Burton T6 - 2010

Snowboard Review:

Any board that’s been create and championed by Terje is always going to have a certain stigma attached to it; I’d always imagined it to be some kind of untameable beast with the flex of a concrete slab that only a 6 times World Halfpipe champion could ride. So when the opportunity to ride the T6 came up, although scared, I jumped at the chance to strap Burton’s 2010 missile to my feet.

Firstly, if you’re under the impression that the T6 is light then you’re not mistaken but don’t for a second think that it’s anywhere near as light as it’s pipe slaying counterpart the Vapor, because you’ll be disappointed. The main selling point of the T6 is that it is probably the most stable board you’re ever likely to ride, you can’t ride too fast for this board. The T6’s unbelievable stability is thanks to the dampening pads under the feet, the triax fibreglass weave and alumafly core which means that there is a solid flex throughout the board; torsionally and longitudinally. Due to a fairly narrow waist and long sidecut the T6 was great fun for carving at high and low speeds; the long open carves you can do with this board are effortless and ridiculously stable, swapping from edge to edge is also rapid.

In the pipe the T6 is very similar to the Vapor; it holds an edge really well on both the toes and heels and feels unbelievably stable on take-offs and landings. If you’re comfortable riding the walls of a pipe then you’ll find it almost impossible not to get out of the pipe on the T6. If you enjoy riding pipe and have already began spinning then this could be the board that will give you the confidence to go bigger.
The bigger kickers in the park were great fun and spinning wasn’t as difficult as I’d expected it to be; again landings, run-ins and take-offs were effortless. The T6 really does give you the confidence and stability to hit much bigger jumps with lots of speed. Unfortunately rails and flatland jibs were hard work so if you’re going to be hitting lots of rails and jibbing around then you should look at a softer freestyle orientated board.

Finally, in the off-piste the T6 didn’t fail to impress; if you’re looking to advance your freeriding to faster and steeper lines with bigger drops then this is definitely the board for the job. Straight lining the narrowest and steepest of sections was stable and the board floated well on slower more precise manoeuvres, even large blocks of ice hidden under the powder didn’t prove too much of a problem.
All-in-all a great board for an advanced rider who knows exactly which aspects of riding they like, namely; going big, going fast, enjoying an effortless ride. If you’re looking to progress your freestyle and you like jibbing around the slope you may want to look at a softer, less expensive high-end board, you won’t want the T6 until you’re hitting the bigger jumps in the park and the Superpipe. Be aware that the T6 uses the Burton EST binding system which means to ride one, you’ll have to buy Burton bindings.

Posted by Tom Ewbank in • Burton