Snowboard Review: 08-09 Burton Feelgood ES

Location: Loveland, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Bluebird with hardpacked groomers to icy groomers.

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

First Impression: Why is the biggest size 155cm? A 157cm would have been sweet.

Size: 155cm

Weight: lighter than average

Flex: It’s a stiffer flex for a women’s board but it’s meant to be that more freeride charging board versus the take it easy progressive feelgood. Longitudinally and torsional has decent stiffness to it, more so longitudinally.

Turning: The plus was the lightness, easy to manuever from edge to edge and you could hold an edge and power through turns. It was fun just carving down the groomers, at slow or high speeds. The stiffer flex lets it hold an edge and not come out of turns easy keeping them stable but slower. You could spend all day laying out S carves on the Feelgood ES.

Stable: The Feelgood ES had no problems with being unstable, on the groomers it could charge regular or switch riding. Even in the icy spots, it held an edge and you didn’t have to worry about washing out in icy turns.

Pop: Didn’t play with the pop at all…was too busy carving with it.

Switch: It rode the same switch as it did regular, which was great for switching it up during runs…no need to get used to it for the first couple turns.

Overall Impression: Last springs I rode the 08-09 feelgood and need to ride it again to review it but it was a good progressive board and the Feelgood ES is the next level up for women giving that level of progression from intermediate to advanced in handling the whole mountain.

Shay’s Honesty Box: The men have the Custom and Custom X, the women have the Feelgood and Feelgood ES. They are on the same playing field. By that I mean…just because you are riding a women’s board doesn’t make it any less of a board than the men’s.