Review

Well known for its powerful drive and pinpoint design, the 2017 Burton Custom X snowboard offers pro-caliber speed with cambered precision. Although snowboarding itself has cycled through many trends and changes throughout the years, this board has thankfully remained relatively unchanged. Designed for the world’s most demanding riders it’s one of the most aggressive boards in the Burton lineup. For this season this board is now available in two flavors. You can choose between the power of camber or the float and catch-free feel of Burton’s Flying V rocker. For this review, we took out the camber version.

Designed with a powerful drive in mind this board combines a traditional camber profile with a directional shape, twin flex, and a super responsive carbon layup. The board’s directional shape gives it a hard-charging feel on groomers and helps it to float through powder. Yet it still rides and lands switch nicely with its twin flex pattern. Inside you will find a core that’s thinner underneath the bindings. This makes turning more easily, especially considering this board’s board responsive and ultra-stiff nature. The board’s fiberglass and carbon provide the dampening and torsional rigidity needed for high-speed riding.

Although this board has gone through numerous refinements each year, on snow the overall ride remains the same. If your compare on of the latest version with one 2 years ago you will already spot some differences to the design. Once you start riding you will notice this board’s aggressiveness and it’s built for the more experienced technical riders who know how to stay on their game. On powder, the board floats well but you need to keep the nose up. The Flying V version of this board or the Burton Flight Attendant might be a better powder option. On the rougher terrain, this board remains stable. But turning is where it really comes to life. It’s quick in short turns, dynamic on the wider ones and springs nicely from edge to edge.

There are faster boards available but this one still gets you up to decent speeds. We tried a couple of jumps and this board offers a decent amount of pop. But it will cost you more strength to get it right. Overall the 2017 Burton Custom X snowboard now uses the newest technologies to deliver a high-performance ride, yet still, retains the same hard-charging persona that made it famous. If you think you can hang with the pros then step off the porch and strap into this powerhouse.