Burton Sketch Artist 2026 Snowboard Review with Davey

An Un-Paid, Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the Burton Sketch Artist Rides And Who It Is For Review by The Good Ride

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How The Burton Sketch Artist Was Tested:

I borrowed the Burton Sketch Artist for a few days and had to send it back.

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Size: 155 (James) 163 (Davey)
Days: 2 for James and 1 for Davey
Conditions: Varied Spring Conditions going hard to soft. 1.5″ of pow on harder snow
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team BOA, Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag Low Bridge Fit
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3. Close to Reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.
Davey’s Set Up: 23” Wide. Stance Angles +18/+3. Close to Reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Jones Hovercraft, Gnu Gremlin, Korua Transition Finder, Salomon Dancehaul, K2 Excavator, Amplid Surfari, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander, YES PYL Uninc, Stone Farther

Sizing

This 155, in some situations, felt great, and in others felt like too much board for me as it got uneven and messy; it became a little harder to turn with my size nine boots. It felt really wide over the front foot and a little less wide over the back foot, with an 8-millimeter difference. And that’s a lot for snowboarding. But it always handled my 190 to 192 pounds when I was riding this pretty well, and it works well with my 510 frame

Sizing is all about balancing what best fits your Boot Size, Weight & Height for how you like to ride.

NEVER TRUST ANYONE THAT DOESN’T REFERENCE BOOT SIZE, WEIGHT & HEIGHT!!!

Boots – If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. This is the most important part of sizing a board, which is why so many models come in so many widths, like Narrow, Normal, Mid-Wide, Wide, and Ultra Wide.
Weight – Your weight determines how the board will flex underfoot.
Height – Determines a board’s swing weight.
Personal Preference: Some prefer control, so matching the boot size first for easiest turn initiation is the priority, with weight second. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up in width and length. Others like to ride wider boards with very responsive boots/bindings.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Burton Sketch Artist because this is super important and not addressed well by Burton.
151: 8-10
155: 8.5-10.5
159: 10-12
163: 11-13

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Shape & Setback

The Burton Sketch Artist has 18mm of taper. you’re sitting a little further back on this board, but yet somehow it doesn’t feel as set back on board as you would think. You feel like you got a lot more tail there for landings and such. and I didn’t really feel as much of that balanced freeride geometry side cut going on as I normally do

Camber/On Snow Feel

Now, looking at this camber profile, Burton always does directional camber really well. There’s a good bit of early rise before the nose, but not too much and a lot of camber underfoot with this wider width and stiffer flex underfoot combined with that directional camber, it feels a little more technical than some directional camber boards would for this size. In this shape. So I’d say this is best for advanced experts only. A committed intermediate will take some lumps on this and might accrue some pretty sizable hospital bills. But it is stable.

Edge Hold

I felt like the Burton Sketch Artist was competent, but not full on grippy. These 1/2mm x 1/2 mm extensiions in the edge and the way the edge was tuned really had its limits and hard snow wear on same day testing with other boards with more aggressive disruptions in the side cut. I felt that I could lean into the edge more and harder snow with other boards versus this, But it’s doable for those semi-hard days and below.

Flex Personality

The Burton Sketch Artist is stiffer than it looks. It seems like it’s going to be a chill board. And it’s not that chill. It’s definitely well into medium stiff down in the tail. It’s pretty stiff. Wasn’t that easy to butter. It took some work there and the nose is a little softer. It was a little more easy to butter, but overall this is a much stiffer, more aggressive flex than it looks, especially for this width. And there is lots of pop. You just have to work for it. But it’s not outside the realm of the average snowboarder like myself. And I felt like this had very solid spring to it on an Ollie and out of a turn

Uneven Snow

and when it comes to uneven snow performance, this did very well. in soft, uneven snow. It didn’t buck me around that much. Burton has poppy boards, and sometimes they can buck a little bit in that area, but this didn’t have that. ultra light, hollow ultra Buckie Chattery feel to it. It could handle hard, uneven snow almost as well as it handled soft, uneven snow. And I think overall it’s a very good all day ride.

Turning/Carving

t’s not quick to initiate a turn. Especially for my size nine boots, my 190 pounds, and 510 frame. But once I got it on edge, it was really fun to engage into a harder turn. I wanted to just lean into this and see what it was capable of, because it was just telling you to carve to get after it. And that’s what this board does.

When I front-foot weighted it, I felt like I had so much board on that front foot that it was hard for me to leverage it, compared to center weighting and back-foot weighting, and really leaning into the back as you came out. That’s when this board came alive, and it was really powerful. It really built on each turn, popped me out so hard, and set me up for the next turn. So pretty impressive, Turner. Just the pop and drive is just so powerful, springy, fun.

Speed

And while this isn’t a bomber board for a 155, this thing can handle some speed. You can point it, but the side cut is also not that bad for the speed. Two didn’t feel hokey or weird, like it wanted to start turning when you were going straight. So this is a competent straight liner for such a small ride.

Base Glide

I felt the Sketch Artist’s base glide was good, but not amazing. But it didn’t feel chalky or weird like a lot of Burton models have felt over the last few years. This is doing a much better job. So decent base.

Powder

I’m very curious to see what this would be like in Pow, but unfortunately, for the time I had it, I wasn’t able to test it. I think it would float pretty well with all this nose, this good amount of taper, the small tail, and the decent setback on the board. I wouldn’t call it a dedicated powder board, but it’s going to be very good for a board that rails such hard turns in groomers.

Switch

The Burtono Sketch Artist is doable switch, but not ideal, and not the kind of board I want to bring into the park. But it all depends on who you are as a rider

My Final Thoughts

Overall, I felt like this wasn’t 100% my board, and it didn’t have the magic of the show stopper that I loved in the past. Or that more mellow con artist kind of feel This has a unique personality for those that want to carve hard and charge on a shorter, wider ride, but not a full on short, wide. It’s going to be a hard board to recommend to a lot of people, but if what I described appeals to you, you might have a hell of a time with this.

Davey Boy’s Big Guy Take of the Burton Sketch Artist 163

Hey, everybody. Davey boy here talking about the sketch artist from a big guy’s perspective.

How Davey Tested It

I rode this board. on a spring day that started firm and then softened up into slush.

Davey’s sizing

This board was sent to me, and on 163. I’m six. Three and a half. 245. Size 12. Boot. This board fit me perfectly. I like the length, the width, had no heel toe drag or issues with the sizing.

Davey’s One Issue

However, the one problem I have with this board was it felt a little edgeless, a little washy. When I was trying to carve, especially on the harder part of the morning. and it felt a little chattery in the harder pack. So I did not feel that confident. carving aggressively at higher speeds when it was firm in the morning. Once it softened up, this board did. Well, it powered through the slush and uneven, soft snow with ease. This board had a really fun turning experience. Has a nice, healthy bow of directional camber. Personally, I liked the counterbalance better from Burton, but this is still a fun board. yeah, so it.