2009/10 Burton Supermodel - Shred Labs Board Test

The Burton Supermodel is one of those boards that everyone has heard about, its been around for a long time. However, I'm not certain a whole lot of people have actually ridden it... I decided to take her for a ride and see how she felt (wow, apparently I'm just as dirty as I am polite...)

  • Location: Mont Cascades, Cantley, Quebec, Canada
  • Snow Conditions: We hadn't received much in the form of precipitation since some freezing rain a week or so before the test. The slopes were hard packed with some loose groomer snow on the surface.
  • Rider: Dana
    • Height: 5' 10"
    • Weight: 175 lbs
    • Boot Size: 10.5 (US)
  • Setup:
    • 2009/10 Burton Supermodel, 159
    • 2009/10 Burton Cartel EST bindings (M): 19 degrees front, -9 degrees back, 27 inches wide.
    • 2008/09 Burton SLX Boot

First Impression

My first impression of the Supermodel was red. This board is very... red. Decently lightweight, graphics were pretty flashy, looks like you are riding on a lava board or something. The Supermodel looks like your average traditional snowboard.

Construction

The Supermodel is pressed in Canada (near Cowansville Quebec), which is a huge eco-bonus for us Canadians, the board won't be travelling very far from the factory to under my feet.

Tech

  • Dual Zone EGD: The wood grain is positioned along the toe and heel side edges, perpendicular to the rest of the wood core, this adds strength and gives superior edge hold.
  • Pro-Tip: The thickness of the tip and tail of the snowboard is tapered which is supposed to ofer a better swing weight and more playful flex in the tip and tail. I didn't really notice the more playful flex, but the swing weight was pretty good.

Cost: At 559.95USD, the Supermodel is a fair priced solid, all around freeride board.

The Ride

Beginner/Intermediate Turns: Turns were pretty easy to initiate with this board. The stiffer flex made the board rather stable, however a little harder to manoeuver than your standard freestyle deck. This board would be ideal for a heavier beginner who is looking for a solid all around freeride board that should last a long while.

Advanced Slider Turns: Being a traditional cambered board, I found the Supermodel to deliver a lot more performance in short radius turns than any rocker board. The Supermodel is also quite snappy, which makes the quick edge transfers really easy and fast.

Carving: Carving was pretty natural on the Supermodel. This board was pretty much built for freeriding and carving. Getting on edge was really easy, and keeping the board on the edge was effortless. Throwing some hard carves was no challenge on the Supermodel, euro-style carves were pretty awesome!

Switch: Riding switch didn't feel unnatural at all; many freeride boards feel kind of weird when going backwards, but not the Supermodel. The twin flex probably came into play to help keep the feel consistent from regular to switch. However, I wouldn't mistake this board for a true-twin board.

Park: The Supermodel isn't really your jib slayer, its pretty stiff and pressing on boxes wasn't really it's strong suit at all. However, having a stiffer flex means bigger jumps are smoother! I also found the spin weight of the board to be really good, probably attributable to the pro-tip shape. When I tried to spin 5s on the jump, I found myself over rotating and getting 7s around. This really surprised me, and made me really happy! However, I did notice that I was catching my edges on the landings, pretty much at the same spot each time, a downside of having a stiffer cambered board.

Overall

The Supermodel is a great traditional cambered freeride board. I would feel confident throwing some turns on any terrain, especially steeps. Although Marc's speed test didn't go so well due to punter ski patrollers being in the way, I'm pretty sure the board would feel great at high speeds. This isn't your park slayer board, however spinning on bigger jumps would probably be pretty dang fun, especially cause you can pick up some solid pace without any sketchyness like those squirrely freestyle noodles. I found this board to be a refreshing ride, making me really enjoy the traditional cambered board once again, the high performance is quite addictive, and I love euro-carves!

license: 
Creative Commons Licence