# Help - Burton beginner board?



## Rasmusmadsen (Sep 13, 2017)

Hi!

I have searched online, read guides and asked some friends. But I have honestly become much more confused by it!

I really want to learn how to snowboard (i am a beginner). But want my own board and it's gonna be a burton 

Every time I read / hear people go on several things (many times the same), but when I look at Burton's page, I can not find anything that matches correctly.

Is there any people who can help me with some specific links/boards I can use as a beginner?
Thank you!


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## law2ence (Sep 11, 2017)

What kind of snowboarder are you? Do you like to just ride through the slopes or do tricks in the park?

The Burton Custom is a great board to start out with. They have two types: Burton Custom and Burton Custom Flying V. To put it simply, Burton Custom (camber) is better for riding and Custom Flying V (rocker) for tricks. I'd say go with the one that suits your riding style the most.

I can't post links yet since I don't have enough posts, but you can start off looking at reviews from Whitelines. Just type Burton Custom review in Google and it should come up.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Welcome Ras,

It really doesn't matter what board, cause you don't know due to being a beginner. Any board will work. What is more important are a good fitting pair of boots, taking lessons and putting time on the hill/snow. 

Want a board...beg, barrow or buy a used one to save money for the above more important things of boots, lessons and time on the snow.
Find a board in which your weight is in the mid range of the boards stated weight range.

If you need more specifics...we will need to know your weight and foot size. Also where (the hill) you will be riding....because the hill has a huge influence in your riding...you are what you ride.


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## BuckarooBanzai (Feb 2, 2017)

After finally getting my ACL replaced, I learned how to snowboard last year. I'll quickly go over my progression/thoughts... this will vary for each person obviously.

First, I'm 42 and used to skateboard in my teens. Back then popping ollies over shit and cruising around was the norm. I bought a Sector 9 longboard when I lived in Hermosa Beach about 8 years ago to be able to cruise home drunk on the Strand. In a nutshell, I have decent balance on a moving plank of wood, but nothing beyond average. I skied a little in my teens as well. I now reside in New England... so icy conditions are something to expect.

I took a 3 hour private lesson (two back-to-backs) at a local hill my first time out. The board was a RCR. The first 90 minutes I was eating it and then all of a sudden it clicked. For me I was trying to force the board around too much with my waist/upper body... which basically made me catch an edge. Once my mind figured out how to use the legs and "ankles" to control things it clicked. The following 90 minutes I spent riding top-to-bottom with the instructor on every trail they had. Each run I got more comfortable with stopping, turning tighter/wider, etc. He was a great instructor...super visual (would draw lines in the snow how I was going down and working with me about working my angles and turns differently based on the fall line). So basically, I was snowboarding in half a day.

Went to a larger local hill the second time. The board was also a Rossi RCR (see pattern). Did pretty good. Was happy with how I was progressing.

Third time I tackled Stowe. The board was a Burton Custom. They said normally they put people on the Process Flying V, but it was icy enough that day where they were pushing people to the Custom. I really liked it, but man did it make me pay if I was mentally not 100% on it. Spent the first half the day on that and was kinda bummed... felt I took a step back. I was doing OK, but it wasn't as fun for me. After lunch I went to the Burton Demo Center on Mansfield and they had pretty much the whole Burton range to try. Based on my feedback they told me I should check out the Namedropper. Holy shit. One run in and I fell in love. I was grinning ear to ear the entire rest of the day and the following morning. I found a board that I could progress on and just felt right for me. I bought a full setup that afternoon. I figured it was silly to keep jumping on a different board each time I went out... I found something I loved. The deals were absolutely insane too.

I went out a couple more times before the season ended and I keep progressing. Super happy with my decision.

So, if you live in New England, I'd def go with a RCR, full camber or more flat profile like mine. With Burton, your options are limited. A ton of people will recommend the Custom... for good reason... it's a great board. It's full camber, which will prob make your progression a little slower, but you will be rewarded with better technique in the long run. I would definitely look at a Namedropper though too... a little more forgiving being flat with rocker tip/tail and softer... but torsionally it's stiff enough to handle sloppy conditions and not flop around. For me, I'm not looking for speed runs. I never heard of it until they showed it to me, and after reading reviews and stuff about it afterwards I was shocked how well it was liked by those who tested it. It's a total sleeper.

As others have mentioned... boots are key. Read through the boot fit thread here... and even post a pic of your foot. It helped me a ton to know what to "look" for when I bought my own pair. It's pretty awesome when you can ride all day and not be in pain from hotspots and stuff.


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## kriegs13 (Nov 28, 2016)

Any reason it has to be a Burton? Nothing wrong with them, but if you broaden your options, you will be able to find a solid board on the cheap in no time around these parts.

And yes, worry more about getting your boots first. Look for a soft to medium flex to start out and try on as many pairs as you can. make sure the fit is right. Spend what you need to on the boots. As it'll be your first time buying boots; check out the wired thread on here for sizing tips and try to get in to a shop with someone who knows whats up and have them work with you on fitting. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS. and don't get what feels "comfortable" right off.


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## silentbob (Sep 1, 2017)

My first board was a Burton Process off-axis 2015.
I started snowboarding with 3 other friends (they had different boards), all of us loved the off-axis because it was really easy to gain confidence.
Pros: Stable in high speed, easy to pop, hard to catch an edge.
Cons: none that I can think of for a beginner.


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## Geologyography (Sep 14, 2017)

I agree with Law up there. My first board was a Burton Custom and my 2nd board was my older brothers' Custom. It's a great all mountain board that helped me learn the fundamentals and get my riding legs. As a beginner you really just want to learn how to carve, stop, turn to a point where it looks nice and you feel comfortable doing it. As you get better and try more terrain on the mountain you can determine what you want to do on the mountain and get a board catered to that. For now go with an all-mountain board and learn the fundamentals, for me the Custom was a great board for that.


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## Jonny C (Mar 16, 2017)

My 2 cents:
First identify the type of conditions (type of snow) you will snowboard more often.
If you have mainly good condition snow, you can look at V-rocker, or Flying V boards.
If you have a lot of days that the snow is hard or has a lot of bumps etc, I would look only at Flying V boards.
Camber boards will make your life harder as a beginner because you can catch an edge really easy and that can make you less confident when riding. You have to choose something that will let you extremely confident while riding so that you can progress faster.
Any board you choose, you should not have a flex greater than 5.

For good condition snow, you can check the Burton Clash. The only problem with this board is the lack of grip in harder snow. Its a beginner's freeride board.
If you want a more all rounder, check the Burton Process Flying V. This is more a all mountain board.

Put some Mission or Custom EST bindings on the board and you will be ready to go.
A setup like this will allow you to have a board during your beginner / intermediate days.

Have fun


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## Paul Lower (Oct 1, 2017)

Mostly anything at the shorter end of the spectrum, with fairly soft torsional flex with make it easier to learn on. So that's basically park/freestyle type boards. 
And by the time you'll be able to get more from a stiffer board, you'll be able to feel the differences yourself and be able to judge what to 'upgrade' to and can probably keep the first board as dedicated park/freestyle board. 
I rode a NS Evo from my second week which is a softer park oriented board and immediately the board just 'got out of the way' and let me focus on progressing. For sure the CRC profile saved me from some edge catches in the first few weeks. But the real key was that soft flex allows you much easier control the edges and learn about the inputs from your feet. People make a big deal about edge hold, etc of different boards and profiles but in reality it's much more a factor of technique(especially pressure management) and keeping your edges in good shape than anything else. Regardless of the board you go for, get good training, learn how to really control the board properly(as I say, softer torsional flex helps a lot with this) and you won't have to rely on any future board's tech to fill in the gaps in your technique down the road.


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## MrNiceGuy (Feb 4, 2016)

I started with the Custom Flying V, it was pretty forgiving and easy to turn.


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Go old school and learn on a camber board. Then when you get a flying V or softer profile, it's easy to adjust.

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