Zipnugget

I don't know why they get compared so much, but I assumed it's because the technology on the Antler is Burton's fancy stuff. It's one of the their high-end boards. I don't think anyone's saying it's going to ride like the X, but it's light almost like the X. At least, I don't see how it could ride anything like the X.

On their website I think they say it's between the Joystick and the X.

Lamps

I also spoke to a salesguy about this board, he says that it is the former X8, which I wasn't familiar with.

In addition he said that the flying V is a shallower V profile than the Sherlock so it's less squirrelly on hardpack/flats, a trait that I see in my Sherlock.

Zipnugget

I don't think it can be exactly the X8. The Antler is directional and a few years later, and the marketing is pretty different. Unless it's just the X8.

cd21

this is one of the boards I'm thinking of demoing

Zipnugget

I didn't feel like waiting until Saturday, so I blew off work tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. The weather isn't supposed to be great but hopefully it's not too bad.

Here's the board:



I'll report back for whoever is interested.

JHeagz

Sweeeeeeeeetness!

Zipnugget

So I took my new Antler out to Sunshine Village today, near Banff, Alberta. Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort in Banff (Alberta) Canada - Banff (Alberta). Conditions are amazing for November, but still pretty sketchy. The cool thing was that I was worried about this board on hard packed snow and groomers so I got plenty of that to try out. The snow was okay, but not great. I'm going out again Saturday and it's snowing right now and supposedly all day tomorrow so I might get to try it in a bit of powder.

The board is a 157.5. I'm 5'11", 163 lbs. It has Burton EST Genesis bindings on it. I wear Burton Ambush boots that are also new (I redid my whole setup this year).

I want someone else here to buy and review this board, because it's not what I expected. I was expecting something really soft and bendy. It actually seems pretty stiff to me. It's surprisingly similar to the 2008 Custom that I'm replacing, to me.

It handled itself super well on steep sections with poor snow. I never felt out of control. It was really great in the trees, and in tight narrow sections. It's a little more forgiving than the Custom when I'd land switch, and landing jumps always felt super stable to me. It also ollies really nicely. It seems to have some pop to it. I felt like I could ollie pretty high with normal effort. I started enjoying that. I found myself ollieing crap just because it was easy to.

The board is not fast. The guy I was with rode a 163 Arbor and I'd be hammering it hard to catch up and he'd be carving and I wouldn't catch up. I like this about it. I like playing around on the hill and I don't need to go fast. Usually I'm the guy waiting for people so it's cool to slow down a bit.

I was hoping it would feel a lot lighter, but it doesn't. My buddy's Arbor felt about the same weight. So if one of the boards was lighter, it wasn't easy to tell.

So I like the board a lot, but it wasn't some magic awesome thing that changed everything. I thought it would be more different than my Custom. I predict I'm going to really like it in the park, but I won't get a chance to try it there for a few more weeks.

I'd like to hear someone demo it against a few other Burtons to see how it compares. I think it might really come alive in powder because it's obviously a rocker board but doesn't feel like it to me.

So in the end I can't really say if I'd recommend it or not. It's a pretty expensive board and I paid full price. I like it and I'm going to ride it a ton. After this Saturday I'm going out next week and then again on the 18th so I should get it figured out pretty good.

braden717

I'm willing to bet it felt stiff because you are 160 lbs and got a 157.

Zipnugget

I was wondering if that might be the case. Are saying there's not enough board to handle my weight and that if I want softer I should have gone with the 160? The weight range for the 157.5 is 135-175.

Or are you saying I'm not heavy enough to cause it to squish?

Zipnugget

I was just closing tabs on my browser and I saw this text describing the Antler in a review:

Imagine a Burton Custom X with more drivability. Now imagine a Burton Joystick with more torque. What you’ve just imagined is the Burton Antler. Yes it’s limits can be push beyond where you think you can push them. The 60° Carbon Highlights Hi-Voltage give it a more playful pop than the aggressive 45° that the Custom X has.

I think that's actually a perfect description. This board is a super forgiving Custom X. It was aggressive enough that I never felt like it couldn't handle the steep hairy stuff. I think it might be the perfect board for how I ride. My big worry was that it wouldn't be aggressive enough keeping up with the people I ride with but that's not going to be a problem.