Burton Sketch Artist Snowboard Reviews by Jordand

Burton Sketch Artist Snowboard Review by Jordan-A Woman's Perspective Review by The Good Ride

• User Reviews
• Product Specs
• Product Images
• Questions?

How It Was Tested

The Sketch Artist was ridden for multiple days in the Pacific Northwest, with

It was ridden with Women’s Union Trilogy bindings, size medium, and men’s Solomon Dialogue boots in size 7, which is a women’s 8.

It was ridden in sequence with the Burton Counterbalance. I was comparing the ride, but they have very different personalities. The closest board to compare is the Alakazam from Burton.

I borrowed it for an extended demo and sent it back.

Size: 147

Days: 2

Conditions: early- to late-spring conditions consisting of setup-packed snow, ice, corn snow, and even some deep slush.

Riders: Jordan

Boots: Solomon Dialogue size 7, W’s 8

Bindings: W’s Union Trilogy size Medium

Jordan’s Set Up: 20” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-6 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

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Sizing

I was given the 147. This is actually the smallest available size in the lineup and has a significant waist width of 24.6.

It’s available in 151, 155, 159, and 163.

Now the sizing range. I think it’s important to note, leads me to believe that maybe this isn’t a true unisex board, that maybe this is a men’s board that has some smaller sizes to accommodate either smaller men or larger women.

This may play a huge role in my review of it. Just take that into account. Take it for what it is.

147 is well within my size range. But this board felt like a lot of board for someone who typically rides 152-153.

Shape & Setback

The Sketch Artist features a directional freeride kind of freestyle shape. It’s designed to playfully interpret the terrain off piste and on low-angle groomed.

It has an 18mm taper. At a 20-inch reference stance, it has about 12.5mm setback on sidecut.

Camber/On Snow Feel

It features true camber with a slight early rise in the tip and tail. So, not true tip to tail, there is that little bit of early rise in the tip and tail.

Immediately, this board did not feel super stable. I could actually feel the camber pulling when loading and unloading the lift, and when traversing flat terrain.

It almost had a little bit of a catchy feeling to me. It required a lot of adjustment and quick reaction to stay straight.

I was able to do some skid turns, but it felt slightly uneasy.

Due to that camber profile and its active participation in the feel of this board, I recommend this board for advanced to expert riders who are comfortable on almost full camber boards.

Edge Hold

I found that the edge hold was highly dependent on the conditions.

The board had controlled edge hold on perfect groomed conditions, but on track day out or icy hard snow, it quickly lost edge control.

Flex Personality

Because I don’t have the board right in front of me, let’s talk about the flex.

Interestingly, the board didn’t feel stiff when riding, but once it was off snow, I was able to flex it, and I realized that it required a lot of effort.

It’s very possible that the challenges I faced with this board were related to that flex. If I were maybe 10-15 pounds heavier with a larger foot, I may have had a completely different experience.

Unfortunately, that also meant that I never really felt secure enough to Ollie or to go off jumps.

Switch & Park

Switch felt very insecure, especially with that taper.

And the setback, as well as the progressive sidecut on this board.

The tail of the board is designed to turn much quicker than the front of the board. So riding switch, it lets that quickness take the lead. And it caused the board to want to flip back around.

Uneven Snow

Now, I always like to take this in a variety of conditions. I want to see how it feels on hard, uneven, and soft uneven snow.

I briefly got this board on uneven snow, but found myself on my butt quicker than I was able to react.

That lack of perceived edge hold did not instill much confidence in me. Not enough to risk taking another fall. I got to be able to do this because snowboarding is what I love to do.

On softer, more even snow, the board actually performed much better, but it still required me to slow down and turn much more than I usually do.

This had some disadvantages, as most tip-to-tail camber boards require speed to manipulate, and I was just not willing to put myself and my body at risk.

Turning/Carving

Now, how did it feel to turn?

So far, I’ve been having some issues with the flex and some with the uneven snow. The turning experience was a little bit confusing at first.

It was very quick to transition from heel to toe, so much so that the board almost felt as though the tail was leading the turn.

This gave the sensation of a skid turn, but with very quick radius turns.

The front of the board initiated the turn slowly, and as you traveled through the midline or the peak of the camber, the turning actually sped up.

By the time it got to the tail of the board, the arc of the turn was already over, kind of leaving you to sort of reactively switch to the next turn before really being ready.

At higher speeds and steeper terrain, the riding felt almost out of control, and I had to slow myself down and do extra turns to feel back in control.

On lower-angle terrain, the turning experience actually improved. I kind of tapped into what I think it wanted to do, at least for my size, my height, my weight, my foot size.

I did attempt to do a traditional toe-side carve and was able to get on edge for a moment, but the tail lost hold and washed.

When I finally felt comfortable enough to play with the board, I actually kind of found it entertaining.

The quick transitions made the turn effortless and really fast and loose.

It felt very similar to riding my Carver Surf skateboard, which was interesting. Kind of loose. Not like there was a lot of effort, but quick, fast, slashy.

Base Glide

This board features a sintered bass. The board was given to us with factory wax.

The base glide was slow on spring snow. I actually did take it in, and I waxed it, tuned it, make sure everything was nice with the board. Sometimes demo boards can be a little off.

And it did improve on the following days when I got on it.

Condition-specific wax really does improve the performance of your board. Just be mindful of that if you’re getting a sintered board versus an extruded.

Powder

Now, in powder and trees, this is slightly set back with the significant amount of taper in the tail. But it’s full camber.

It could feel a little divey due to that camber profile.

But like the smooth operator, the Sketch Artist could have a really fun turning experience in powder, especially since the edge hold or that sort of perceived lack of edge hold would really not play a huge part.

Final Thoughts

So my final thoughts.

I don’t really know if this board is a unisex board. I think that this board was designed for a bigger rider, somebody with more weight.

If you’re that person, just like an Artist who puts a pen to paper, the riding experience on the Sketch Artist is open to interpretation.

The loose and quick turning made for a really interesting, on-snow feel that can go from reactive to out of control and back, leaving the rider kind of pleasantly surprised.

Where it lacks edge control, it kind of makes up for it in playfulness and slow, surfy slashes.

The board shined when I was willing to relinquish control and slow down, to let the board just flow through the changing terrain of the mountain.

The rider that this board would really talk to is someone who finds themself more interested in leaving their scribble down the run than straight lining to the finish line, not really something that’s my style, but I get it.

And maybe it’ll work for you.