So this last Saturday was the opening day for our hill. During our rest stops (or when I had to stop and wait for my much slower friends) I would take a look around and check out what everybody was riding/wearing this year. I kept kind of a mental note and came up with some pretty interesting results.
It seems like all I ever hear is everybody hates Burton because they are the "top dog" of the snowboarding scene. Well from what I saw on the hill it doesen't seem that way. I would say at least 30-40% of the hill was riding K2/Ride boards. I also saw a bunch of Never Summer boards. Other companies that had good showings were Forum and Lib Tech. Even Rome had more boards then Burton. I only saw just a handfull of people on Burton boards.
As for the jackets/pants of what people were wearing, Burton severely lacked in that department too. I saw a ton of 686 and Sessions. Northface had a good showing also. Once again I only saw a handfull of people sporting Burton gear.
So with all this being said I don't see how Burton can be the top dog anymore. If I was a newbie snowboarder and just looking around I would think that Burton is one of the least popular brands. If anything it looks like K2/Ride is taking over the scene.
Is it that people have wised up to Burton? Are people no longer going to pay ridiculas prices for equipment when they can go with a different company and get just as good of equipment for a fracton of the price?
The next time you are on your hill take a look around and keep a mental note of what you see. I am wondering if it is like this everywhere? And if so, I don't understand how Burton can still be the "top dog"...
Comments on what you think....
It seems like all I ever hear is everybody hates Burton because they are the "top dog" of the snowboarding scene. Well from what I saw on the hill it doesen't seem that way. I would say at least 30-40% of the hill was riding K2/Ride boards. I also saw a bunch of Never Summer boards. Other companies that had good showings were Forum and Lib Tech. Even Rome had more boards then Burton. I only saw just a handfull of people on Burton boards.
As for the jackets/pants of what people were wearing, Burton severely lacked in that department too. I saw a ton of 686 and Sessions. Northface had a good showing also. Once again I only saw a handfull of people sporting Burton gear.
So with all this being said I don't see how Burton can be the top dog anymore. If I was a newbie snowboarder and just looking around I would think that Burton is one of the least popular brands. If anything it looks like K2/Ride is taking over the scene.
Is it that people have wised up to Burton? Are people no longer going to pay ridiculas prices for equipment when they can go with a different company and get just as good of equipment for a fracton of the price?
The next time you are on your hill take a look around and keep a mental note of what you see. I am wondering if it is like this everywhere? And if so, I don't understand how Burton can still be the "top dog"...
Comments on what you think....