Burton Nug 2011-2015 Snowboard Review

Burton Nug 2015 - 2011 Review by The Good Ride

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In my opinion, the 2015 Burton Nug hasn’t really changed much from the 2014 model.  It says new flat top but it seems pretty similar to the 2014 flat top/flat to rocker camber profile.  It does come in a 154 this year so there is another mid/wide board for riders with bigger feet.

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 146, 148 & 150 

Days: 20+
Conditions: Snowment with icy patches to powder and everything in between.  
Riders: James, Peter, and Jimbo
Boots: Burton SLX, Burton Ion, Burton Hail, Burton Ambush
Bindings: Burton Cartel, Burton Cartel Limited, Burton Genesis, Burton Malavita EST with Hinge Tech
Stance Widths- 22″, 22.5″ and 23″
Stance Angles: 15 front -15 Back.  15 front -9 back

The Burton Nug’s super small size is not as gimmicky as you would think but it’s still a quiver board.  All of us were very impressed with the big board performance these models offered.  You feel like you are on a very light big board edge to edge but when you start to throw it around you instantly notice the advantages of this board. It’s very light, playful and snappy and a super fun park ride.  It just makes everything easier to do in the jib and jump park.  For a jib park rider, this might work as a full-time board.  If you want to do more than that the Nug will become a quiver board.

In 2012 Burton Nug Line went Nug crazy. Burton made a Women’s Nug (awesome), the Directional Nug (possibly overkill and a little too quiver) and the Me Nug (overkill). So aside from the new nug’s the 2011 Nug is very similar to the 2012 Twin Nug. All years and models have the Squeezebox tech except for the Women’s Nug. For 2013 the Directional Nug evolved into the Burton Root but the twins still remain.

On Snow Feel: The Burton Nug is a continuous rocker board but it’s a lot more stable between the feet than you would think for this shape. It borders on the Loose to a Mostly Stable side of things. The V-Rocker or continuous rocker on the Nug seems to be less curvy and more on the flatter side but that could be because it’s so small. Either way it wasn’t as loose between the feet as the larger V-Rocker or Flying V-Rocker boards. It still was catch-free but it just felt a little more stable between the feet and this to us was pretty cool. It’s better one-footing off the chair and flat basing than we expected.

Powder:  Just too small but it would float better than a camber version.  You would think this would be horrible but it’s better than you would think and it does naturally fight to point your nose up.  Still, it’s nothing we would really like to be out on in a deeper powder day.

Turn Initiation and Carving: Very Very Easy to turn. The rocker and the exceptionally short length makes for super easy turning. Wider radius turns are ok but this board really isn’t about turning. It’s not bad to carve in good conditions for a continuous rocker board but it’s still washy when you lean into it.  The lack of edge hold isn’t there when it comes to harder snow and it has the same washy characteristics that all continuous rocker boards do.  This is a butter/ollie/jib/jump board.

Speed: Peter Straight lined a pretty steep hill and got to 65mph on the GPS Goggles he was wearing but Peter is not right in the head. Still, this board is not made for speed like that but it doesn’t chatter at all. The base picks up speed well and it is more than fine in any place in the park.

Uneven Terrain: The Nug is small,  nimble and the flex handles uneven end of the day snow to even mogul runs if you want to go that way.  It holds up well in all levels of bumpiness.

Approximate Weight: Light and due to its very small size is almost unnoticeable on the chair.

Edge Hold: Lacking here like all Burton rocker boards. We felt the board slip under us numerous times on edge in hard snow. It is our biggest complaint about this unique board. We’d like to see a little more edge hold as many companies provide for their reverse camber boards. The 1/2 MM extension at each foot which is called “Frostbite” is severely lacking when it comes to grip.  Kyle and I personally won’t take these boards out when its moderately hard because the edge slip is scary but Jimbo and Peter are ok with it.  This would be a nightmare in icy conditions like the east coast.

Flex: Soft is the name of the Nug’s game but it wasn’t as soft as we thought it would be. There are many Burton boards that ride small and this small board rides big. Both testers were on the heavy end or over (editor) the weight scale for the 146 but it did a great job supporting both of us.

Switch: Excellent because it’s a true twin with a centered stance. The Directional Nug isn’t as good but it’s still not bad.

Jibbing: A little board like this is awesome in a jib park. The Nug has a pretty flat profile for a rocker board. It adds to the small size and we found it terribly easy to hit even more difficult rails than we would normally hit.  It has that make you better kind of feeling like we felt with the Lib Tech Box Scratcher.

Pipe: It’s just missing the edge hold as well as good drive between the walls for good pipe riding. If The Nug had better edge hold this could be acceptable in the pipe.  Instead, this is soft spring riding only.

Jumps: This was pretty fun generating your own air and pretty fun hitting just about any size kicker. It’s so easy to spin on this board. Even without the Malavita EST bindings that have “hinge tech” (makes it easier to ollie) the Nugs were pretty fun to pop on. I felt like I had more spring from most of the Flying V-Rocker (hybrid rocker) Burton boards but this isn’t bad at all.

All in all the Nug was a surprise to us. It’s more than just a gimmick board for the rider and it blows minds in the jib park.  This is a jib board that offers a little more than you would expect elsewhere in the park and even mountain.  The only issue is the edge hold and in moderate to hard conditions its a glaring one.  So at $399, this could be a fun board to add to your quiver and definitely satisfies an effortless butter/jib mood.