Burton Deep Thinker

Burton Deep Thinker 2021 Review

The Deep Thinker is the directional, set back brother to the more freestyle focused twin Free Thinker. It was a board that I was really hoping that I would like, because I had heard good things from friends who have a similar riding style to me, and I like the way it looks, but it isn’t for me.

Features of the Burton Deep Thinker

• Directional Camber
  The majority of the board has regular camber, which gives it pop, a stable feel and good edge hold. The rocker nose helps make turns smooth and easy, and gives the board more float in deep snow.
• Directional Flex
  A stiffer flex in the tail for more pop and stability at the end of turns, and a softer flex in the nose.
• Freeride Directional Shape
  IT has a longer nose, shorter tail and 7mm of taper that helps the board turn easily, and naturally float in deeper snow.
• Super Fly II 700g Core
  Burton’s middle of the range core, that is made up of a mix of stronger and lighter woods, to give is a light and responsive feel, that is still strong.
• Dualzone EGD
  Along the edges of the board, the wood used in the core changes direction, which is made to try and give the board extra strength, especially along the edges.
• 45 Degree Carbon Highlights
• Squeezebox
  This is the name of the core profiling that Burton use. It has thinner sections under the bindings and between your feet, and thicker sections outside the bindings for extra strength.
• Sintered WFO Case
  A hard and fast sintered material, that comes infused with wax from the factory.
• The Channel
  The way that Burton mount bindings (as well as Endeavour and some Signal boards), that give you more options for stance widths, and more options for tiny angle changes if you have EST bindings.
• Infinite Ride
  The board is overbuilt from new, and then broken in on a flexing machine. It means you end up with a board that will have the same feel, and won’t change as much the more that you ride it.
• Pro Tip
  The thinner nose and tail makes the board a little easier to spin and move around.
• Frostbite Edges
  The edges of the board extend out slightly under the bindings, which give you some extra edge hold on hardpacked snow and ice.
• Super Sap Epoxy
  The epoxy is made with bio-based materials, that reduces the carbon footprint by 50% compared to the all-petroleum epoxies.

Sizes available:

• 154cm
• 157cm
• 160cm
• 157cm Wide
• 160cm Wide
• 163cm Wide

How it Rides

Board size: 157

Boots: Salomon Launch Boa 27.5

Bindings: Burton Cartel X est

This review is based on me riding the 157cm 2021 Deep Thinker, on a day with fairly firm snow on the groomed runs, and softer snow in the trees. Although I normally test boards with my Burton Cartel bindings, I was using the new est versions of the Cartel X. Overall they are quite similar, though they have a little section on the highback that grabs the back of your heel a little as you put your boots in.

They were set up with my regular angles which are positive 12 degrees on the front foot, negative 9 on the back, with a stance width of just under 22 inches.

Camber Profile

The Directional Camber profile rides quite closely to the way traditional camber does, which gave the Deep Thinker a very solid feel, even riding fast on chopped up runs.

Flex and Pop

There was plenty of pop – especially in the tail of the board, and although it is a little bit shorter, the stiffness pushed back hard, so ollies were quite easy. It isn’t an overly stiff board, so I could flex and push it around a bit, but it never felt too soft. It has a very damp feel, and seemed to do a good job at absorbing vibrations from fast riding.

Edge Hold

I have always found that Burton boards with the Directional Camber profile to have good edge hold, and this one seemed the same. It holds an edge just like a regular camber board, and felt strong especially through the middle and end of a turn.

Float

Although I wasn’t able to test out the Deep Thinker in really deep powder, there had been some fresh snow that had built up in the trees, so I was able to get a good idea of what it is like in softer snow.

Speed

It has a sintered base, so I didn’t have any problems with speed at all.

Pros:

• Looks good

Cons

• Heavy

Overall

There are a lot of good features in the Deep Thinker, that gave me higher hopes in how it would ride. Directional camber, taper a mediumish flex are common features on boards that I like. Unfortunately the Deep Thinker is just way too heavy. It feels like a weight everywhere I was riding, and although the weight had a few good side effects (absorbing vibrations), I couldn’t recommend it. It has the Super Fly II core, which is on a few other Burton boards that I liked and felt light, so I am not sure where the weight is coming from.

If you are wanting to stick to a Burton board, look a the Skeleton Key, it felt a much lighter to me, even though I it in a longer length.

Similar boards:

• Burton Skeleton Key
• Nitro Fusion

Burton Deep Thinker 2021 Technical Specs

Length	Effective Edge (mm)	Setback (mm)	Waist Width (mm)	Sidecut (m)	Weight Range (lbs)	Weight Range (kg)
154	1160	25	248	7.2	54-82	120-180
157	1190	25	252	7.4	68-91	150-200
160	1220	25	255	7.6	82-118+	180-260+
157 Wide	1185	25	260	7.4	68-91	150-200
160 Wide	1215	25	263	7.6	118+	180-260+
163 Wide	1245	25	265	7.8	118+	180-260+

2020

2019

2018