philw Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Burton changed their channel design again this year. Well everyone said it was broken when it was launched, and as they've changed it every year since perhaps they realize we were right. I'm not sure what all the changes are, but from the hard booter's perspective, it boils down to the fact that you can now use standard length 4x4 bolts to mount your disks on the board, as opposed to the longer bolts you needed with last year's version. The setup (thanks to Wiegele's Dustin for this), is simply to take the new black channel adapters and grind a few mm off the end, until you can mount your plates flush using standard bolts. We used a washer in there also, for good measure. Here's how it looks with a Joystick and my F2 race bindings, you can see the top of the ground-down insert in the hole on the right, and the standard bolt plus washer removed from there: original post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 easy fix: buy a board from someone else...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I was assuming that you'd not bother reading an "off topic" post clearly marked as being about Burton gear if you've no intention of riding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 easy fix: buy a board from someone else...? yeah, but, some of their stuff is mighty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Good post. I can see the use for this on a pow-stick, esp. the ability to move bindings back on the board at will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 I was assuming that you'd not bother reading an "off topic" post clearly marked as being about Burton gear if you've no intention of riding it. I was asking sincerely. Was wondering what makes this board so special that you would go to these lengths to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Interesting in that the bindings rely on only two screws for attachment. I love it when people tinker so close to the edge.Clearly the channel provides a huge footprint so you should be good to go ! You have my admiration.;) Lets se if you can come up with some isocline plate hardware for that board and you get a medal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Was wondering what makes this board so special that you would go to these lengths to use it. Costs to jailbreak Burton boards The whole process takes about 15 minutes. You have to drill four holes in the plates, and then grind the channel inserts down a few mm. In exchange for that one-off effort you "jailbreak" all of Burton's boards. Back in the day I had two sets of titanium F2 plates - one for 4x4 and one for 3D. This is now actually a better system as I have to carry less weight about at no loss. I'm specifically interested in powder boards, and Burton have perhaps the best range of any manufacturer, so you really are missing out on a significant amount of choice if you can't ride them. This was a problem with the early channel systems, hence for those of us in powder the ability to to this (and the same thing as posted last year with the previous generation channel) is important. Is it Strong Enough? Burton build quite a lot of snowboards and their warranties are the best I've come across. They give you 2-holes per foot (although you could put more in if you really wanted). I'd guess that a fat kid landing a big park kicker badly will stress these more than me, but it doesn't matter as they work just fine. I've ridden a lot of channel boards and none has shown the slightest problem. The Burton Joystick I've never any idea before riding a board if it's going to be "special" for me or not. In the case of the Joystick all I knew about it was that Jake rides it, but I don't admire his style much so that's a negative if anything. As it turned out this park board does rock in powder, with a couple of niggles. I'd no clue of that when I mounted my bindings on it. I don't have an image of me riding the Joystick, although it's in the second half of this GoPro video, and here's a review which covers most of what I thought of it. Whilst we're here here's a shot I just got of a completely different and surprisingly bad board (with permission: Certain Images Photography @ Wiegele's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'm just sharing my experience with the people who want to ride Burton channel boards. If you don't want to do that, my experience won't really help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Tinker on Phil ! My favorite post on BOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks for the info, and nice shot! There is a special place in my heart for Burton, but sadly I would have no reason to know much about their powder boards. Burton warranty has treated me very well in the past. Although I'm surprised Prior doesn't have an offering that would float your boat...? Or is there no distribution there? http://www.priorsnow.com/products/boards/freestyle-freeride-powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterGold Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I find the posts of philw always interesting. He brings in the "powder perspective" ... I have ridden various Burton powder boards and they all performed excellent. As I understand it, philw tests a lot of boards. They don´t have to be Burtons, but it is nice to be able to use them ;) ... On Tuesday I spent a whole day in powder on my Burton Stellar. This shape rocks in powder big time!!! So many nice details (flat, extra long, decambered nose; very soft flex in the nose (which gives extra lift if the snow presses against it); very smooth swallow tail construction; etc.). I also have a Burton Piranha at home and I have tried different Fish boards. All of those boards had excellent riding characteristics. And I don´t need to change anything as I ride softboots in powder :D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks for the Info Philw... I think I remember your first post on the Channel when it appeared and you were a bit perturbed about it... I was as well I must say. What did they do this for? leave things alone was fine with me... using one the first Channel models I nearly went into the trees on Aspen Mt. carrying some serious speed ( for Me ) when the Bolt snapped on the back foot channel and my foot spun out. I contacted Burton and told them the Diameter on the Bolt was crazy and that they needed to Beef it Up! They have done that now and I believe as you that Strength is really no longer an issue...as Warranty and to Calm my emotions they have sent me a New Board and 2 sets of Bindings. Powder is just Fine here and the Burtons through the years have never limited my ability to enjoy it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted January 12, 2012 Report Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'll always have a Fish in my quiver. It's the best board for trees I've ever ridden, and is just the most agile powder board. Once you ride it in those conditions, it'll suddenly click. I such a fan, I made my splitboard from one. So yeah, while I'm not happy about Burton's channel, I've accepted the fact I'll need to eventually use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I was definitely dismayed when Burton switched to the channel initially. 3D was nasty but at least usable. The early channel systems weren't. The last couple of years' changes have addressed that, although it must be a pain for people who bought the now obsolete systems... I almost like the current version. I would actually like it if you could bolt 4x4 to it without any work at all, because then it would be "4x4 compatible". Currently it's entirely tolerable. I was riding a Fish earlier this year - I like the different feel. I've not ridden last seasons' model or this though - they have been mucking around with them recently and they weren't all successful, I heard. The great thing is that it's rideable by beginners through experts alike. The Stellar - had a few days on one of those last year - video below (review). A killer board, with build quality which puts almost everything else I've ridden to shame. On the big side for me, but just what I needed in big/shallow angle days. I'm not an ST fan but that one's vestigial. I'm pleased that they're ridden by people who also ride slalom boards! Not for the feint of heart, needs to be ridden fast and with authority. I'd like to try the Fishcuit and the Baraccuda when I get the chance. Prior - easy enough to drop into the factory there. I have ridden the Khyber but wasn't excited by it. I looked at the Fissile the other week but picked the Trice instead: the Fissile looks more like a Stellar competitor and there wasn't that much snow to deal with. Prior's warranty policy is not what it could be. <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/18776312?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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