Burton 2021 Snowboards Overview

A few new models this season, all the old regulars – as well as some changes to the Kilroy boards for 2021.

Overviews of other brands: Lib Tech, Capita, Jones, Never Summer, Bataleon, GNU, Korua Shapes, Salomon, Nitro

Burton Camber Profiles

Burton call their camber profiles “bends” which does make a bit more sense, especially as quite a lot of their models have squeezebox – which is actually changing the board profile with different sections of thick and thin.

Camber

The original (and the best), traditional camber gives the board the most pop, edge hold, and stability when you are riding fast.

Used on the:

Directional Camber

Similar to a traditional camber profile, the difference is that the rocker nose means you get more float in deep snow, as well as a smooth and easy entry to turns.

Used on the:

PurePop Camber

A toned down version of traditional camber, with flat sections at the contact points give it a bit of an easier feel to ride, while still getting decent pop and stability.

Used on the:

Flying V

A hybrid camber profile that has rocker between your feet, and camber out towards the nose and tail of the board. The rocker section keeps the board playful and gives it some more float in deeper snow, while the camber sections are make to get a bit more edge hold and a little more pop. A very popular profile, it is very similar to Nitro’s Gullwing, Never Summer Original Rocker Camber as well as Lib Tech and Gnu’s C2 profile. Popular because it is easy to ride, but you won’t grow out of is as fast as you would on a plain rocker or flat board.

Used on the:

Flat Top

Probably the easiest to ride profile they have, it is flat between your feet, with rocker on the nose and tail of the board. The flat sections gives you stability, while the rocker sections keep it loose and catch free.

Used on the:

Directional Flat Top

Flat for most of the board, but with a large rocker nose it is designed to give you plenty of float in deep snow, and smooth and easy turns.

Used on the:

Base Materials

The same for every brand, there are the two main versions of base materials – sintered and extruded. Extruded is easier and cheaper to make, it keeps the cost of the board down, and doesn’t need much maintenance, though they aren’t very fast.

Sintered bases are much faster, but you do need to wax them. A properly maintained and waxed board with a sintered base will be quick.

There are different levels of sintered bases, the denser and harder the material, the faster it will be.

Extruded Base

The simplest base material, extruded is the slowest on snow, but it keeps the cost of the board down and is the easiest to repair. It is on the cheapest few boards at the bottom of the range.

Sintered

A hard and fast material, that does a good job soaking up wax and keeping you moving fast.

Sintered WFO

A sintered material, that has wax already infused into the base from the factory.

Methlon

Burton’s highest grade sintered base.

A few features to keep an eye on

There are a few features that some of these boards shape, which can help you narrow down which is going to be the best choice for you.

Cores: The cores mainly vary by weight, and they jump up in 100g increments. The lightest and most expensive weighs 500g, while the majority are around 700g, and the cheapest is a heavier 900g.

Squeezebox: There are a few variations of this, but all versions are some amount of core profiling. Basically there are thinner and thicker sections of the core, which help to lighten the board, make it stronger in some areas, and more flexible in others.

Fiberglass: Biax is the softer and easier to flex version, while Triax is a bit stiffer (torsionally/twisting).  

Burton 2021 Snowboards

Burton Custom Camber 2021

One of their most famous models, the Custom has been around since 1996 and is a very good balanced board that can do a bit of everything. Being such a popular board, it comes in two versions – the camber version for more aggressive riders, and the Flying V (see below) which is an easier to ride, hybrid option.

It has a slightly directional shape, with a longer nose than tail, but a twin flex, which means that the nose and tail have the same stiffness. The Camber version uses a traditional camber bend, which means that the camber runs all the way to the contact points, giving the board a very direct feel, with good edge hold and a springy, poppy ride.

• Camber

• Directional Shape

• Twin Flex

• Super Fly II 700g Core

• Dualzone EGD

• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights

• Sintered WFO Base

• The Channel

Read my review of the Burton Custom.

Burton Flight Attendant 2021

The Flight Attendant is made to be an all terrain board, that will float in powder as well as it will hold an edge on groomed runs. The Directional Camber profile gives the board camber under your back foot for a stable and solid feel, while the rocker on the nose helps for float in powder, as well as making the start of turns smooth and natural.

The Freeride Directional Shape is what gives the Flight Attendant its unique feel, with the setback stance (35mm), longer nose, short tail and 10mm of taper (wider nose than tail). The directional flex means that the tail is stiffer than the nose.

• Directional Camber
• Freeride Directional Shape
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly II 700G Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

Read more about the Flight Attendant.

Burton Custom X 2021

The stiffer, more aggressive big brother to the Custom, it is lighter, quicker and probably the least forgiving in the Burton lineup. Like the regular Custom, the Custom X has a traditional camber bend, a slight directional shape and a twin flex. The core is the upgraded Dragonfly core, which takes off around 100g of weight. There also is the Custom X Flying V (details below) that is much easier to ride.

• Camber
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Dragonfly 600g Core
• Multizone EGD
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

Read my review of the Burton Custom X.

Burton Process Camber 2021

The Process has the PurePop bend, which means that it is mainly a camber board, but with flat sections at the nose and tail to give it a bit more forgiveness, an easier ride and less of the catchy feeling you can get on full camber boards. A true twin shape, and flex, with a decent price make it a good option as a park board. It is quite a popular model, so it also comes in the Flying V version (below).

• PurePop Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700G Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base
• The Channel

More info on the Burton Process.

Burton Custom Flying V

This is the easier to ride version of the Custom, which puts rocker between your feel, with camber towards the nose and tail of the board. The rocker section helps makes turns easier, reduces the catchy feeling and the camber sections help to give you some grip and edge hold.

If you haven’t ridden a full camber board before, and you only plan on riding a week or so a season – the Flying V option would be good. It is easy enough to ride straight away, and you won’t have to deal with the steeper learning curve.

• Flying V
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

Read more about the Custom Flying V.

Process Flying V

Just like the Custom Flying V above, this version of the Process is the easier version to ride, that is less aggressive and feels a bit softer (because of the rocker between your feet).

• Flying V
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base
• The Channel

More info on the Process Flying V.

Ripcord

The Ripcord is a soft and easy to ride beginners board, that is designed to help get your skills up as quickly as possible. The Flat Top bend is easy to turn, smooth and doesn’t want to catch an edge. The lower end core and extruded base material are things that beginners won’t need to worry about, and keep the cost down.

• Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• 5mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Fly 900g Core
• Biax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base
• The Channel

Read more about the Ripcord.

Custom X Flying V

This is probably the weirdest board in the whole range. They have taken the high end, lightweight and aggressive performance board, and given it their easy to ride Flying V bend. Everything good about the board – the pop, stability and edge hold are all toned right down with this bend. This is like having a Ferrari and having it drive itself. Get the Flying V version of the Custom X if you want to image of being a good rider (with a board with a good reputation) but don’t have the skills needed to actually ride a real one. That, or just lean it outside the bar so everyone can see it.

• Flying V
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Dragonfly 600g Core
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlithgs
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

More info on the Custom X Flying V.

Skeleton Key

One of my favourite boards from Burton, the Skeleton Key has all the ingredients that make the Custom so good, but with a more fun, directional shape that still rides everywhere really well.

Directional Camber gives it a very solid feel while you are riding fast, with plenty of pop from the stiffer tail. Turns are smooth and easy, with the rocker on the nose as well as the 10mm of taper all helping. Although not really a full wide board, it would at least count in the mid-wide section, the waist widths are a little wider than normal, so there is a bit of extra float, and less toe and heel drag if you have bigger boots.

• Directional Camber
• Freeride Directional Shape
• 10mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly II 700G Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

Read my review of the Skeleton Key.

Free Thinker

The Free Thinker is one of the two Danny Davis’ boards, and this is the true twin freestyle option. It has almost the exact same ingredients and features as the Custom – same camber, same core, same base. One difference is that the Free Thinker is a little bit narrower, so it has a very quick feel turning edge to edge – it feels very responsive. Lightweight, poppy and very fun to ride.

• Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Sintered WFO Base
• The Channel

Read my review of the Free Thinker here.

Deep Thinker

The directional option – it has a lot of the same ingredients as the Free Thinker, but with a directional shape, directional camber and a directional flex. The Directional camber puts rocker on the nose, which combined with the 7mm of taper will help if naturally float in powder, and make turns smooth and easy.

• Directional Camber
• Directional Shape
• Directional Flex
• 7mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Sintered WFO Base

Read my review of the 2021 Deep Thinker here.

Burton Skeleton Key XX

This one was called the Mystery Skeleton Key in the southern hemisphere, but for everyone else it looks like it has a new name. I am not sure what is going on, but the Mystery version (Australian) has a 500g core, while this XX version looks like it has been downgraded to the slightly heavier 600g core from the Custom X. I haven’t gotten to ride this one, but even holding it in the shop it was very light.

I loved the original Skeleton Key, so I can only guess that I would like a lighter, faster version even more. If I had piles of cash just sitting around, maybe then I could justify the huge price.

• Directional Camber
• Freeride Directional Shape
• 10mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Dragonfly 600g Core
• Multizone EGD
• Mystery Glass Fiberglass
• Methlon Base

Find out more about the Skeleton Key XX.

Kilroy Twin

I think that the Kilroy Twin is a standout board, it rides well, looks good and isn’t expensive. Regular camber means that it will have good pop and a stable feel for jumps, but the softer overall flex means that it will still feel smooth on rails and won’t need a huge amount of effort to press or butter.

It comes in sizes from 135cm all the way up to 159cm, so there are sizes the suit youth and teenagers that don’t need a full sized adult board yet. For a board at $400, it has a sintered base which is quite a good feature, normally at this range they would have a cheaper extruded option.

The cost of the board is kept down with the construction – it has a heavier 800g core and biax (easier to twist) fiberglass. 

• Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Biax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Watch my video review of the Kilroy Twin.

Kilroy 3D

A new model this year, the Kilroy 3D has the Purepop bend, with one difference – the contact points (corners) are lifted or bend up and out of the way, for a looser, more playful feel. Think about it the same way Bataleon/Jones boards have base shaping.

The PurePop bend will still give that camber feel, but the flat sections on the nose and tail combined with the 3D base will make it very loose and buttery.

• 3D Contour
• PurePop Camber
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read more about the Kilroy 3D.

Kilroy Pow

This one is based on the Stun Gun, but takes on the Kilroy name and is a bit cheaper with a slightly heavier core. The directional shape and 12mm of taper will make it float in deep snow, as well as make turns smooth and easy.

• Camber
• Directional Shape
• 12mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read my review of the Kilroy Pow.

Family Tree Backseat Driver

This is a pow surfer, which means that it doesn’t need bindings, it has grippy stomp pad style studs to give your boots some grip. It just comes in one size – 140cm and has the flat to rocker profile, with a large 25mm of taper.

• Directional Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• 25mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Triax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

Read more about the Backseat Driver.

Fish 3D

The Fish 3D is made for the super deep powder days, the flat to rocker profile with the 3d shaping on the nose and tail is designed to get a very loose, floaty and surfy feel. Everything is added to get more float – the short tail, long nose, 30mm of taper and the sintered base to keep moving quickly on flat spots.

• Directional Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• 30mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly I 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Sintered WFO Base

More info on the Fish 3D.

Name Dropper

The Name Dropper is one of the board that is going to be the good choice if you want a park board, and especially if you want to ride a lot of rails. The PurePop profile still gives it decent pop, but the softer flex means it won’t be hard to press. Still with a sintered base so you won’t have to 

• PurePop Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Off-Axis
• Super Flt 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

More info here.

Paramount

Compared to the Name Dropper, I think that the Paramount is a bit closer to a park board that is aimed a little more at jumps. Full camber rather than PurePop gives it better edge hold, as well as more pop when combined with the slightly stiffer flex. It has a lighter core, faster base and a price jump to match the features.

• Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered WFO Base

More info on the Paramount here.

Descendant

The Descendant is a good board for intermediate riders, who want a board that will ride as well in the park as well as the rest of the mountain. It has a good balance of features, without a super high price. PurePop camber gives it a solid feel without being as catchy as full camber, and the sintered base will keep it moving fast. Biax fiberglass means that you can twist the board and move it around without much effort, and the twin shape and flex will suit riding or landing switch tricks in the park.

• PurePop Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Biax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read more about the Burton Descendant.

Instigator

The Instigator is a soft flexing, easy to ride entry level board. The Flat top bend which is flat under your feet, with rocker on the nose and tail gives a stable ride, that won’t feel like it wants to catch an edge. The directional shape means that the nose is slightly longer than the tail, and the 5mm of taper means that it will want to turn smoothly and naturally.

• Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• 5mm Taper
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Biax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

More information on the Burton Instigator.

Family Tree Resonator Powsurf

Another Powsurfer, this one is made with a 3d foam construction.

• Directional Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• Varial Foam Core
• Varial Infused Glass
• 25mm Taper

More info here.

Womens Snowboards

Feelgood Camber

This is the womens version of the Custom, so if you hear good things about the Custom, then they will apply to this board as well. Some small changes in the fiberglass are aimed to help lighter riders by giving it a softer torsional (twisting) flex, but still staying strong for regular riding.

• Camber
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered WFO Base

More information on the Feelgood.

Rewind

The Rewind is a soft flexing, camber board that is going to be a good option for riding in the park. It has the Filet-O-Flex design, which means that it has thin and thick sections, that are made to give it easily flex where you need it, and strong where it needs to be. The PurePop camber gives it the good parts of camber, without the catchyness feeling you can get.

• PurePop Camber
• Filet-O-Flex
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read more about the Rewind.

Day Trader

This is a versatile, directional board that is made to ride best in fresh snow, as well as having a smooth and fun ride on groomers. The flat to rocker profile combined with 12mm of taper give it good float in deep snow, and make starting turns smooth and easy.

• Directional Flat Top
• Freeride Directional Shape
• 12mm Taper
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read more about the Day Trader here.

Feelgood Flying V

This is the Flying V version of the popular Feelgood, which would suit less experienced riders who just want and easy to ride board that will do everything, without needing to put in the work to get the best out of the camber version.

• Flying V
• Directional Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered WFO Base

More information on the Flying V version of the Feelgood.

Hideaway

A soft and flexible beginners board, the Hideaway is easy to ride, and made to be fun from day 1.

• Flat Top
• Directional Shape
• 5mm Taper
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Biax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

Read more about the Hideaway.

Yeasayer

The Yeasayer has been around for a couple of years now, and got popular quite quickly. There are two versions, the Flat Top and the more aggressive Flying V versions. Both are designed to ride everywhere – if you are a beginner or more cautious rider, get the Flat Top, otherwise the Flying V will help you progress a bit further.

• Flat Top
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

Read more about the Yeasayer here.

Yeasayer Flying V

• Flying V
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly 800g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

More info on the Flying V version of the Yeasayer here.

Talent Scout

One of the coolest womens boards, the Talent Scout is a full camber, twin park board that you will see a bunch of their professional riders on. Full camber gives it plenty of pop, really good edge hold and a solid feel. If you want a board that you can ride fast, will feel good on jumps and help you push your riding, this would be the board for it.

• Camber
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass
• Sintered Base

Read more about the Talent Scout.

Story Board

This is the board for riders who want a stable, directional board and poppy board that will float well, and still ride hard on the groomers. The rocker in the nose, with the 10mm of taper give it extra float, as well as smooth and easy turns.

• Directional Camber
• Freeride Directional Shape
• 10mm Taper
• Directional Flex
• Super Fly II 700g Core
• Dualzone EGD
• Triax Fiberglass

More info on the Story Board.

Stylus

This one is made to be the easiest board to ride that they make, it has all the features that make riding fun and easy. The flat top profile has rocker on the nose and tail, and the easy bevel means that it is quite hard to catch an edge. If you are looking for your very first board, this is what will help you learn quickly. It has a cheap price, which is because of the 900g core, extruded base and simple fiberglass – but there is no need for a beginner to have any more, it wouldn’t help much.

• Flat Top
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Fly 900g Core
• Biax Fiberglass
• Extruded Base

More info on the Stylus here.

Overviews of other brands: Lib Tech, Capita, Jones, Never Summer, Bataleon, GNU, Korua Shapes, Salomon, Nitro