Burton Malolo

The Malolo is touted as a hybrid between the pow-specific Fish and the all-mountain machine that is the Custom, and Id have to say the touting is pretty much spot on. With the bindings set fully back to take on the fine Bavarian pow, the thing is awesome. It just blasts its way through any chop, with the monster nose riding over it like a powerboat, and you just apply minimum weight on the back foot to float down pillow and bumps. Turning is nothing short of a joy thanks to its pintail and long snout none of that occasional awkwardness until you get up a decent speed with this and the faceshots just keep on coming. The 162 with a set of Cartels upon it, is also a hella lightweight setup and with the speedy base you dont get stuck in flatspots. I just need to remember to keep this mother waxed. Dont buy this if you want a board to ride switch a bunch and learn front board pretzel outs, but for jibbers wanting a second board for powder days that can also handle itself blasting round the piste, this is a killer pick.

The Burton Malolo is, without a doubt, one of the most versatile freeride boards on the market. Its tapered tail and setback shape offer extraordinary powder performance, almost too easy. At the same time, the taper and setback is not so aggressive that normal carving on hardpack is severely hindered. In short, the Burton Malolo is the perfect board for those seeking a one board quiver for solid freeride and powder domination.

The Burton Malolo offers 20mm of taper and 50mm of setback. This shape, in combination with its flex pattern, offers excellent powder riding. Let’s look at why it rides great. No how do most of you ride with your all-mountain board in powder? First thing that always comes to mind is that you lean back. Sometimes to enhance this, snowboarders often set their snowboard bindings back as well. Most riders don’t care as to what is happening, but these techniques cause your board to flex in a way that makes powder more approachable. Without diving into too much dry detail, the Burton Malolo accomplishes this flex pattern more naturally, and it also cause the tail to sink in a more natural manner. The overall effect is less effort on behalf of the snowboarder and a faster ride through powder because less plowing is occurring.

Now you may be wondering if the Malolo is good for anything else on the mountain since it is so great in the powder. With all honesty, I had serious doubts about the Malolo’s capabilities elsewhere before I rode it. I almost wanted it to fail on the hardpack. But it didn’t. On one of my first trips with the Malolo, our crew was stuck on a mediocre powder day with lots of hardpack and groom. I thought I would be regretting the Malolo. Surprisingly, the board exceptionally well on the hardpack. Truly, this is not something I can explain beyond just saying that the board is well designed. This is not a feature many powder boards can boast. To make a long story short, the Malolo was not a crutch on the hardpack, and on some occasions, I still smoked my buddies down the hill.Although I agree with the manufacturer recommendations on the Malolo not being a great park board (no jibs!), the board jumps quite well. Now landing switch off of a huge BC booter can be very awkward, but gigantic straight airs and cliff drops are effortless. I almost felt like I was cheating as all of my friends bombed a 10 footer to a nose differ and I rode through the landing like I just jumped a small table.

To sum it all up, give the Burton Malolo a serious look if you need a board that will freeride and ride powder like a dream. I honestly think the best way to describe it is to call it the resort powder board. It is perfect for those 1 or 2 foot dumps that get tracked out in as many hours. Then you can play for the rest of the day elsewhere. For other excellent rides from Burton Snowboards, check out the Supermodel and the fish. The Supermodel has a bit less taper, while the fish has more.