up this snowboard and tear up the mountain, riding style: aggressive, all the way to the floor. It’s got great all-around usage and a secure locked-in feel.
To be fair, most snowboards have this feeling as well. Security isn’t a feature you want to be patented.
The more accessible ability level requirement is why the Burton Custom is the establishment.
This board never attempted to look special by closing its doors but rather embraced its accessibility. Let us get into what makes the Burton Custom a really fun board to mountain ride with.
Our In-Depth Analysis of The Burton Custom
This is where we will pick and prod at everything that this snowboard has to offer. What it has and how that affects its performance across different areas, from soft snow to deep snow and uneven terrain.
How does the Burton Custom handle what comes it’s way? Dive in and find out.
Shape, Profile, and Sidecut
Circle? Square? The Shape of The Board
The Burton Custom is a directional twin-shaped snowboard. Traditionally these kinds of boards are made for all-mountain riding and all-mountain freestyling.
The Custom fits this bill except for its awesome springboard behavior that it enjoys thanks to the lovely camber profile embedded into it.
The directional twin shape can be easily mistaken for its close cousin, the true twin. This can be problematic because true twin snowboards are best used for freestyle.
There are a couple of ways that you can tell the two shapes apart. Namely, the directional twin shape has a setback stance (that isn’t set back further than 20mm). And the nose of these snowboards is slightly longer than the tail. Although, this won’t affect the width of the contact points.
The setback stance on this particular all-mountain snowboard (the Burton Custom) is set back by 12.5 mm. There is also no taper to speak off, and the twin flex of the board means that you should have no trouble riding switch.
Psst! I’m going to let you in on a little secret, but you didn’t hear it from me:
The riding switch on this snowboard does not feel as good as directional riding. It’s passable, but that simply ain’t good enough for me. You’ve got to have standards.
The aforementioned setback places more of the weight of your back leg onto the tail of the board. Giving you some float but nothing to write home about. It’s a cambered board, so you can count on all the regular benefits from that.
Profile: Traditional Camber, the Flying V, and the Custom X?
Remember in the introduction of this breakdown how I made mention of Custom as an institution? Yeah, I easily forget details as well.
This all-mountain board retains its legitimacy by having a blend of traditions within its design and applying a fine tune of innovations throughout. When it comes to board bends, no other has been around for as long and been put to its paces as many times as the camber.
A directional camber improves edge hold and has quick turn initiation. With the Custom, in particular, the turn initiation is as you would expect. Quick and with great pop, turning on the Custom is the most fun you can have with these boards.
Important! Turning on the Custom is fantastic but avoid skidded turns unless you love to catch an edge and a face full of pow. It’s not fun, and it’s definitely not tasty. More on this in our Carving and Turning section.
The Burton Custom camber that I’ve spoken about above is for the classic camber option, but Burton has more than one profile for you to choose from.
The Flying V camber option floats with much greater ease. If you are looking to ride powder extensively, then you should pick up the Burton Custom Flying V. However, keep in mind that the edge hold with the Flying V is poor.
If you want more edge hold, then stick to the classic Burton Custom camber option. It’s not the best that I have ever had, but it does really well even as those inches of pow start to pile up.
It’ll get the job done, the reliability that builds the legacy!
A common mention that you’ll see in reviews. How reliably a product can deliver a good or bad experience is what any review you read is truly about.
And finally, if you want to reach higher speeds than what the classic Burton Custom camber offers you, then you should do two things. First, file for life insurance, and then you should take a gander at Custom X.
The Burton Custom X is a fast board designed specifically to rev it up to the Nth degree. High speeds will not be a foreign concept, and if you maneuver the way I do, then neither will injuries.
The Custom X is also a stiffer board than the soft Custom camber option.
Burton Custom Snowboard
The price of “Burton Custom Snowboard” varies, so check the latest price at
Construction, Materials, and What They Make
You know it’s Burton, and with that comes the, how should we put it?
Interesting names for the different parts and materials used in constructing their all-mountain snowboards. But to be fair, all-mountain snowboards and their manufacturers suffer from this same ailment, complex names-itis.
*Side Note: The Custom Camber and its off-shoots: The Flying V and the Custom X, share many similarities, but this breakdown revolves around the Custom only.*
Core
The Super Fly™ II 700G core, yes, that is its actual name and no I don’t know why Burton couldn’t have knocked off a few syllables here and there.
Nonetheless, this sensationally named core is at the heart of not just the Custom but also the Burton Flight Attendants, another all-mountain offering from the big dog.
There are 3 key reasons as to why this core has been passed around like candy over at the Burton design offices.
Reason #1: The Trees Man, the Trees.
The Custom camber board has managed to be equal parts strong and lightweight, all the while giving you that extra pop that is a prerequisite for calling yourself a snowboard in the first place.
This assortment of different woods is placed in key areas in order to maximize their attributes and account for each other’s shortcomings.
Reason #2: Whole Grains for Your Edge
The custom has what is called frostbite edges. These edges have been treated with wood grains for boosting board strength and edge-hold, making for a stable ride.
The folks over at Burton decided to have the wood grain located along the continuous zones of both the heel and toe edges, exactly vertical to the remainder of the board’s wood core.
Reason #3: Squeeze
The squeezebox profile of the board helps the stable ride mission, thanks to the perfect mixing of thicker and thinner core sections. This is a science and one that Burton has mastered.
The rider’s energy is transferred outward and towards the ends of the board itself. Making for a snappy ride that is easier to maneuver and an overall enjoyable ride. All snowboards should have their own version of this clever engineering.
Base, Laminates, and the Outer Edges
The entire board is covered in 45-degree carbon highlights. These carbon highlights add a complete layer from tip to tail that is meant to reduce the overall weight of the board. The angles and degree play continue with a 60-degree fiber angle that works to make the board “highly maneuverable”.
This is precision in a nutshell. They (Burton) have broken down the science of making a board and then turned it into an art form, and this trend continues with the Sintered WFO within the board’s skeleton.
The base of the Custom camber board is made from a high-density sintered material that is the key to creating a highly durable base that maintains its integrity no matter the conditions or terrain.
Frostbite edges extend outward from the sidewalls for an added bite with no sacrifices required. You can ride how you want, aggressive or not, Burton made sure that you wouldn’t have to compromise.
I am sure you prefer aggressive riding. Got to get those demons out somehow!
Everyone Loves the Channel Mounting System
The channel mounting system throws out the old screw and turn mounting patterns of before and instead places trenches within the center of your board. Trenches in which you can slide your inserts in and get any stance going.
This mounting system is also compatible with all major bindings (provided you get the necessary parts, always read the fine print folks). You don’t have to use a pair of Burton bindings, although I suggest that you do.
With so much freedom, my only problem is my own indecisiveness. Who knew that total liberation could be a prison of its own?
Switch
Can you ride switch using this snowboard? Yes.
But is it the best experience you’ll have? No.
The slightly longer nose drags behind, and the weight could be felt with every turn and slide.
It wasn’t the most fluid time, but I can’t be too harsh on the board as it does have a setback stance and a wider nose. If anything, despite the two previously mentioned features, you can ride switch well enough.
Carving & Turning
At several points throughout this review, I have gushed over the turning and carving capabilities of this board. I’ll keep it simple, it’s good, damn good! All that I have left to say on this subject is that you don’t want to skid your turns.
It’s a traditional camber, you will catch an edge.
Speed
It’s a fast board but not fast enough to stack up against freeriding boards, even with the softened flex. If you want to go faster, then you’ll have to get the Custom X, but at that price point, I’ll run faster away from it than toward it.
Race Ya?
The Short of It
A great board that gives you the option to “supersize” your meal by getting the Custom X or getting the Flying V’s hybrid rocker. A great choice for a wide range of riders that are seeking a consistently stable and good time.
The turning (as long as you don’t skid) on this board is an immense amount of fun, even if you drag your turns out. The board is also easy to get into the air, and the jumping itself is the area that the Custom excels in the most.
Insanely good turning and great jumping? Oh yeah, this is a fun board that I must recommend.
Burton Custom Snowboard
The price of “Burton Custom Snowboard” varies, so check the latest price at
My Final Thoughts
The Burton Custom has seen minor changes throughout the years, and these modifications have altered its versatility. Still, it’s standing among the best all-mountain boards around has not been compromised and it remains a quality board.
The Custom is by far the most famous board that Burton has in their arsenal, but many would consider the Custom X to be the superior choice.
If you look at it from a matter of features and features alone, then I would have to agree with them, but taking into account price and the skill level required to get the most out of that board and I would strongly recommend the regular Custom.
The Custom is fantastic because it offers everything you need without requiring you to be the most advanced rider.
Sure its range may have taken a hit over the years, but we found that it is still head of the table for a reason. Properly Acknowledged.
You’ll get some great snowboarding gear recommendations to go along with each company and brand.
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