![]() A developmental offshoot of the soon-to-be-famed T6, the Vapor went the way of high-tech user-friendliness. Lightweight is the new black, and the aerospace-aged Vapor is a full one pound lighter than any other board in the Burton line. ![]() With so much going for it, the Custom X just might replace the original Custom as the best-selling snowboard in history.Īvailable lengths: 147, 152, 156, 158, 160, 164 Premium materials and a time-tested shape deliver-anywhere. ![]() Designed under the watchful eye of all-around rider Dave Downing, the X is made for shreds who know what they want. A couple of testers noted that the stance options were limited (the inserts weren’t wide enough), but it’s still as close to a quiver killer-one board that does everything-as any snowboard ever made. The result (all that really matters, right?) is an impressive strength-to-weight ratio, innate responsiveness, and a board feel worthy of the Custom label … and then some.ĭirectional in shape with a stance setback of 2.5 cmthe Custom X is as much a freeride board as it is a freestyle board. Lauded as the most sophisticated woodcore board on the market, the Custom X features high-end materials from top to bottom, literally-from the WFO sintered base to the ultramodern “lenticular inlay” topsheet graphics.The meat of it all is a Dragonfly core with over 500 independent lengths of lightweight wood that are laminated together in opposing directions, creating a sort of truss. Now in its third season, the “X” is like a traditional Custom (still available and in its tenth year) with aftermarket upgrades built into the package. Strong riders will appreciate this board and make more landings because of it.Īvailable lengths: 149, 153, 156, 159, 163, 166īurton’s Custom X is the latest reinvention of the most trusted model in snowboarding. ![]() Other features include a carbon fiber I-beam in the tail and four-layer fiberglass-both contribute to an aggressive (read: stiff) flex and mad pop off the tail. The trade-off: total stability at speed, on rails, and while landing tricks, for some responsiveness. The Alibi employs a twin progressive sidecut: basically, a tight radius near the contact points (the widest point of the tip and tail) gets progressively shallower-a larger radius-as it reaches the center of the board underfoot. Its stability made a big impression, and even Scott E., who noted the instability of most boards, called the Alibi “very stable.”īoard design is give and take, though, and some testers felt better turning was in order. “A great all-around board,” said John Miller. Since its origination five years ago (when Atomic first started making boards under the Atomic name), changes have been made to the cosmetics-check the topsheet’s argyle graphic-and the core design. It’s a sound philosophy, but that’s not to say the Alibi hasn’t adapted to the times. Chalk it up to a focus on quality products and years of board-making experience-like Marketing Manager Curt Hulst says: “If it works, why change it?” They’ll perform for you, too.įew boards achieve Good Wood status once during their life cycle, and Atomic’s Alibi is the only board in the history of our test to make the grade three times (in 2003 under the Syndicate name, as the Alibi in 2004, and 2006). The 2006 Board Test champs performed flawlessly for a variety of riders on all aspects of The Park at Bear Mountain. The intent here is to instill confidence in the buyers. To take it one step farther, our testers all enjoyed these boards in spite of their unique riding styles, and size and weight differences. Our service is to provide you with board choices equally adept throughout an entire terrain park-rails, kickers, and pipe. A quick note, none of the Board Test winners will be the highest performing halfpipe board money can buy, nor the most stable for landing 60-foot kickers. Our mission is to highlight the best all-around park boards for 2006. Most park boards are good today-the few that perform well everywhere are epic. Today, the difficulty in determining winning boards has become a much more intensive task. But board construction has evolved rapidly, and the bulk of current park sticks perform quite well. The strong stood out from the weak, and our board testers had it easy. At the time, many park boards stunk-there was a real need to distinguish gems from the junk. Five years ago TransWorld SNOWboarding created the Good Wood Board Test out of necessity.
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