_REVIEWS2008-2009_BOARDS

Snowboard Review: 08-09 Burton Eco Nico

2008-2009 Burton Eco-Nico

Location: Loveland, Colorado

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

Setup: I rode the Burton Eco-nico with Burton Escapade bindings and my Vans Omni Focus size 8.

First Impression: It looks sweet, lets see how the green ride is.

Size: 156cm

Weight: average

Flex: It’s just a tad less stiff than the Custom X but with a similiar shape. Definitely felt heavier than the custom x I have rode previously. I was surprised that the tail was stiffer than I expected, harder to butter on the board. Overall, less stiff torsionally with a stiffer longitudinal flex.

Turning: Definitely a charger board, but held a good arc for turning. You could lay it on edge, with the more aggressive sidecut I got a quick response on turns. I didn’t need to put as much effort into each turn and let the board do the work while staying stable and in control.

Stable: For hauling fast on and just bombing runs with, I had a lot of fun on the board. Very stable ride on the groomers. The only time I felt it wasn’t stable was on really icy conditions, it wasn’t as grippy as other boards I had rode by Burton during the demos.

Pop: I wouldn’t have used this board for tricks, it didn’t have a lot of noticeable pop and it wasn’t easy to press/butter with.

Switch: Directional feel, I wouldn’t ride switch with it that often and just did a couple small turns with it switch.

Powder: I took it in a couple smaller powder spots but nothing to really judge it on.

Overall Impression: Really I can compare it a lot to the custom x, similiar ride to that board but not as light and I think the custom x handles ice a lot better. Overall the board was a good ride but the main draw is the environmentally friendly part of the board. I think it still could use work, to make it better and as good as the Custom X.

I honestly didn’t take note of the base but I didn’t notice it being any faster or slower than the other boards of the day.

Shay’s Honesty Box: I wanna go ride this board for 09-10 to see how it is improved upon…for the first year it’s a good green board for charging but I’d like to see it become even better.

On-Snow Photos