Burton S Series Split Snowboard - 2008 BCS

I stopped skiing 16 years ago because snowboarding just had more appeal, especially at the resorts. However, I was always at a disadvantage on a snowboard when it came to backcountry riding. I usually had to swallow my pride and strap into some skis again. I've used snowshoes with limited success, but the rest of my party usually ended up waiting for me at the top of the runs.

A few weeks ago I used a Burton S Series Split Board for the field portion of an avalanche 1 certification class. I'm sold. No more lagging behind everyone, no more slowing the whole trip down, no more fumbling with the switch to snowshoes at the top of the ridge. With the S Series Split Board, the change over from skinning up to riding down was a breeze, and the riding was never sweeter.

This is basically a Burton Custom split down the middle with a few extra pieces of hardware to hold the board together. It's lightweight and good for varied snow conditions. While the people on skis complained about poor snow conditions I was loving the added stability of a wide board. I still felt like I was a little behind everyone else during the change over to riding down. However, no one had to wait for me to make the switch and start down.

You have to buy a Voile binding interface and some skins and getting everything dialed takes a little while. But once you get used to the system the change over is pretty fast. And I never felt like the board stiffness was compromised by the split.

Used the Burton S with the Voile Universal Binding Interface and Tractor Skins recently for a 4 mile march up to about 11,000 feet. If you've used a split board before, you may find little variation between the Burton or Voile technology. I find the Voile Universal Binding interface krunky at best. The pins and screws require constant attention and tightening, and the longer your hike, the more this can be a drag. The Tractor skins work fine, they are cut a little wide, so if the skin track is packed really well, and you find yourself on the side of a pretty steep grade, you don't have much of an edge to keep you on the track. In addition, these decks are heavy, use them in open cirques and bowls. If you're trying to navigate down a narrow couloir or through a dense section of trees, the split S is like driving a station wagon. If your in the backcountry on sick powder day, blazing the skin track, the Split S is great. If you're on a well established skin track, save yourself the trouble, and shoe up.