Burton Landlord 2017 - 2014 Review by The Good Ride

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Burton Landlord 2017-2014 Snowboard Review

Size: 159
Days:  10+
Conditions:  Semi-Hard pack to perfect groomed packed powder to 2.5 feet of light fluffy Sierra Powder to 2+ feet of thicker Sierra Powder.
Riders: James and Mary
Boots: Burton Imperial, K2 Maysis
Bindings: Burton Diode, Burton Genesis.
Set Up: Set back about halfway probably -20 to -25mm. Also, 18 front 3 back, Set all the way back. Mary was 21.5 9 front -6 back.

From the specs, I would have said it’s a powder board but after a good amount of time riding it on groomers you say this doesn’t act like most tapered, washy, surfy boards. You can set it back all the way and get super surfy or move it up and take advantage of the extra camber/double ender feel for carving up groomer days. It’s a very surprising unique type of ride that is hard to classify. It could easily be called a powder or freeride board.

Weight: 159 7lbs

Flex:  Great poppy snappy off the tail kind of flex. Not a butter board but fine if you want to lean back really hard on the tail.

On Snow Feel:  The S-Rocker on the Burton Landlord has less rocker and more camber than the discontinued Burton Barracuda but more set back, taper and directional float than the Flight Attendant. This makes for a camber like ride on groomers and it’s got more of a double ender feel too it that’s not very washy at all compared to the Old Malolo that it replaced. It’s stable between the feet and it doesn’t feel super catchy but you feel like you have to be more careful on it than let’s say the Barracuda. What might make the Landlord feel more like a double ender is the specially designed sidecut and where the rocker starts in the nose is the same width as the tail. That means the contact points between tail and nose are similar where most tapered boards aren’t. Maybe that is what makes the board feel less tapered than it is. I’m not sure about this but it’s my best guess. Whatever it is the Landlord is a very solid groomer and powder ride that is a nice improvement over the Malolo. Its got as much groomer/freeride going on as it does powder. Here is an up-close look at the camber profile to get a better idea of how much camber is going on here from the tail to the front binding.

Powder:  There is a shit ton of set back going on here at -56mm on an effective edge but when talking about set back on board we can get back almost -140 mm. If we set it all the way back at a 58.5 cm stance width we can get to almost -216mm which is really close to the tail Combine that with a tapered tail, pretty wide nose and rocker after the front binding it makes for a very easy float that can still pop well when it’s time to ollie. I’ve had anything from 1 foot to 3 feet plus and it always has an exceptional directional float.  Since we are surfing powder this is how I will explain it to surfers. You feel like you are on a performance-oriented shortboard that wants to make hard bottom turns and snap off the lip sending spray everywhere. It’s got a lot of quick off the tail slashy goodness that stays afloat very easy when you are all the way back on the tail. The nose never wanted to go down even if I didn’t lean back on the tail.  It’s all about tight tree lines and narrow chutes.  The Landlord takes it up a notch in terms of surfy fun than the Burton Flight Attendant.  We use to prefer the Burton Barracuda because of the extra directional rocker but now that it’s gone the Landlord stepped up into one of our more recommendable powder boards and it’s almost right there with the slightly shorter sexier Branch Manager.  So if you like the larger sizing and idea of the Flight Attendant compared to the Branch Manager but want more directional float in powder then the Burton Landlord is a really good call.

Turn Initiation: The Burton Landlord is a fun board to turn and really springs like a champ from edge to edge.  It’s a very dynamic turner and it’s really fun with short quick turns to medium turns and even takes a wider radius turn pretty well. It’s going to be able to easily navigate tight trees, narrow chutes or any situation where you need to turn quickly. It really is fun to turn and that’s a nice bonus for a board that shines so well in powder. It’s a great board for those that know they will be riding groomers or not able to make every turn in perfect powder.

Skidded Turns: Not ideal for that person that skids their turns a lot.  If you are you should look to easier rides.

Carving:   Actually in medium to soft snow the board carves with the best of them. It carves much more like a double ender board and accelerates out of the turn sets you up for an even better carve afterward.  I had soo much fun leaning into a hard carve in well-groomed packed powder. You can also lean back surf style and make a nice carving turn like you are bottom turning into a barrel. Even set all the way back I found the Landlord to hold a carve really well on groomed/packed powder and it didn’t feel tail light.

Speed: Great base and a really good medium/stiff flex. It’s got a stable bomber type of ride that you might really appreciate. The base picks up speed very well but doesn’t feel out of control either. It absorbs chatter very well and makes for a ride that borders on excellent.

Uneven Terrain: Burton’s boards do very well in bumpy snow and this is no exception.  You can sift through a patch of moguls on your way to a pow stash you spotted from the chair and it handles slow speed bumps pretty well.

Edge Hold: At first we thought the edge hold bordered on handling everything from Hard to soft snow but the more we ride it in hard conditions the more the edge hold borders on handling hard conditions pretty well. If there was a rating Med/Hard to Soft this would be it.  I found that riding on the same day with boards that have mellow magnetraction or something extra going on in the sidecut have better hold in harder conditions and feel more secure.

Jumps: There is good pop here and a very traditional camber feel when it comes to an ollie.  Stay away from the park but on the mountain, you can snap into the air very well with the Burton Landlord.  It’s all about natural features and methods.

Switch: I talked to a few Burton riders that claim this is an exceptional board riding switch but after taking the majority of a few runs switch I’m not seeing this.  It’s definitely doable but it’s very different from tip to tail making it feel a little awkward. It’s better than other boards with this type of set back and taper but it’s no board to cruise around the mountain regular or switch.

All in all, this is a really fun board that I really enjoy owning. It’s for the rider that likes surfy powder boards but also sees himself on more groomer days than powder days. It’s also for the rider that prefers camber when it comes to daily riding but wouldn’t mind some extra float when it dumps.

The rest doesn’t really matter.