Burton Custom Flying V - 2012
We liked the Custom Flying V last year but on the whole opinion was divided as to whether the Custom Flying V lived up to expectation. With the addition of the Squeezebox core profile the Custom Flying V will be receiving tons and awards and accolades this season because it’s a belter. Fun to ride, responsive and lively with stability and sure footed grip the Custom is King once again.
Manufacturer's Description:
The addition of Squeezebox to the Custom Flying V™ changes the game completely for riders like Mikkel Bang and Mads Jonsson. The thinner core underfoot transitions to thicker, more powerful areas between and outside your feet to optimize pop, snap, and handling. Considering this Flying V is already Springloaded with rocker float and camber stability, along with the electrified edge control of Lightning Bolts and Frostbite, it’s advisable you keep this board stored outside.
Recommended for park riding.
Recommended for halfpipe riding.
Recommended for freeride riding.
High cost $
Available in Wide.
Hybrid Rocker/Camber Construction.
Directional Shape.
Year: 2012
Available Lengths (cm):
148, 151, 154, 156, 158, 160, 163, 155W, 158W, 162W, 169W
Riding Style: All Mountain
Specifications:
Gondola Package
The Channel
BEND: Flying V
SHAPE: Directional
FLEX: Twin
CORE: Super Fly II™ with Dualzone™ EGD™
FIBERGLASS: Triax™ Fiberglass, Lightning Bolts, and Carbon I-Beam™
BASE: Sintered WFO
SIDEWALLS: 10:45™
EXTRAS: Squeezebox, Frostbite Edges, Pro-Tip™, Infinite Ride™, and Progressively Wider Waist Widths
Similar boards: Nitro Team Gullwing - 2012 Lib Tech Travis Rice Pro - 2012 GNU Riders Choice - 2012 Rome Agent Rocker - 2012
Snowboard Review:
Watch the 2012 Burton Custom Flying V Video Snowboard Review
Last year Burton launched the Custom Flying V and unsurprisingly it was a hit, on Snowboard-Review.com it attracted almost twice as many page views as any other board on the site. Having reviewed it last year I was pretty impressed. I felt it was lively in and out of turns, it felt nimble and responsive and stable enough for riding most terrain. I didn’t encounter any really hard snow last year so my opinion of the edge hold was pretty good. However, over last season feedback on the site was that edge hold wasn’t up to scratch, this year I made doubly sure that I rode the Custom Flying V on some super hard re-frozen early morning groomers.
The biggest change to the Custom Flying V this year is the addition of the Squeezebox a core profile. Squeezebox is about as bizarre and elaborate as a core profile can get, thickening just before the inserts and then rapidly thinning under the inserts and thickening after the inserts again, finally thinning towards the centre of the board. The idea being that the thinner sections beneath the feet allow the board to be worked into carves and flexed with less effort whilst the thicker sections either side of you bindings provide stability and increased pop. The Custom Flying V’s outline shape and profile remain untouched and the rest of the spec is pretty much identical to last year’s board too.
I’ve got to say, I enjoyed last year’s Custom Flying V but this year’s board kills it! As I mentioned earlier I took the Flying V out on one of the colder mornings when I could be sure that the pistes were frozen corduroy that had been formed from the previous day’s slush… seriously this stuff is like glass. The Custom Flying V made mincemeat out of it… on a flat base it felt a little sketchy just because any rocker between the feet gives a board a natural squirliy-ness but as soon as I set it on an edge it gripped like extremely well. Impressed, I took the board through the pipe and edge hold up the icy walls was as good as, if not better than the other boards I rode that week including the K2 Protohype and Salomon Man’s Board, two boards with grip by the bucket load! So if you’re complaining that this year’s board doesn’t have grip, it’s time to stop blaming the tools and book yourself in for a lesson. On the re-frozen corduroy I also noticed that this year’s board damped-out vibrations and chatter far better than last year’s board.
Once the park had started to soften up I went for a couple of laps of the mini shred. Last year I wrote that the Custom Flying V was “surprisingly poppy” well this year’s Squeezebox enhanced Flying V is ridiculous… you may as well strap two enormous springs to your boots. I was riding a 158 which is my usual all-mountain board length, usually riding this length of board you need to work the flex a little harder to access the pop, not with the Custom. You hardly have to load the flex up at all to get big ollies and landings are equally as easy the nose and tail work well with the rockered waist profile to lay you down from tail or nose heavy landings or incomplete rotations. I loved the Custom Flying V in the pipe but I had just as much fun if not more on kickers and even on the odd rail.
The Custom Flying V has had the weirdest make-over. It’s like building a cyborg with a metal endoskeleton, for all intentions it looks the same as a human being but like T2000 it’s vastly superior. That’s what Squeezebox is like with the Custom Flying V, it has turned a good board into a fantastic board; it is as responsive and versatile as it ever was it just has better edge hold, easier pop, more forgiving landings and better dampening. I would thoroughly recommend this snowboard to strong intermediates through to expert all-mountain snowboarders with an attacking riding style.
Highlights:
Impressive edge hold on all snow conditions
Very easy to access pop from the Squeezebox core
Versatile directional all-mountain shape
Forgiving in the tips for less than perfect landings
Fast base
Letdowns:
A little too directional for park focused riding
Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Burton
User Snowboard Reviews
Want some advice, or have a question about the Burton Custom Flying V snowboard, or whether it is right for you? DON'T POST HERE! Head over to our snowboard forums and our community will be happy to help.
Seriously - READ THE ABOVE..., the snowboard forum the best way to get your question seen by all of our community and an answer, rather than just those who happen to view this page.
However, if you have ridden this snowboard and want to share your feedback, then please add your experience below. It helps to add as much detail as possible, e.g board length you used, bindings, rider stats etc.
on February 20, 2012 at 05:35 AM
I bought this board as soon as i arrived in Canada a late December, put simply this is the best board i have ever strapped on. i dont understand why some people are having problems holding an edge, there is either something wrong with the way you have your stance set up, or you just arent pushing this board hard enough. After about 2 days of riding, i had worked the new board out, and found that the harder i pushed it the better it performed. i spent the entire trip in the ears of others about how good it holds an edge at high speeds on all types of snow.
this is not a board for beginners or even some amatuers, it’s a board that responds when pushed. So i suggest to all the haters, get out there, put all you fear of high speed endging asdie and give it another go. until it breaks, or it gets stolen, i will never need another board.
on March 21, 2012 at 08:27 PM
WORST BOARD I have ever strapped on!! I tried this board for a few hours on a burton demo day… it was extremely sluggish initiating turns, edge hold sucked and it just felt SH**TY. Pushing it hard is not a problem and it didnt deliver, i then switched to the joystick, which is burtons park board and it rode way better, even felt more sturdy!!! I think i will just stick with my CYGNUS X-1 (LIBTECH) .. Best board ever made
on March 22, 2012 at 09:31 AM
Lol… Hey Mr “CYGNUS X-1 (LIB TECH)” how about you grace us with a comprehensive review of your two and a half grand snowboard?
on March 22, 2012 at 10:37 AM
A dual… Pistols at dawn sir :)
on March 22, 2012 at 10:44 AM
:) putting the leg-pulling aside for a minute, i really would like to read one!
on May 06, 2012 at 04:27 PM
Burton Custom Flying V 156 with Custom EST bindings. Stats: 5 ft 7 in height, 145 pounds weight. Five days straight riding at Whistler Blackcomb Dec 2011, mainly hard-pack with some sketchy icy spots. See my other review of the Burton Custom X for comparison.
I was on this board after an almost 10 year break from snowboarding. It was also the first time to ride a non-camber board. I immediately noticed how easy it was to spin around on this board. This aspect is kinda fun. However, as soon as I hit an icy spot I also noticed how easy it was to lose the edge and end up on my ass. After a few days back in the saddle I began to get the feel, understand the edge hold limitations and then I had some fun. This board is plenty fast. From what I have read it would likely perform well in powder due to the hybrid rocker-camber style but on this trip I didn’t see any so I cannot comment. My previous board was a 150 cm so this was a significant size up for me. I did notice a certain lack of agility but couldn’t be sure if this was purely the board size or the fact I hadn’t been riding for so long or a bit of both. The board also felt a bit on the heavy side but again this might have related to the size (see my other review of the 152 Custom X - this is way lighter in weight). I enjoyed the easy adjustability of the channel binding system as well.
Bottom-line is that I would need to ride this board some more (and maybe in a different size) before making a conclusion. I definitely agree with many other reviews I have read that say the edge hold on the Flying V is a bit sketchy. Spins and riding switch are a breeze though.
on November 27, 2012 at 08:17 PM
Just pulled the trigger on the 2013 version of this beauty. Coming off three seasons of Lib T. Rice shredding i’ll soon be able to describe you on how exactly the edgehold measures up.
Just from looking at it I do not think that frostbite is even nearly pronounced enough to keep up with magne traction. Plus it is probably missplaced as well :)
But as 95% of dealing with ice is exactly not (!) about trying to hold it together with your edges, I do have my doubts on how important the discussion about edgehold of a rockered board is at all. But we’ll see, 5% combined with magne traction riding style might still bring some pain ;)
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