An Un-Paid Written Breakdown the Burton Alekesam Review by The Good Ride

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An Honest and Objective Review of the Burton Alekesam For Average Riders

How the Burton Alekesam Was Tested:

I borrowed the Burton Alekesam for an extended demo and sent it back.

Ethics Statement:  I was not paid to do this review and this comes from an honest objective perspective with no brand oversight.

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Size: 156
Days: 4
Conditions: Hard varied groomers, better groomers, semi-pow day and an early morning slackountry time in deep pow with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards
Boots: Ride Deadbolt, Bataleon Acid BOA
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant,
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +24/+6, +27/+9 back. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Dart, Korua Café Racer, Weston Japow, Moss Jellyfish, Gentemstick Barracuda, Soul Shift, Nidecker Beta, Nidecker Beta APX, Korua Pintonic, Jones Storm Chaser 2025

Approximate Weight

(We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 156 fit me pretty well. It felt great for my boot size and wasn’t too small for my weight. Works well enough for my height as well. I’m 160 curious but a little worried with the exponential jump in suggested weight from 200 lbs max to 260 lbs max with a 180lb minimum. It puts me near the bottom of the suggested weight range. Then the waist bumps up 5mm and the nose/tail 7mm, which is a lot in snowboard sizing. I wish the 160 were an incremental bump, and then I think it would be great for my specs. As much as I bitch about the bump, it’s good for those bigger guys with 10-11 boots.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size and your weight for how you like to ride. If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. Your weight is a close second to boot size because it determines how the board will feel under your foot.  Height comes in a distant 3^rd. Some prefer control, so matching the boot size is the priority. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.
144: 6-7
148: 7-8
152: 8-9
156: 9-10
160: 10-11
152w: 10-11
156w: 11-12

I would stay close to Burton’s recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second. However, be careful with Burton’s recommended boot and binding sizing, as it’s very liberal.

Shape

You have a good bit of taper (15mm) with the Burton Alekesam, and then there is a lot of setback on board and sidecut, so it feels very directional. It’s one of the first Burton boards that felt very tapered, even though it has its Balanced Freeride Geometry Sidecut, which usually makes tapered boards not feel tapered on groomers. It felt pretty tapered on groomers and even more so in pow. It is not good or bad, but it differs from most tapered Burton boards.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

A lot of camber is happening with the Burton Alekesam, which makes for a slightly more technical ride. It’s best for committed intermediates willing to take some lumps to get better but more advanced to expert riders. It tracks very well one footing/flat basing even though you are riding closer to the tail than most tapered directional Burton boards.

Edge Hold

This is one area I’d like to see improvement. The edge let go quickly in hard snow, especially in the tail. I had to put a lot more weight on the back leg turning when there were firm patches, but I couldn’t commit too hard, or it would let go and send the board spinning around to switch. I would avoid this ride if you see a lot of hard to icy snow days.

Flex Personality

I like this flex. The Burton Alekesam’s nose bends easier than the rest of the board, and that’s more medium. Then it’s medium stiff from the front insert to the tail. It was easy to butter on the tail and nose, and it popped very easily on an ollie or out of a turn. Burton really understands how to make a board pop well.

Uneven Snow

The Burton Alekesam isn’t as damp as some Burton rides, but it’s not ultra-light, ultra-poppy, or ultra-chattery. It was more than manageable as an all-day ride.

Speed

Sitting so far back near the tail doesn’t make this a bomber. Neither does the turny sidecut, but it won’t fight you if you need to go straight to make it through a flat section.

Base Glide

This is the second highest base in Burton’s line, but it feels more middle-tier. When well waxed, it’s not bad, but I found better at a similar price point. It’s much better than it was a few years ago when you had to wax, scrape, re-wax, and maybe re-wax one more time to get the base not to feel chalky. Now it’s one wax and go.

Turning Experience/Carving

Turning the Burton Alekesam is easy, and it’s speedy edge to edge. The medium-fast turn initiation doesn’t slow down too much when you get the edge committed, and it favors the more across-the-groomer-to-circle carve kind of rider, but it’s not terrible with more drawn-out turns at all. This is a great tree board as the tail feels out of the way and won’t get hung up on uneven snow or in really tight tree lines.

There is an excellent spring out of the turn, but the board prefers a lot of back foot weight. My tail would wash out whenever I tried to center or front foot weight the turn. Even set up super posi didn’t help prevent the washy feel in the tail but at least its stance angle agnostic unlike many snowsurf rides. It seems to need a lot of back foot weight on groomers.

Powder

So, this is a floater, and it really shined on a deep pow day for me. If you like slashy turns and a more surf-inspired feel riding pow, this is one of the better options in Burton’s line. It can also carve groomers pretty well with all that camber, so it’s not just a pow board. It wasn’t a low-angle killer, but if I sized up to the 160, it would do better on those waist-deep pow days we can get at Bachelor but it’s best at medium to semi-steep angle pow.

With a taint stretching 23″ stance width, you can get 4.75″ back from the center of the board if you measure from the center of the tail, but that isn’t fully accurate since it’s just a little nub in the middle with a lot less surface area in the rest of the tail. It’s probably closer to 6.5″ from the center of the board and felt more that way when I had it set as far back as I could go with a 21.5″ stance width. You can set it further back with non-EST bindings, so I’d suggest going Re: Flex or using other bindings like my Union Force’s. If I owned this board, I’d set the front below the last marker to get an easier float, but it comes down to personal preference, as it’s not what Burton wants you to do.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think this could be a really fun board if you don’t ride in hard conditions often and backfoot weigh your carves on groomers. I can’t think of a Family Tree board with this much camber that has this much float. If you want more, you would have to go from directional camber to directional flat top.