Burton Custom Snowboard Review with Davey

2018-2022 Burton Custom Review

The 2018-2022 Burton Custom has had a reboot from past years. It still has that Custom ride and feels underfoot like the 2017 and many past years’ Customs but they widened the board a little bit/increased the volume and blunted the nose.  It’s not the well rounded one board quiver it used to be but it’s still an amazing turning board that loves to get air. Its got strong appeal for the technical rider that knows how to make full on old-school camber work for them.

The 2020-2022 Burton Custom is pretty much the same as the 2019 and  2018 so this review still stands. It’s just been updated a bit to reflect what’s happening now.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

2018-2022 Burton Custom Vs. 2017 Burton Custom

1. The most visible part is the blunted tip/tail that makes the board look more contemporary when lined up with its peers and also adds a little bit more float compared to the old round nose custom.  It’s not going to be a lot but still, a slight improvement is better than nothing.
2.  The 2018 Burton Custom has a shorter effective edge so it can stay the same size with a bigger nose/tail.  Didn’t’ really notice any difference.
3.  The sidecut is almost the same but just a touch deeper.  We didn’t notice any difference.
4. There is a -12.5 mm set back up from -10mm so that’s a little better when it comes to floating but not anything mind-blowing and still very much a full camber ride.  Not sure on the set back on board now.
5. The width of the board is ever so slightly increased.
6. It’s got a more eco-friendly top sheet.
7. The weight recommendations are more big rider friendly than in past years.  Didn’t seem like there was a change in the core but not 100% sure.

Size: 158
Days:  1 with the 2018 model but 100’s of days with our crew over the years. I (James Biesty) have been riding a Custom since the early 2000s and so have many of our riders.
Conditions: Pretty wet snow falling a bit with some rain at the bottom.  Normally we wouldn’t go out on a day like this but we were glad we did.  The snow was much better than you would think.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Jimbo (Size 11, 5’11” 160lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs), and Tim
Boots: Burton Almighty, Adidas Tactical ADV, Burton SLX,
Bindings:  Burton Cartel
Set Up: Close to reference stance, 15 front, -15 back approx 22.5″ wide

Recommended Boot and Binding

Man this board works great with the Cartels and it seems like they were made for each other….even though there is a Custom binding.  We like Re:Flex better because you can use them on non-Burton boards but we also like the feel of the Re:Flex better these days on Channel System boards like Burton as well.  The Union Atlas, Union Strata (new for 2019), Genesis-X and Genesis or any medium to med-fast response binding all work well too.  Any medium to med-fast response boot works well for us like the Adidas Tactical ADV, Imperial, Ion or Vans Infuse. It really comes down to personal preference but these work for us.

Approximate Weight

Feels like it borders on being light but it’s just another normal feeling board. We don’t weigh boards because wood weight can vary from board to board.

Flex/Buttering

It’s got a medium flex for what feels like the whole board. It’s hard work to butter and you have to have some old school camber strength to make it happen.

Sizing

The 158 felt pretty good for Peter and I.  The 156 might be a little better for Peter’s size 8.5 and my 9 US boot size but the little extra bit of length/surface area was fun to have.  With the Custom, there seems to be a size for almost every rider’s boot and most weights.  I think Tim would have been better off with a 162 for his size 11.5 boots and 220lbs but Jimbo would have loved the 154w or 158w with his size 10.5-11 boots and 160lbs.

On Snow Feel

So the Burton Custom isn’t a super stiff aggressive board but the reason why it’s called Aggressive all mountain is that it’s an old technical camber board that’s locked in so it will catch an edge and slam you if you are off your game.  The Burton Custom also likes to go pretty big. It’s the kind of board that advanced to expert riders still really like when it comes to all-mountain play. This not for everyone these days but it is a great groomer board for those that love to turn. It’s pretty locked in and even though the Custom X is stiffer the camber from tip to tail can slam you equally hard into the snow if you get off your game.

Edge Hold

We didn’t get to try this that much in hard snow.  There were only a few patches near the top but what little we tried felt like standard Burton camber edge hold.  It’s good in medium to soft snow.  It can hang a bit in hard snow but it starts to let go a lot easier than other boards in its peer group.  Still, it’s better than the Burton Custom Flying V.  You can tune the edges to grip better but it makes the board more catchy which isn’t ideal. To us, the Frostbite edge hold technology, a 1/2 x 1/2 mm extension at each binding isn’t really enough to change up the ride too much.  We wish they would do more here to make this grip more in harder snow.

Turn Initiation

The Burton Custom has a relatively quick turn initiation that’s medium to medium fast edge to edge.  It can work rather well in tight spots. If you don’t know how to make turns the turn initiation of the Burton Custom can be hard but if you do it’s super fun.

Turning Experience

The Burton Custom is all about turning and in our opinion one of the best in the game.  A lot could look past its lack of float, lack of edge hold for camber and catchy edges to enjoy good groomer turning. Short, medium and wide radius turns all have this super fun springy feel to it that makes the thing you do most on the hill the most enjoyable.  It’s for sure the best quality about this board and why after so many years it’s still fun to get out on.

Carving

If the snow is good you can make really powerful super fun carves. It really springs out of the turn and then set’s you up for the next one.  It’s not quite as special as the Custom X but it’s pretty close and if you carve switch it’s better with the Custom. This is where old school camber really shines.

Skidded Turns

Not the board you want if you skid your turns a lot. It could really punish you if you catch an edge. This is straight up old school camber.  It’s not Pure Pop or Directional Camber that Burton offers or anything like that.  It’s what most of us at The Good Ride learned on and got injured on.

Speed

Burton has softened the flex over the years but the dampness at speed is still the same.  A lot has been done with the flex technology over the years and the Burton Custom of 2019 is massively more dynamic underfoot than the Burton Customs we rode in the past. It’s a fast board and most people won’t need any more speed on wide open mountain runs. If you do you have the Custom X.

Uneven Terrain

It’s not bad for its size and camber profile.  Burton does great things with their flex to help you absorb shock on messy crowded resort runs. If you are a weekend warrior then the Burton Custom will handle a crowded Saturday well.

Powder

Here is one place that the Burton Custom has not kept up with the rest of the All-Mountain world. You pay a big price for that springy super fun camber in the deep stuff. It’s still an over the handlebar kind of ride if you stay diligently on the back leg.  The blunted tip/tail are an improvement over the rounded but it’s still a camber ride. If you can afford to add a board like the Burton Custom Flying V then you would have a much better powder ride.  Or go with something even more directional and set back like the Stun Gun or Skeleton Key or even one of the flat to rocker boards like the Bottom Feeder that would be a better 2 board quiver.

Switch

The twin flex and twin-like shape make for a pretty good switch ride.  It’s just a little behind your average directional twin and very doable.  It still favors directional riding a bit though.

Jibbing

It’s not ideal for serious jibbers, which I am not, but instead it’s good for the wide box and not technical stuff you might see on your way to the pipe or kickers.  Jimbo could get after it with the Burton Custom but I would much rather be on something softer.

Pipe

I’ve had great times in the pipe with the Burton Custom over the years.  It’s a really fun board for technical pipe riders who love that camber drive from wall to wall. If it had more edge hold it would own it but as it stands, the Custom does a great job.

Jumps

Probably the second best feature about the Burton Custom after turning.  It’s really got some pop off the tip/tail that keeps up or does better than most Pure-Pop boards in Burton’s line.  Once you get used to its slightly twin-ish shape it’s the kind of board you can lap the kickers with all day.  If you can handle all this camber the ollie power is amazing. It’s another feature that made the Burton Custom so special back in the day and still shines now.

Conclusion

So all in all the Burton Custom is still a great board.  It’s not the one board quiver it used to be for all conditions riding but it still is one of the best all mountain boards when it comes to a really joyful turning experience and getting air. If you are a technical rider that doesn’t often see harder conditions and have a second board for powder then this could be a great choice.

2012- 2017 Burton Custom Review

The Burton Custom has been around forever and a few days. It’s actually an easier ride than it was in the past but with the addition of so many catch free easy floating hybrid profiles in the market these days this old traditional camber version has become a bit obsolete when looking for a one board solution. Still it’s a fun board to turn and if you love traditional camber rides this won’t disappoint.  Other than a few minor tweaks not much has changed for 2017.

Update 2016

The General ride of the Burton Custom doesn’t change much year to year but every year Burton’s design team is working on introducing new tech that continues to enhance the flex. So the 2012-2016 Burton Custom has changed enough to make it a different ride than before.  It began with squeze box and continued to evolve. The 2014 added some carbon fiber to the flex and it makes for a little extra snap in the tip and tail of an already poppy ride. The 2015 Burton Custom seems unchanged and it’s not much different from the 2014.

Update 2014

The Custom has many different models in 2014 and here is a quick breakdown. The Burton Custom (twinish camber), the Custom Flying V (directional/twinish hybrid rocker), the Custom Flying V Twin (Twin Hybrid Rocker) and the Burton Custom Twin (camber twin). With all these boards there could be some custom confusion going on. Of these boards the Burton Custom is the solid camber All mountain ride for the old schooler in a land of hybrid shapes.

Days: 15+
Conditions: Anything you can think of.
Riders: James Peter, Jimbo, Kyle and many others
Boots: Burton Ion, Burton SLX, Burton Imperial, Nike Kaiju, DC Judge, Nike Zoom Ites
Bindings Used: Burton Cartel, Burton Cartel Limited, Flux SF45, Burton Genesis, Burton Diode
Set Up: Many stances

On Snow Feel

It feels very stable between the feet and offers a good ride for accomplished riders who understand the benefits and consequences of camber. This is a great board for directional groomer riding and carving but if you know how to handle camber you can take an aggressive switch/all mountain freestyle approach to the mountain as well. It’s a board that helps you get the most out of turning.

Powder

This use to be a pretty good powder board and nothing really changed about the ride except for hybrid shapes have made powder riding easier.  If you like camber in powder you will be happy but if you are use to hybrid shapes like the Burton Custom Flying V you will find this a lot more work on your back foot.  You also might find that if you lean forward too much you will go cartwheeling.  Again I’d love to see a little early rise rocker and maybe even a more powder friendly nose/tail added to the Custom’s design.

Turn Initiation and Carving

Nothing beats camber when it comes to carving and the Custom 2012-2017 has close to the great spring out of a turn as the first Custom I tried in the early 2000’s.  Back in the day the Custom was more directional like the Custom X but today it’s twinish shape is still really fun. Burton really figured out how to make edge to edge transitioning more fun than almost any other board in it’s class. You do this the most when riding the mountain so why not make it as rewarding as possible.  It’s not super quick edge to edge but its springy and rewarding. Short radius to carving turns are really fun with the custom. The addition of the newer tech like squeeze box which tools out the core gives this a fun feel and has improved over past models.

Speed

The Custom can bomb if you want.  It’s not as good as the Custom X but it can handle higher speeds pretty well.  The Custom has a nice blend between speed and a more forgiving nature (for camber) when conditions start to change for the worse throughout the day.

Uneven Terrain

You can ride with good shock absorption from first thing in the morning on a crowded day to the last chair and the board won’t pass the varying impact up to you.  Not many boards can offer this at this flex level.

Edge Hold

The addition of Frost Bite or what use to be called pressure distribution edges helps the Custom hold a better edge and it borders on great. It’s got good hold for most conditions people want to ride in but it still excels in medium to softer snow over firm to harder snow.

Flex

Since the introduction of squeeze box the flex has become a little more playful without loosing it’s ability to stay aggressive on the mountain. It’s still no easy task compared to the Burton Custom Flying V to butter but it’s easier than it use to be. If you are a stronger old school rider you might really like buttering around on this board.

Switch

The twinish shape isn’t bad but it’s definitely different riding switch. Even though the Custom Flying V has the same shape the hybrid rocker profile makes the ride switch easier than the Custom.  Still the Custom isn’t bad after a little time with it.

Jibbing

Not really as easy as the hybrid shapes these days.  This is more of a pipe and Jump board.

Pipe

If you keep the edges sharp the Custom is a really fun board to drive from wall to wall but it’s more for the technical pipe rider than the guy just looking to give the pipe a try and try to have fun.

Jumps

One thing that is hard to duplicate with the hybrid and rocker shapes is the pop you can get from the camber model of the Burton Custom.  This is a great board to generate your own air with and a fun board to look for stuff to ollie off around the mountain. The 2014 and above model has a bit of an advantage over the previous years but all are really poppy.  A perfect set up would be to use the Cartel EST with hinge tech or the Genesis EST with hinge tech as well to get even more pop. Even though I’m personally not a fan of EST bindings proprietary tech I can’t argue that it doesn’t add extra pop.

Conclusion

The Custom didn’t sit still while everything moved around it but instead continued to refine the way old school camber works and feels. If you want a great all mountain board that leans on the aggressive side in today’s world of snowboarding the Burton Custom could make you pretty happy.

2010-2011 Burton Custom Review

The Burton Custom use to define the all mountain category and it is still one really fun All Mountain camber ride. The Burton Custom comes in many models this year.

Burton Custom Sizes Tried- 156, 163

Days: 100+
Conditions: Anything you can think of.
Riders: Mary (owned it), James (owned it)
Boots: Burton Ion, Burton SLX, Burton Ruler, Salomon Synapse
Bindings Used: Burton Cartel,Burton Co2, Burton P1
Set Up: Mary was 21 inches wide almost centered 18 front and 6 back.  I tried centered 12 -12, set back 18 -6 and a bunch of other stances.

The custom is also a great board for those that still love the feel of camber when it isn’t dumping and have a hybrid or rocker shape for powder riding. Even though many hybrid shapes have passed up the Burton Custom Camber when it comes to all Mountain/All Conditions dominance the Burton Custom is still a great board for the right rider.

On Snow Feel

This board is pretty catch free for a camber board but it’s not consequence free. You can definitely catch an edge if you want to treat it like the flying V. It’s better with a more technical rider at the helm.

Powder

In the past we would say the Custom Camber board does well in the powder but these days it can’t keep up with the rocker or hybrid shapes out there.  It still does well for camber but it can’t come close to the Burton Custom Flying V Rocker when it gets really deep.

Speed

This board does very well at slow to medium speeds but can’t haul ass like the Custom X at high speeds. The base is pretty fast and the board has a medium flex. We’d say it’s border line excellent.

Uneven Terrain

The custom has a medium flex but really understands how to make a board flex well under foot for all types of terrain.  It does much better than most boards of this design and flex.

Approximate Weight

This is a pretty light board. It’s not going to break any records but it does reside comfortably in the pretty light category. You might notice this on your front foot when riding up a chair but you’re not going to say Fu$(when is this lift over.

Turn Initiation and Carving

This is probably the Burton Custom’s best quality.  It still leaves a little work for you to do if you want to lay into a turn.  It is fun to make big turns or short tight turns and it will never let you down in a tight spot.  When it comes down to laying a serious carve the Burton Custom isn’t as good as the Burton Custom X but pretty close.

Edge Hold

This board has good edge hold considering it has a traditional shape and a medium flex.  It’s not anywhere close to the Burton Custom X with its pressure distribution edges or now called frost bite edges between the feet but it will hold an edge in most hard pack conditions and in most pipes.

Flex

This is a soft to medium flexing board. You can butter and press with some strength/effort but it’s not effortless and easy like it’s hybrid rocker model but there is a little bit of a change with the squeeze box tech that thins out the core where it’s not that necessary.

Switch

Even though this board is directional it’s twinish shape still can ride switch pretty well. It does feel a lot different than riding regular. You will get use to it but it’s nowhere near as fun as a twin or even many directional twins.

Pipe

This board does pretty well in the pipe. It has enough edge hold to climb most walls.

Jibbing

Not terribly jib friendly because this is a cambered board with a medium flex.

Jumps

It’s a good board for jumps and can handle most anything you throw at it. These days the Camber shape is a little more technical aka less forgiving than the newer rocker shapes.

2005-2006 Burton Custom Review

The Burton Custom was the first board to get me hooked on trying snowboard gear. The way this turned and how different it was from the board I owned blew my mind and sent me on a 20+ year adventure of trying snowboard gear. It also lead to the creation of The Good Ride. So thanks Burton!

Burton Custom Sizes Tried- 156, 163

Days: 15+
Conditions: Anything you can think of.
Riders: James (owned it)
Boots:  Burton SLX, Burton Ruler
Bindings Used: Burton Cartel, Burton Co2, Burton P1
Set Up: 21-23″ 15-18 front and -3-15 back.

I’m not going to do a whole write up here but this but it used to have a more directional shape than it did the last 20 years. It had such a special turning experience for those that primarily rode good foot forward and had a spring out of the turn that was unparalleled for the time. At the time I rode this there wasn’t a single rocker or hybrid camber board out there so this had good float for an all mtn board.