Palmer Burn Snowboard Review by The Good Ride
Board Tested 160
Bindings Used- Burton C60, Burton Cartels, Burton Co2's with Team High Backs and Union Force
Days on the board- 4
Riders on it- 2
The Palmer Burn is a board that isn't sold in many places and it is a shame. If you are looking for a fast camber park board this should be strongly considered. It won a good wood award in the past for a reason and we were very pleased with the overall performance with this board. For 2011 the Palmer Burn added hybrid camber to keep up with the Jones'. It still has many of the qualities of camber but the new shape
Groomers- Really Fun on the groomers. It is fast and fun to tear down a groomed run.
Powder- With the centered stance it doesn't help with setting back your stance. It does have a bigger nose than a tail but we felt this to be just average in powder. If you get into the deep stuff you will have rear leg burn and the possibility of getting stuck in the flats.
Turn Initiation- It really is fun to turn for such a parky board. Palmer did use a lot of tech from their freeride side to make this board more fun to turn. It takes some work but really makes it fun to lay into a carve or throw out some quick turns. It had a very playful feel that made the quick turning just as much fun as laying into a deep turn.
Speed- This board is fast for a park board and can straight line just about anything without sketching you out. We didn't have balls big enough to take this board past it's comfort point.
Lightweight- It is a pretty light board but its not going to break any records but it won't be painful to let hang off the chair.
Edge Hold- Palmer is known for it's edge hold so we were surprised to find out that it did not hold an edge as well as other boards we rode on hard pack that day. Don't get us wrong. It didn't ever wash out when we hit a hard patch but it didn't have that non-slip grip like some other boards did. We feel that after full season the rails will need a lot more sharpening than other boards might. Even though the edge hold isn't a 5 it's still right up there and will perform really well in most conditions.
Stiffness- It has a smooth medium/stiff flex torsionally and longitudinally. It sits more on the all mountain side than the freestyle side. The nose and tail do have a little less stiffness due to the Honeycomb which makes it more park friendly.
Jibbing- Fun to jib around the mountain or in the park but if this is your game there are better boards. The nose and tail have some honeycomb in there that makes it a little more friendly jibbing around the mountain or Park.
Switch- The twinish shape and centered stance makes it pretty easy to ride switch but it isn't as much fun as a true twin or even a directional twin. That being said it handles pretty well and after a while you will get use to the differences.
Rails/Boxes- It's so tough on the board that we at The Good Ride are always afraid to ruin the board. That is why we always tread lightly in the park with boards that we aren't going to keep. Sorry but we haven't hit it big enough yet to wreck a board. That being said you can hit em with the Burn but it won't be the best experience ever with this board. It's a little too stiff for the big rails and hits. Smaller Rails and Boxes will be ok but if you want to or are a rail specialist then this isn't your board.
Pipe- This will climb an icy pipe wall and perform very well. If the edge hold was a little better this board would receive a 5. That being said this could still be a great full time pipe board.
Jumps- This board Has the speed to hit any size kicker and has enough strength and resiliency in the tip and tail to pull it off. If this was a directional twin we would probably give this a 5 or 4.75 instead.
Overall this board really impressed us. Due to it's lack of availability we thought something might of happened to this board since its award winning year but we were wrong. It's just as good or better than it use to be. If you want a good cambered all mountain board and probably at a very good price then go for it.
The Good Ride Take on Hybrid Camber
For the most part there are two types of hybrid camber that we see out there these days.
1. Mostly Rocker Hybrid Camber
This type of ride, like many boards, has camber and rocker but unlike other rockered boards the center has a mini camber. This is usually 1-3mm high, sits only between the bindings and then curves up right after. From a distance this board looks like a rocker board but when you look closer you see the little camber between the feet. This is not as loose as hybrid rocker but it’s very close. It is very stable between the feet and easy to one foot or flat base in any condition out there. Mostly Rocker Hybrid Camber is very versatile. You will see this design on anything from Freestyle to Freeride style snowboards. This will work well with all ability levels and riding styles.
2 Mostly Camber Hybrid Camber
There are all types of designs but this type usually looks like a Camber board and rides much closer to an old school Camber board. ONe thing you will notice is usually when you step on the board the tip and tail rise up a lot more than a normal camber board will. Some are mostly camber and others have a bit more rocker but you will always notice they have camber. This allows for a stable, fast carve friendly feeling you get with camber but also makes it more catch free and floaty in powder. This doesn't float effortlessly like hybrid rocker, mostly rocker hybrid camber or flat to rocker but it does better than camber. You will mainly see this on aggressive freestyle to all mountain to freeride style snowboards.
Palmer Burn 2012 Company Description
Easy-to-turn All Mountain Powerhouse
DESCRIPTION: Original winner of Transworld’s Good Wood Top 10, the new Burn is great at everything. Stiff enough for carving and soft enough for freestyle, the Burn has the newest easy-to-turn Smart FLF Rocker shape plus a special woodgrain finish for good looks. Combining rock solid, poplar woodcore insides with lightweight Nomex™ Honeycomb in tip and tail, this hybrid has the butter of rocker and the precision of camber. Forget those “rocker washouts!”
RIDER: The Burn has the pop to rip the park and the speed to smoke all of your buddies back to the lodge.
+ New! Smart FLF Rocker Shape + Nomex™ Honeycomb in Tip & Tail + Prepreg
+ Printed Full Sidewall + Poplar Woodcore + Stone Ground 4400 Isospeed Base + 5 X 2 Inserts and Centered Stance + Full Wrap Edges
Palmer Burn 2011 Company Description
Easy-to-turn all mountain powerhouse
Original winner of Transworld’s Good Wood Top 10, the new Burn is great at everything. Stiff enough for carving and soft enough for freestyle, the Burn has the newest easy-to-turn Smart FLF Rocker shape plus a special woodgrain finish for good looks. Combining rock solid, poplar woodcore insides with lightweight Nomex™ Honeycomb in tip and tail, this hybrid has the butter of rocker and the precision of camber. Forget those “rocker washouts!”
The Burn has the pop to rip the park and the speed to smoke all of your buddies back to the lodge.
+ New! Smart FLF Rocker Shape
+ Nomex™ Honeycomb in Tip & Tail
+ Prepreg
+ Printed Full Sidewall
+ Poplar Woodcore
+ Stone Ground 4400 Isospeed Base
+ 5 X 2 Inserts and Centered Stance
+ Full Wrap Edges
+ Art by Shaun Gordon (London)
Palmer Burn 2010 Company Description
Freestyle Powerhouse
Original winner of Transworld's Good Wood Top 10, the Burn features a smooth easy-to-turn Klothoid shape and a matt black over gloss topsheet finish. Combining rock solid, beech/poplar woodcore with lightweight Nomex Honeycomb in tip and tail. The Burn is soft enough for technical freestyle riding, but torsionally stiff enough for high-speed turns.
The Burn has the shape and pop to rip in the park and also has the speed to smoke all of your buddies back to the lodge.
+ Klothoid Sidecut
+ Nomex Honeycomb in Tip & Tail
+ NCF Prepreg
+ White Full Sidewall with Lime Green Print
+ Beech/Poplar Woodcore
+ Sublimated Stone Ground 4400 Isospeed Base
+ 6 X 2 Inserts and Centered Stance
