Burton Custom X Flying V Snowboard Review

Please try the 2020!

I have tried around 15 boards in many different contexts and snow conditions these past 10 years. I fully agree with the review for 2018-2019 edition.

IHowever, I have tried the 2020 edition recently and my experience was completely different. More stable / secured ride. A bit stiffer and forgiving. You should try it ;)

I bought this board which felt cheap and after 2 months of riding on it, the board snapped in half. Burton ignored me than mislead me that they would send a new board and than contradicted themselves and said there is nothing they can do. DO NOT GET THIS!

Right Board, Wrong Name

Bindings: Genesis EST (L)
Boots: Burton IONs
Stance: REG -18 / +15

I thought long and hard before parting hard earned cash on this year’s new Custom X Flying V. I was so unsure about it, I've even felt the need to share it here to try and help others who are unsure about this board.

I’d seen the main review and listened between the lines and to be fair, the GR guys are very accurate - it’s more playful and forgiving than I’d assumed, and if I’m honest, it’s not quite as stiff as I expected either - which is great, as it makes it far more versatile than I had hoped for.

I’m the sort of guy who’s wasted far too much money on soft, noodle boards to try and find the ‘perfect’ board for goofing around on, but can still hold its own when you need to chase the ski pack. It’s taken me about 4 years of trial and error to actually work out that my boarding demands a stiffer deck. I don’t ride boxes or rails as they hurt too much, my butters & presses are weak but improving slowly and I really only ride switch when it suits on leg burner traverses, rather than to tweak out any particular style.

I’m a punter - 100%. But in saying that, this is a great board to push my comfort zone, but not take it so far as to scare the shit out of me either.

It’s snappy and responsive- and that means it takes me less effort to do things ‘the industry’ would probably shove me on a Skate Banana to experience. A simple case in point, this has to be the easiest board I’ve ever landed a 180 on… speed and air by the bucket load which means I barely had to do any work to get it up n’ around off the tiniest of side-hit.

I need something fast and agile to keep up with the skiers. It sits firmly between a LibTech TRice 157 and a Jones Flagship 162 in my 3 board quiver…. So yes, I like stiff boards and cannot lie. This is now my board for ‘one board’ trips with the family and will be the go-to option for a groomer day.

It smashes over chop and chunder will ease. It’s precise when it needs to be with quick, snappy turn initiation and it will hold an edge better in ice than most boards I’ve ridden. Torsionally it seems relatively stiffer than across the length, but it's still feels OK to wind it up and twist it. It certainly seems to have better edge hold than the Capita Mercury I had for a while, but then it is a shade stiffer which could explain things here.

I hit a few small kickers - it sends. Lands solid. Makes it easy to look and feel good. I could see why a big feature park rider might consider this. I pushed the front binding a nubbin over reference to twin it up a bit more. That felt right for me as it also widened the stance up to something I’m more used to with my Jones board. There's obviously a lot of scope to roll back for powder days too... which has to be the primary USP of the Channel System- so much easier to adjust stance between runs.

I’ve never been a massive fan of Flying V in the past. I demo’d a Process FV once. It didn’t really gel with me. I also dabbled with a FV Nug a year or two ago which wasn’t my bag at all- horrid little urchin of a board. However on a stiffer deck this hybrid camber stuff really seems to work, especially with serration on the edges. My TRice Lib showed me the light here…. a distinct cut above any Skate Banana, Rocker or lower end GNU board I’ve ridden historically. After the initial WTF!?! moments, I was hooked on that board - the camber profile just works well on everything I’ve chucked it at.

I find the Flying V on this stiff Custom X deck very similar to the C2 BTX profile. The main point of difference is that the Magnatraction on my other boards would still get a nudge up over Frostbite Edges for firm hold, but I’m no way saying edge hold is poor, you jut can’t beat Mag…

Okay about the name… this is my only real beef. Why do Burton associate this board with the Custom X? It’s not a Custom X. A Custom X owns your arse faster than you can say ‘no thanks Bubba’. I tried one once, I almost died. That said, it schooled me enough to know that it’s the sort of board that better riders would adore, almost worship, especially for carving days. I respected it, even if I couldn’t ride it. This Custom X Flying V is a completely different animal. It’s far less catchy and I’m confident it’ll handle powder better than a camber dominant board like the trad Custom X.

I’m also fairly m’eh about the standard Custom FV… it’s never really excited me; nothing wrong with it, but there are better boards out there for less cash. But this X thing rips… charging hard and demanding enough commitment to stop it from feeling stale and boring like a Jones Aviator or equivalent.

So in summary, my conclusion is it’s a great board with simply the wrong name. Associating it with the Custom X is a mistake - the purists will hate it on principle, an average punter like me will be reticent after all average punters aren’t meant to be riding Custom X’s and those that have have the horror stories that accompany it. And I have to be honest, there’s an element of me thinking I’m the Porsche Boxster guy lining up against the 911. But I’d also say that’s it has so much more going for it than the regular Custom too… maybe a Burton fanboy would see this as turbo’d Custom, but for those of us still unsure about the whole Burton vibe, associating it with the boring choice from the Burton line up, is again not something that drew me in initially the way say the Skeleton Key or Branch Manager turned my head. Names aside, it’s a great board and suits me…. and who’ll know or care what the name says once it’s caked in white stuff anyway?

I’d recommend this for anyone intermediate level or above who rides stiffer boards by choice. They’d need to be looking for a fast charging, aggressive deck to stretch that plateau but not push them off the cliff. There’s no point being afraid to up your game on this bad boy, but you still have options to go lazy some of the time too. I like it, and I’m glad I bought it. Thanks for the honest reviews gentlemen, they really do help us!