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When I used to work in a shop the Burton Rep told us that the high end stuff was made in Austria because the Chinese don't really get the whole copywrite/ patent thing and if they made their high end stuff there it would end up getting ripped off.

A lot of people like to rip on Burton, but they generally make good product and they have driven the sport to a level where the products as a whole are really good and it garners a lot of attention. Most of that attention goes to an aspect of the sport most of us don't pursue- Half Pipe, rails- but the money drawn by those aspects goes in to improving the gear the rest of us use, making better outer wear, better gloves, better boots, better bindings, and better boards. Snowboarding is about having fun, and if you forget that, you are doing it wrong. So let the groms have the park and pipe, it just means more fresh for you and me.

no worries..like I said, rumor.

don't know who is making apparel in the US anymore. My point is that the catalog was big on the 'support local snowboarding' in it and they're not doing much locally let alone in the US.
Fly Low Gear? maybe. Cloudveil?

I do have to say, my Malolo has been my go to board for 2 seasons and held up pretty good so far, even though I had to butcher some old flows to make em work with the channel

If I can swing a new board this season, I was looking at the notch 64 or the Jones Hovercraft. I'm a big guy and I'm not sure about the hovercraft but bummed to hear your take on the sidewalls on the rome. I can beat a board pretty good.

alright, time to go to the bar. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Switchback

switchback! where in VT are you? Im originally from milton, grew up riding smuggs, my dad still skis up there on a regular basis.

livin the life as a Bolton Bushwhacker...

mmm switchback BROWN ALE last night, new.

yeah, i'm over burton and their shenanigans, the only thing i will ever buy from them again is bindings

My S-Series (162) is going up for sale, all parts/skins/bindings ($450). It's been a good board, but I'm hooked on rocker and looking for more float with less weight/length for this season. Was excited about the Freebird because of rocker and hopefully tighter tolernaces, a better pic is in last months Backcountry Mag, but do believe in keeping it local.

Although, I've found the Burton AK outerwareto be the most functional snowboard/spiltboarding outerware I've used yet. I'd consider a US manufacturer if there was one that was making outerware on the same level as the AK line.

So, not to threadjack, BUT Never Summer hand builds their boards in Denver using 100% of its materials from US or Canada (wood core is the only part from Canada, and they just buy blocks to make several wood cores out of)- no bullshit, I've toured their factory. Also Venture is built in Silverton using NA materials, and is even solar/wind powered for a greener foot print.

Buying local isn't that hard.

Yeah, Lib-Tech and GNU are made in WA, Unity, Never summer, and Venture are made in CO. And i'm positive that's not the end of the list of local dealers.

But they do list the Freebird on the Burton site now, as "Coming Soon." And it got mentioned in Backcountry Mag. Still not supporting Burton anymore. They used to be an awesome, creative company. Now they seem to be all about following trends, letting smaller companies take the risks with creative concepts, and then stamping out their own version under a different name if it works. Plus, they're not very environmentally friendly, which to me is a big concern. Not that all of my gear is environmentally friendly, but all my boards come from eco-conscious companies, which is important to me.

Listing at $599 I would say it's pretty cheap.

I like how the split is in the center of the catalog. So you can't tell if it's a split, or the pages are just meeting at the center of it. I think that's lame and misleading, but then again we are dealing with Burton who just sort of makes a lot of random comments and is never really clear about the intended use of their products. Personally, I hate that shit, but that's just me.

Anyone here except Kyle actually have and riding this board? Seems like a great board at a great price. However, most of the factory splits seem like great boards, but I don't seem to be able to part with $800 (Unity & Jones), $900 (Venture) or $1000 (NS). My DIY board seems to be holding up good so far. Too much of a cheap-o I guess (I prefer thrifty , at least this is what I keep telling my wife ).

I'm pretty sure they won't be available for a few more weeks.

I talked to the European rep yesterday and they told me I wont get my board until dec 27th.......

Tired of waiting..

Westcom outerwear/layering made in North America.