Burton Cartographer Snowboard Review

An In Depth Honest Written Review Of The Burton Cartographer Review by The Good Ride

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A Detailed Breakdown of How The Burton Cartographer rides and who it is for

How The Burton Cartographer Was Tested

We borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 159 and 154
Days: 6+
Conditions: Varied Spring Conditions, Hard snow with a little soft snow on top and 3-5 inches of powder on top of hard snow.

Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards
Boots: Ride Deadbolt, Burton Kendo
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,  Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Bib.
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout, Smith Maze
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,+18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator,

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Approximate Weight:

The Burton Cartographer is right in the middle for its size. Burton can do low cost at a reasonable weight. (We don’t put in the exact weight because, with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The Burton Cartographer 159 really fit my weight of 190 lbs, but the 154 would have been better for my boot size. A 156 or 157 would be perfect for me, but if I had to choose, I’d probably go 159 since it turns pretty easily for its width.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can, of course, go bigger or smaller, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
149: 8-9
154: 8.5-9.5
159: 9.5-10.5
162: 10-11
154w: 10-11
159w: 11-12

Shape

The Burton Cartographer has a directional shape with about 5mm taper but feels close to many non-tapered all-mountain boards. Burton does a great job of making tapered directional boards like this feel like it has no teper.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The directional camber of the Burton Cartographer has a mellow early rise in the nose and a pretty aggressive bit of camber. It makes for a semi-locked-in feel that tracks really well but doesn’t skid turns easily if you get off your game. It’s suitable for advanced to expert riders, but a committed intermediate willing to take some lumps can give this a go. It’s still less than full camber but tracks super well with one-footing off the chair and flat basing.

Flex Personality

The Burton Cartographer’s flex isn’t as stiff as many of the Burton directional camber rides, but it’s still not a soft, mellow flex either. It is medium-stiff between the feet, medium in the nose, and medium-stiff in the tail.

It butters well off the tail but take a little effort. The nose is easyier and the ollie power is pretty easy to access, and it pops really well.

Uneven Snow

Burton has an evolved flex personality that is poppy but still damp so that it can handle all kinds of uneven snow incredibly well. It can feel a little bouncy/bucky if you see pretty thick, soft, uneven snow, but it’s not terrible. It does better in absorbing bumps in hard, uneven snow, but it just doesn’t grip well enough.

Speed

It’s pretty damp, and while the Burton Cartographer isn’t a board you get if you straight-line everything, it can definitely hang on the occasional straight line.

Base Glide

The base used to feel chalky after a wax and needed multiple waxes or a base grind to make it feel normal. The 2025 feels much better, and while not super fast, it’s good enough for this price point. If you keep it well waxed, it should not let you down in most conditions.

Edge Hold

This is one place where I would like to see Burton add a little more grip. I just find the Burton Cartographer to let go a little too easily in harder snow. Even other sidecuts without disruption hold a little better than this and most other Burton Directional Camber rides. I’ve tried sharpening the edges, but then they feel incredibly locked in and sketchy/catchy.

Turning Experience/Carving

It’s pretty medium/fast, and it turns quickly for a 25.5cm waist width with size 9 boots. Once the side cut is engaged, it leans a little more on the turny side, which I love, but it still is pretty balanced overall. The spring out of the turn has that Burton good time pop to it that I love. It isn’t all the time like the old Custom X or other magic turners, but it is really fun. The Burton Cartographer can spring really well out of a hard carve in good conditions.

Powder

I haven’t been able to really stress test the Cartographer in deep pow, but it did pretty well in the 3-5 inches I rode it in. It seems like it will be a stand-out performer for all-mountain boards, but it is a little behind many freeride boards out there.

With a 22” reference stance, you can get 2” back from the center of the board and 3.5” set all the way back at 23” wide. That is pretty good compared to most all-mountain boards, but it isn’t quite there with many of the more directional/set-back freeride boards like the Hometown Hero, and it’s not even close to boards like the Skeleton Key or other really set-back Boards.

Switch/Park

I was really impressed with how well the Burton Cartographer rode switch. The balanced freeride geometries It’s not a board I would prefer to jib on, but it’s a pretty great board for getting air. It’s not bad in a soft spring pipe as well.

Final Thoughts

Overall, other than edge hold, I really enjoyed the Burton Cartographer. This shape, camber profile, and flex personality go a long way at this price point. It’s a great, good condition ride.