Burton Time Thief Snowboard Review

A Detailed Objective Breakdown of how the Burton Time Thief Rides Review by The Good Ride

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

Overview

How It Was Tested

I borrowed the Burton Time Thief for an extended demo and sent it back. This was tested at the very end of this short, horrible season, so I only got it out in late spring conditions. I compared this the same day against the Burton Counterbalance and the Burton Full Nelson.

Size: 160
Days: 2
Conditions:  and some early morning Slackountry pow time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9 E, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards, 200+ bindings, and 120+ boots
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team BOA, Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas Step On
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Skyline Fase 3L Bib 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: 21.25” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/-6. Close to Reference.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Nitro Alternator, Telos DST, K2 Commonwealth, Ride Moderator, Never Summer Proto Type 3, Gnu Antigravity, United Shapes Horizon, Lib Tech Dynamo, Lib Tech DPR

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Sizing

How it Fits Me

This 160 was really fun in the clean conditions I rode it in, and I loved the feeling of the wider ride. However, it’s not what I’d personally like to be on when conditions get uneven, or I need to turn in tighter spots.

If I were to get a daily driver for how I like to ride, I would want the 156. It’s fine for my weight but much better for my boot size for turning all day.

How It Might Fit You

Sizing is highly subjective and personal, and many factors come into play when choosing a board. I rarely use “all caps to emphasize something, but NEVER TRUST ANYONE who just references their height and weight. Here are all the factors to consider

Boot Size

Always start with your boot size. If your board is too wide for your boot, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded toe and heel drag. This is the most important part of sizing a board, which is why so many snowboards come in widths like Narrow, Normal, Mid-Wide, Wide, and Ultra-Wide.

Most brands don’t include a recommended boot size because it’s very complicated and time-consuming.

Here is the sweet spot for easy turns with mid-response bindings/boots without boot-out. You can go wider if you carve really hard or have very responsive bindigns/boots. I found that you can ride the Time Thief a little wider than some boards just because it turns so quickly and easily

152: 7.5-8.5
156: 8.5-9.5
160: 10-11
164: 11-12

Weight

Your weight determines how the board flexes underfoot, giving you more or less pop, speed, etc. An easier-flexing board can also be easier to turn. I found the weight rating accurate, but a little more forgiving for those on the lighter side of the recommended range. One thing to note is Burton really jumps up in weight from the 156 to 160. Sometimes that’s a huge issue, and the flex personality feels really different. In this case, it’s not that bad in the heavier weight.

Height

The board’s length determines swing weight/control. If it’s short, it’s easy to spin, and if it’s longer, it floats better and can help with speed.

Boots and Bindings Response

Always factor in your boot and binding’s responsiveness to determine how well you can turn and control a board.

Stance Width

Check your stance width against the reference and/or the set-back stance to see if it fits you. The reference stance is really good, but they don’t make a board with a set-back stance to match the reference, so you won’t be able to set back as much if you have a normal stance width.

Personal Preference

Some prefer control, so they match boot size to board width first, with weight second. Others prefer speed over control, so they size up to a wider/longer ride and have very responsive boots/bindings.If you like to size up this is a great board to do it with.

Design

Construction/Weight

Let’s talk construction. From base to edges to sidewall, construction seems very well done.

My one issue is the top sheet. It’s really prone to scuffs and scratching, so this paint will probably be scraped away around the binding area by the end of a season with most bindings out there.

It feels pretty light for a somewhat wide 160.

Shape & Setback

This is tapered with only five millimeters of taper in the tail, but there’s a good bit less surface area in the tail.

Then you have a much bigger, longer, more directional nose.

On reference, you’re sitting pretty centered on board, and you have some setback, but not a lot.

Camber/On Snow Feel

Then you get into this directional camber profile that I really like from Burton.

There might be just a hint of early rise before the tail, but it’s mostly camber from the tail going well past the front inserts. Then there’s a little bit of early rise before this long nose.

It’s not like full-on camber, but it’s best for advanced to expert riders. I would only suggest the Burton Time Thief for committed intermediates if you’re really going to ride a lot of days.

But this tracks super well one-footing off a chair, going down a long flat cat track, and has a very consistent feel underfoot in all conditions.

Edge Hold

When it comes to edge hold, the Burton Time Thief held on edge pretty well in the firm snow that I rode.

It didn’t feel like it let go as easily as older Burton Family Tree models did, but it was still a good bit behind the Burton Counterbalance in same-day tests.

That just has much more grip and considerably more disruption in the sidecut.

Flex Personality

It’s got a medium bordering on medium-stiff flex.

Down in the tail, there’s a little give. The nose feels pretty consistent throughout the board. It also has an easy, but not super soft, torsional flex that isn’t super soft between the feet but still allows for an easy twist.

Buttering on the tail is doable. The nose is a little easier.

And the way this board ollies, it just has so much pop.

On Snow Performance

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow performance, I did not get the Burton Time Thief in any kind of soft, thick, uneven snow.

But in hard, uneven snow in the morning, it did not have an ultra-chattery vibration to it.

So I think overall this is going to be a good all-day ride.

Switch/Air/Park

If you throw this around switch, it does pretty well for how directional it feels.

This is a great board for getting air. It’s great for everything from small, complicated side hits that often have a rutted, difficult track into the air.

If you want to go big, you can, especially off-piste. There’s lots of landing gear behind you.

I’d be okay in a softer to medium pipe. Not really a jibber board. There are much better boards out there.

Turning/Carving

Turn Initiation

When it comes to turning, for a board this wide for my size 9 boots, it initiated a turn pretty well.

If I was on the 156, which seems to better fit my specs and riding preference, this would turn medium-fast to fast.

So I think this is going to be a great board in the trees for most riders out there.

Carving/Committed Turns

Then when you commit this edge to a harder turn, I just love the way it sets you up for a turn and then springs you out of it.

It has this Burton turning magic that’s really special, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

In same-day tests against any other board I tried, like the Burton Full Nelson and the Counterbalance, those were all very fun turners. But the Burton Time Thief had some magic to it that had me thinking about this board for days after I got off it.

Turning Experience/Sidecut

You can front-foot, center-weight, or back-foot weight this turn because it has that balanced freeride geometry in the sidecut.

That makes it feel almost like it’s not tapered on groomers, but then you feel that taper in powder when it gets softer and the tail sinks a little more.

Not a super-hard circle carver, but doable across the groomer. Turns were super fun and satisfying. Medium-radius turns were incredibly fun.

Down-the-line turns were doable.

Speed

If you want to straight-line and really point it, it’s going to stay composed, and the sidecut isn’t going to fight you.

But there are many better boards out there for really bombing.

Base Glide

Base glide was good.

It’s a little prone to base burn, but the wax retention is pretty good.

Not as fast as Burton’s high-end bases used to be, but still pretty fast.

Powder

When it comes to powder float, I would have loved to have tried this, but it was a horrible winter.

But with my experience from so many other Burton boards, it’s going to float pretty well for an all-mountain board.

So if you ride more steeper-angle terrain and like riding your board a little more centered in powder, this is going to be great.

But it’s not going to be terrible in medium- to low-angle powder.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Burton Time Thief was my favorite board in all the Burton testing this year and one of my favorite boards to turn all season.

It’s special.

I just hope Burton doesn’t do what they always do: release a board, many people in the community here fall in love with it, and then it’s gone the following season.

So I hope this sticks around for a few years at least because I’m going to be recommending this a ton.