Burton Gate Keeper 2017 Snowboard Review
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| Riding Style | Alternative Freeride |
| Riding Level | Advanced - Expert |
| Fits Boot size (US) | 10-12 |
| Manufactured in | Austria |
| Shape | Tapered Directional |
| Camber Profile | Directional Camber |
| Stance | Setback over 20mm |
| Approx. Weight | Feels Normal |
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Burton Gate Keeper 2017 Review by The Good Ride
The Burton Gate Keeper has look similar to the Burton Flight Attendant, The Landlord’s set back and similar taper but with a Mid/Wide width. Even though I’m a size 9 I still had a pretty good time with the 159 and it’s another good addition to the Burton Family Tree Line. The 159 was a little small for Tim’s 11.5 boots but the 163 would have been just right.
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.
Size: 159
Days: 1
Conditions: Soft to pretty hard Utah snow.
Riders: James and Tim
Boots: Burton SLX, Burton Imperial
Bindings: Burton Genesis X
Set Up: a bit set back 15 front -3 back approx 23″ wide
Approximate Weight: Felt normal bordering on light.
Flex: The flex of the Burton Gate Keeper has a more mellow flex compared to the Flight Attendant and Landlord but it’s still not mellow. We felt it was more of a medium feel on snow instead of Med/Stiff. It was very easy to butter off the tail and wheelie up.
On Snow Feel: The Burton Gate Keeper has a nice stable feel underfoot that borders on being catchy if you aren’t a good rider. However, if you are it’s got this personality that’s down for charging as well as cruising. It’s easy to one foot or flat base and it’s got a good feel underfoot. It’s confident but not cocky and you don’t always have to be on your game. There is some forgiveness in it if you know how to turn.
Edge Hold: Pretty good edge hold but not amazing. Good from anything from medium snow with hard patches to a soft powder.
Turn Initiation: For my size 9 boots it turned pretty easy and only felt a little slower than the Flight Attendant and Landlord so if a guy with a mid/wide boot was on it it would turn very quickly. If you are someone like with a boot under size 10 the turn initiation would be medium.
Skidded Turns: Not super easy to skid turns but easier than the Flight Attendant and Landlord. Still not a board for an intermediate who skids unintentionally.
Carving: Even though this is more of a powder first board the Burton Gate Keeper carves well and it’s quite at home on groomers laying it down.
Speed: Neither of us really had the conditions to really open it up and bomb but it feels like it can handle speed really well and
Uneven Terrain: It’s got that nice flex that will allow you to bust through chunder but also quickly navigate bumps.
Powder: We didn’t have any powder with it but based on the specs it’s a blunt nose/tail version of the Burton Landlord that we have had lots of powder with. There is no way this won’t float like a champ and give a very nice set back surfy ride. Even though there isn’t much rocker the nose is so large and when combined with the -56mm set back on effective edge (more on board) you can really get it back a good bit to get effortless directional float.
Switch: Doable but not ideal.
Jibbing: nah.
Pipe: Yeah this could work for the directional pipe rider or the guy who likes to just slash the wall like a wave.
Jumps: Nice pop off the tail and its’ got lot’s of ollie power that a lot of flat to rocker powder boards are missing.
So all in all the Burton Gate Keeper is a nice powder to freeride mid/wide design that we think a lot of riders with specs to match the board will like.
Burton Gate Keeper Specs
Burton Gate Keeper Images
We try to get as many images of the Burton Gate Keeper, but forgive us if they're not all there.
2017
Burton Company Information
Burton Gate Keeper User Reviews
Pow Ripper at its best
Coming out of BRTN Juice Wagon, I was looking for something floatier so I decided to give it a shot. Managed to sneak one at a bargain price some time ago and kept it foiled while I was still riding JW as I had expected them to be quite the same. Well, what a huge error of mine. Anyway, I paired with Genesis ReFlex, which is a great match in terms of flex, set very close to reference stance. I only wish I had ridden it before CD-19 Armageddon and resorts being shut down. Now, I've ended up having to carry it on my backpack, but it is well worth each run. This board flows amazingly, that huge showelly shaped nose just doesn't want to sink, no back leg burn, you can stay pretty centred. It has medium quite narrow sidecut - well-suited for ripping open faces, just point it down and let it do its job. Also, I carves pretty well on groomers, springs out of the run nicely, yet it feels maybe a bit too slow edge-to-edge. This is more off the back foot ride, so those early born will definitely like it. It has a massive setback of 2.1 inch, thus having a relatively short tail (compared to other FT releases like FA, BM, SK), it isn’t dead by any means. Actually, it pops out pretty well if you know how to load it up. The bottom line is that this board has absolutely no short comings, definitely a highly recommendable ride. So glad to have in my quiver. Get it if you still can.
