Burton Supermodel

.../> Established in1977 a Jake Burton created ‘Burton Snowboards’ in Londonderry, Vermont, producing the first Burton board, the ‘Backhill’. Since then Burton has established itself as ‘the’ premier snowboard making company and has produced countless boards, and countless champions have ridden with Burton. The Supermodel is a model I picked up two years ago, since then Burton have discontinued production of this ...
...lurking at the back of board racks in some shops. I would especially recommend picking one up second hand provided it’s in good condition.

Before I go into reviewing the board, perhaps I’d better make clear the viewpoint from which I’m reviewing this product. I’ve been boarding for two years now. I’m 6 foot, and 13 stone. As far as my skill level goes, I’m still a relative beginner. No problems on ... more

On adrenaline of course! Burton’s Supermodel is one in their range of snowboards that can help deliver you beyond your boundaries of on and off piste snowboarding!

Established in1977 a Jake Burton created ‘Burton Snowboards’ in Londonderry, Vermont, producing the first Burton board, the ‘Backhill’. Since then Burton has established itself as ‘the’ premier snowboard making company and has produced countless boards, and countless champions have ridden with Burton. The Supermodel is a model I picked up two years ago, since then Burton have discontinued production of this board, however if you hunt around you can find them lurking at the back of board racks in some shops. I would especially recommend picking one up second hand provided it’s in good condition.

Before I go into reviewing the board, perhaps I’d better make clear the viewpoint from which I’m reviewing this product. I’ve been boarding for two years now. I’m 6 foot, and 13 stone. As far as my skill level goes, I’m still a relative beginner. No problems on the slopes or off piste, however, tricks in excess of the 180 and basic grabs usually result in me on my bum, board up, snow everywhere…

How she looks…

The top of the board is minimalist, mine being a grey/green colour with two grey parabolic stripes running from end to end. That’s it. On the underside however is emblazoned an intensely detailed drawing of a Queen upon a throne that towers from one end of the board to another. Its style is reminiscent of something you’d see on the front of a fantasy novel.

How she’s composed…

The board is made of layers of different materials squashed together. The base is made of plastic composite and has a steel edge. The steel edge provides a sharp edge on which the turns are made and also a heck of a lot more resilience to damage. The top layer of the board is fibreglass, which is light and durable. Sandwiched in-between the board is the most important middle layer, which is made of wood. Wooden cores provide more flexibility in the board than any other material. Boards without a wooden core are more liable to snap when you land jumps or fall over, as I do regularly..

The base is soft and pretty susceptible to gouges when you’re flying over rocks under thin snow…
The top is pretty resilient, I’ve managed to come out of head on collisions with trees with only a minor chips in the board, which is very good. My friends have broken boards doing far less! However I’ve noticed that it’s slightly susceptible to losing its laminate edge after a few scrapes…

The board was pretty flat when I got it, but don’t worry, this doesn’t mean it has poor flexibility. (Boards with good flexibility are usually banana shaped. In other words, if you lay a board on the floor, only the ends will touch the floor, the centre of the board arching off the ground.) After checking out a few other supermodels other than my own, I found out they too were flat-ish, and their riders boasted of their flexibility, as do I now that I’ve used the board.

How she performs…

~ On Piste ~
The base is very slick, it’s also on the thin side of medium-width, and packs a low weight, which means this board blazes down runs provided the snow is good and tough. As I’m not too heavy, the board is pretty stiff, which means its pretty stable during turns. Which in turn means you’ll seldom be thrown of balance by imperfections in snow or patches of ice. Heavier guys may find it a touch soft, but nothing to cause any annoyance. The middle of the board is soft and easy to attune, and combined with the contours of the board, it carves like a knife through butter, (carving is a term used to describe the long sweeping arcs that snowboarders make when going down slopes) usually… You see the front of the board is marginally longer than the rear of the board and so when carving fast, the back may slide out, leaving you flat on your back in a flash! However this problem is solved by experience with the board and rarely occurs with me now. So on the whole, with respect to carving with this board, its nice and progressive, stable, great for quick turns and even better for carving.

~ Off Piste ~
It’s a medium width board (wider ones displace weight more so go faster on soft powder snow, thinner ones are faster on harder snow or ice), so it’s good all-round.
As the rear is shorter than the front, it makes taking this board onto powder as easy as a walk in the park! (Powder is deep soft snow found off piste). As riding through powder is done by shifting your weight onto your back foot, elevating the front of the board, the reduced length of the rear end eases this somewhat, and will see you go that little bit further than your friends on soft snow. Of course being a light board helps too.

Being a carving board it’s pretty long, and at 163 centimetres, its going to be pretty tough to take this one on the half pipe and pull any big spins. Of course because of its weight and speed, great height can be gained of jumps, and so grabs and simple spins should be well within a good riders grasp. Landing is on the whole good also, the Supermodel seems to find its ‘feet’ securely after each jump, its own stability pervading through any of lack thereof in the rider.

Overall…

In short, this board is built for high speed and carving. It’s a board to take out on the slopes with your friends, a board that’ll take you anywhere on the mountain and ensure a breathtaking ride. Purchase of this board will offer the tool necessary for progression to the next stage as a rider.
 

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