Burton Custom vs. Burton Custom X

Burton is a company founded in 1977 that builds and manufactures snowboards. The Custom snowboards are a series of boards designed for flexibility and strength. They are made for the beginner to the intermediate snowboarder. The Custom X snowboards are a similar line of boards, but are made with better materials and an upgraded design. Custom X boards are created for intermediate to professional snowboarders.

The Bend

Both boards are made with a traditional camber design. Camber refers to the convex rise of the board off the two contact points. This gives the board its spring and pop as the camber is flexed under the snowboarder's weight. Camber distributes the weight of the snowboarder evenly across the entire length of the board, giving the rider more stability and control. Burton Custom and Custom X boards have two contact points, one on each end of the board, with the camber rise in the middle. These boards are both good for jumping, because they have the pop created from the weight of the snowboarder on the camber rise.

Terrain and Personality

Both boards are created for all different kinds of terrain, including backcountry. However, the Custom X boards are stronger and have more spring, thus being more fit for rougher terrains then the Custom boards. The Custom X boards also are designed for speed, while the Custom boards are designed to have a middle ground between hard and fast and soft and playful.

Flex and Shape

Both boards feature twin flex, which means the flex is symmetrical lengthwise down the board. This makes the board more versatile, depending on what you want to do with it. Both boards also have a directional shape, which means that the nose is slightly longer than the tail. This gives the board more pop and also allows it to ride smoother over rough terrain. Both boards also come in wider sizes for bigger feet.

Materials

The Custom snowboards have a Super Fly II Core, which is made out of light, strong wood. They also have Dualzone EGD, which means the grain of the wood at the toe and heel edges of the board runs perpendicular to the grain in the center of the board. This gives the board more edge hold. The base is made out of sintered WFO, which is a highly-dense, sintered material infused with wax. It has 45-degree carbon highlights, which give it a more aggressive ride, as well as make it stronger and lighter. The sidewalls are frostbite edges, which extend slightly out from the bindings and provide more grip to the edges on icy surfaces. The Custom X also has frostbite edges, a sintered WFO base and 45-degree carbon highlights. However, the edges are made of stainless steel and the carbon highlights have added strands for extra strength and durability. It has a Dragonfly core, which means it has over 500 individual laminations meant to reduce weight and increase the strength and flexibility of the board. Instead of having Dualzone EGD, it is Multizone. This means that instead of having two sections of perpendicular wood, it has four, increasing edge control.