Snowboard Review: 08-09 Burton Uninc

Location: Loveland, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Snowing with hardpacked groomers to icy groomers to fresh snow on the runs.

Setup: I rode the Burton Uninc with Burton Escapades EST and my Vans Omni Focus size 8.

First Impression: This isn’t the same uninc from last year.

Size: 155cm

Weight: lighter side of average.

Flex: Despite it being labeled as a park board, I like the directional flex it offers up making it rideable anywhere on the mountain. From previous years, I thought it stiffened up the flex a bit making it a more stable. I found it a little harder to press than the tail than last years uninc.

Turning: Riding the uninc is predictable and smooth and I had no problems with initiating a turn and holding it through the arc whether it was a short radius turn or long radius. It’s a consistent ride and that’s regular and switch. I’ll say one thing, I like riding the ICS boards and the EST bindings and that connected feeling during riding. With the combo of the escapades and the uninc, I had quick response and smooth easy riding on the conditions.

Stable: The uninc handles the whole mountain. By the time I got on it, it was getting icy on the runs and I had no problems with holding an edge on the uninc. It’s one of the few boards that I always feel confident riding it, because it won’t surprise me in the ride…it’s stable but fun to ride. I had no problem with holding an edge through the choppy crud and through little bits of powder left on the runs.

Pop: No problems popping off the tail and one of the fewer boards that I spent more time ollie’ing with.

Switch: I had no problems riding switch on the uninc, I thought the flex would make it different but I honestly didn’t notice a difference when I took to switch.

Overall Impression: I would have liked to ride the 159cm versus the 155cm but I still felt fine on the smaller size for me. I noticed the change in flex from last years right away, still a fun board but just a tad stiffer and new shape in the nose and tail. I’m guessing on a powder day it’ll come in handy, but I didn’t deal with any powder more than 1 inch so I didn’t notice a difference.

Shay’s Honesty Box: I was bummed that the uninc had changed from last year, I really think last years was such a fun do everything board and so this years was kind of a letdown for me just because I really liked last years. It’s still a good board but for me preference, last years was more my style.