The Burton Trick Pony is a flat to rocker twin freestyle board with a set back stance so It’s a pretty powder friendly all mountain freestyle to all mountain ride.

2014-2016 Burton Trick Pony Snowboard Review

Size: 158, 154 and 158w
Days:  3
Conditions:  Day 1 Nice soft fun groomed sierra snow. Not much going on off piste to test it’s powder skills. Day 2 pretty light left over CO powder. Day three good groomers with the occasional patch of hard snow.
Riders: James, Stephen and Peter
Boots: Burton Imperial (Stephen and I) and I forget what Peter was riding
Bindings: Burton Malavita EST, Burton Genesis and Burton Stay Calm
Set Up:  Centered, about 23″ wide 15 front -15 back. Set back a little bit 23″ 15 front -9 back

On Snow Feel:  The Burton Trick Pony’s flat to rocker profile is definitely more stable between the feet than V-Rocker and Flying V camber profiles. It’s very playful, buttery and forgiving, not very catchy but still has a good stable feel when you pick up a little speed. This is marketed as a set back powder twin type of board but to us it’s got a lot of all mountain personality. It’s got some versatility.  You can center this up and take a freestyle approach to the mountain and then set it back a little and ride powder in a more surfy directional fashion or keep it centered and ride powder that way.  It’s definitely at home in the mountain as well as the park.  It reminded me of a Burton version of many flat to rocker all mountain boards we tried from other companies over the years.  So all in all very easy to one foot, flat base and pretty catch free but still stable between the feet. Even though this comes in mid/wide to wide sizing none of us smaller footed riders had any real issues turning or throwing around the board. Very easy ride that would be ok

Powder: Day one was no powder to speak of and it wasn’t fun off piste trying to find some softer snow patches so I gave up and stayed on the groomers. The second time we rode this we had some semi-light CO powder in the trees. This can ride centered very well and it’s not bad for more surfy set back riding due to the 1/2″/12.5 mm set back. It’s hard to submerge the nose . For most of us here we are more into the concept of S-Rocker due to the extra pop off the tail but that is a different kind of ride that favors the more set back directional rider. If you like to ride switch in powder a lot and sometimes set it back this is a better/more versatile board but if you are into directional set back surfy riding you will be happier with the Fish, Flight Attendant or Barracuda. Also if you plan to ride one board in a more freestyle fashion but live for powder this could be a better choice.

Turn Initiation and Carving:  The Burton Trick Pony has a lot of trappings that many flat to rocker boards have.  On the positive it’s quick and easy edge to edge  for short to medium radius turns but then there isn’t really that fun dynamic feel that boards with camber somewhere in the profile provide.  It just doesn’t excite if you really like making hard surfy carving turns. It’s more of a freestyle kind ride around the mountain. That being said it can handle mellow carving turns without being too washy as long as the snow is soft.

Speed:  It’s got good stability at speed and felt pretty stable on a straight line.  It’s no bomber board but it’s fine for a long steep run with some soft powder on it for sure.

Uneven Terrain:  All Burton boards do a very good job when it comes to shock absorption in bumpy snow and with this kind of ride you could even start to take a creative freestyle approach to it. Perfect for someone that rides on crowded weekends.

Edge Hold: The Burton Trick Pony held fine in the good conditions I rode in but it can get a little sketchy in harder snow. In good conditions it feels like there is a lot more edge hold and I never had an issue but then you hit some harder snow and it feels like it’s edge magically changed on you. It just doesn’t have that much bite in harder snow and it can catch you off guard if you suddenly hit a patch with the edges engaged on a turn. It felt better than a lot of Flat Top boards I rode but I’d really like to see Burton do more with the whole Frost Bite technology.  It really doesn’t seem to help much with hybrid profiles compared to many of their competitors edge hold technology. We aren’t saying we want Magnetraction on the board but just a little extra something to give it a little more hold between the feet.

Flex:  Very middle flexing but a little more playful than you would think for the flex thanks to the flat to rocker profile. The tip and tail allow you to butter and play around rather well. I’m a little heavier than the weight recommendations for almost any Burton board though (around 195lbs) so if you run on the lighter side then it might be a little more challenging.

Switch: Almost perfect if you center up your stance like I did. The only thing directional about this board is the set back. Also the Channel Tech allows you to center the stance perfectly. l’m not a fan of this proprietary tech but it sure does have an advantage here.

Jibbing:  Not really what it’s made for but I’m sure it’s ok if you want to stop in the park for some mellow stuff.

Pipe: Not an ideal pipe board but I bet it wouldn’t be terrible at all in a soft spring pipe.

Jumps:  There is decent ollie power with normal bindings like the ones I was on but better power if you pair this with a Burton “Hinge Tech” “EST” bindings. I liked the directional pop off the tail better with the S-Rocker boards better in the Family Tree line but this springs better if you want to Ollie regular and switch. It’s also the preferred board out of the family tree line for hitting a kicker or 2 in the park.

All in all this is a fun board and could make a lot of riders happy if this concept appeals to them. It’s a pretty fun powder/mountain freestyle/twin kind of ride.  I like the true twin like feel as well as the ability to set it back on a powder day for better directional float. The only real draw backs are edge hold and less than dynamic turning. If you want a pretty versatile freestyle/freeride/powder board the Burton Trick Pony isn’t a bad choice.