Tested - 2011 Burton Custom X 156
I can’t believe it’s the end of 2010, I’ve been riding since 1997 and on Tuesday I had my first experience of riding a Burton Custom X. With so much history and nostalgia behind the Custom X it was inevitable that I was going to ride one at some point, and the fact that it has consistently appeared in the top 10 most popular board on our site out of the 500+ listed is testament to its universal appeal. When I got a list from Philipp at Blue Tomato detailing that they had a 156 Custom X test board in the Schladming shop I was there in an instant. Hey and what do you know, the only bindings they had in stock that would fit my boots were a pair of Carbon Fibre C60s, my luck was definitely in. However, there was something slightly un-nerving about carrying around a setup worth 1100 Euros the equivalent of two month’s rent and bills.
For the afternoon of testing I headed up to Flachauwinkl and Kleinarl home of the Absolut park and Austria’s only Burton Stash not that park riding was really on my riding agenda. The sun was out and the pistes were pretty hard pack, but there were little stashes of powder remaining from our 2ft dump on the previous week. First impressions of the Custom X were very good, whatever Jake “Willy Wonka” Burton and his Innsbruck based Umpa Lumpa workforce are putting into their boards appears to be doing the trick. The topsheet finish was slick, stylish and of impeccable quality and the diecut base was completely seamless. The weight of the Custom X was on the low side but I did have a set of weight saving C60s attached so it wasn’t anything special, we’re definitely not talking Burton Method light. From strapping into the Custom X I could tell it had a firm flex, but it’s certainly nothing to be scared of, I was able to torque the board with my feet without too much effort and although tail presses were pretty difficult I didn’t find the Custom X hard work to Ollie, in fact it was light and unbelievably snappy. I’d certainly heard that the Custom X could rail carves but I’m quite willing to confirm here and now that the Custom X is one of, if not, the best carving snowboard I have ever ridden on hard pack. I could literally depend on the edge hold and the lively flex to hold my weight as I attempted to get my shoulder to touch the ground on toeside carves. The camber, flex and frostbite edges are perfectly blended together to create a board that will have hard booters trading in their F2s left right and centre. Even my Rossi JDub which is stiffer and has Magnetraction edges doesn’t grip as hard as the Custom X and the smoothness of is incomparable like cutting through butter with a hot samurai sword compared to butchering it with a chainsaw. With its lightweight construction, crampon like edge hold even on sheet ice, lively poppy feel and superfast base it’s really not difficult to see why the Custom X is the pipe board of choice for Burton’s pro team. One thing’s for sure, camber definitely isn’t dead, on boards like the Custom X it’s the only profile that you could achieve such precision performance.
Although I was in Flachauwinkl and there were a few jumps littering the park I didn’t take the Custom X over any. For one I was having way too much fun simply carving and secondly, the Custom X is a board for very competent freestylers only, unfortunately I’m not in that category. I would have been happy taking it straight over the bigger tables, as despite the narrow-ish waist and the fact I was riding a 156, the Custom felt stable. However, for spins and off centre landings the Custom X offers almost too much edge hold up kicker transitions and landings could be very catchy and pretty unforgiving. Out of the park, blasting through chop the Custom X handled very nicely, the camber pushing the nose and tail into the snow dealt with any chatter and the board felt balanced and agile in powder, the directional shape meaning I didn’t have to work hard to keep the nose out. Pow turns felt really snappy and I enjoyed a few fun cut backs.
To summarise, the Custom X has definitely earned its reputation as one of the best boards on the planet. I’ve never felt so confident getting low into carves on such hard and icy conditions, and I’d go as far as to say that when it comes to carving the Custom X is the best board I have ridden. As expected, the pop from the Custom X was lively, but it was also pretty easy to access, prepare to go a lot bigger off rollers! In the park the Custom X was just too precise and unforgiving for me, but for a very good pro line kicker rider riding at Breck or in Scandinavia where the conditions can be very windblown and icy the Custom X would be ideal. The fact that it slays the pipe goes without saying. I think advanced all-mountain freeriders who like riding powder, carving pistes and riding big transitions will love the Custom X, it will definitely help them to carve harder and ride transitions faster, but be prepared to sacrifice the ability to butter and jib the sides of the pistes. If you are an all-out park rider you better be on your game and intermediates might find that the Custom X’s unforgiving nature inhibits progression. Is it worth the money? 110%!
Big thanks for Blue-Tomato Schladming for providing the test boards.
Posted by Rich Ewbank in Features.
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