Hello and welcome to my Burton Trick Pony review.
In this review I will take a look at the Trick Pony as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Trick Pony a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
NOTE: The 2018 model was the last model of the Trick Pony that Burton produced.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Trick Pony 2018
Price: $549 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain
Flex: Medium
Rating Score: 87.2/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Out of the 27 men’s all-mountain snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 80.9/100
- The highest score was 92.1/100
- The lowest score was 63.4/100
- The average price was $490
- The Trick Pony ranked 7th out of 26
Overview of the Trick Pony’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Trick Pony’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style | All-Mountain | Flex | Medium |
| Ability Level | Intermediate to Expert | Feel | Stable bordering on locked-in |
| Weight | Light | Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber (PurePop Camber) Camber between the feet then flat towards tip and tail with a tiny bit of rocker | Shape | Directional Twin |
| Stance Setback | Setback 12.5mm (0.5″) | Edge-hold | Medium-hard snow |
| Price | $549 (USD) | Base | Sintered (WFO) |
Sizing (2018)
| Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 158 | 158W | 162 | 162W |
| Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 252 | 254 | 264 | 256 | 266 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 120-180 | 120-180 | 150-200 | 150-200 | 180-260+ | 180-260+ |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 54-82 | 54-82 | 68-91 | 68-91 | 82-118+ | 82-118+ |
Note that Burton has changed their weight recommendations for the 2018 model. The board is essentially the same, so this is just an adjustment in their weight recommendations – not a reflection of changes in the board.
Sizing (2017)
| Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 158 | 158W | 162 | 162W |
| Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 252 | 254 | 264 | 256 | 266 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 115 – 155 | 130 – 170 | 145 – 185 | 145 – 185 | 165 – 205 | 165 – 205 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 52-70 | 59-77 | 66-84 | 66-84 | 75-93 | 75-93 |
Who is the Trick Pony Most Suited to?
The Trick Pony is one of those boards that is just a really good all-rounder. Though perhaps in the past being more freestyle focused, this board has really molded into a do-it-all quiver killer.
It’s still a great board for riding freestyle but it’s also very good at riding anywhere you take it and however you want to ride – so you don’t have to change boards no matter what you’re feeling for.
Not one for beginners but for anyone intermediate and up that just want one board that can do a bit of everything, then the Trick Pony is one that can do that better than most.
The Trick Pony in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Trick Pony is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Trick Pony 2017, 154cm (252mm waist width)
Conditions: Reasonably hard conditions first thing, with some icy patches in places. Puked snow midday and quickly became nice and soft with enough snow to test this puppy over some shallow powder. Visibility stayed decent even whilst it was snowing.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Powder
Given that it has a directional twin shape (true twin but with a 12.5mm setback stance) and very little rocker in the nose, this board was better in powder than I had expected.
It does have a setback of 12.5mm which certainly helps.
I mean it doesn’t float like a board with a 20mm+ setback, directional shape and large, scooped, rockered nose – but it floats better than average.
And I was on the 154cm – which is a bit short for me for this type of board. I think the 158cm would have better float for me (I’m too heavy for the 154cm).
Carving and Turning
With the new camber profile (mostly camber with flat spots towards tip and tail and very slight bits of rocker after the flat spots) the Trick Pony is a much better carver than it used to be with it’s old camber profile (flat in the middle and rockered on tip and tail – 2016 model and earlier) and now it’s really fun to carve with.
You can skid your turns on it too if you want but not super easy. Not a beginners turning board but not as catchy as you’d expect for the camber profile. Edge-to-edge I found it very quick – but I imagine it to be a little slower on the 158cm, which would have been more my size but still will be decently quick edge-to-edge.
Edge-hold was ok on the harder stuff and fine on the softer stuff. A little washy in the icy patches. This would have been better on the 158cm though I suspect.
Speed
This board can handle a good bit of speed and feels nice and stable when getting up to speeds. I didn’t push it to the limit because I was on the 154cm but I definitely rode it fairly fast and it felt stable. Again, the 158cm for me would have been better for speed but even on the 154 I felt confident at speed.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
It’s pretty good in uneven stuff. I had a fair bit of choppy Sunday afternoon snow to navigate and it could handle it pretty well.
Jumps
The Trick Pony has a good bit of pop and also a nice stable landing platform. I really enjoyed it over jumps and for ollies. You can take it over any size jump really – good on the smalls and the larges.
Switch
Despite a little bit of a setback, I found it really easy to ride switch on. It’s a true twin and I was riding with a +15/-15 and a smaller board – but even so, it’s really quite good at riding switch and you don’t really notice that setback going in your opposite direction.
The setback is very subtle and it otherwise a twin shape – so no surprise that it was good for switch really.
Jibbing
This is probably the only area on the Trick Pony that isn’t as good on the 2018 and 2017 model compared to the older models. You can still jib on it but there are much easier boards to jib with.
If you hit jibs occasionally, and you’re skilled at them, then it’s fine. But if you like to hit jibs a lot or if you’re looking for a board that you can learn jibbing on, then it won’t be ideal.
Changes from the 2017 Model and other Past Models.
Apart from Burton changing their weight recommendations (which had nothing to do with changes in the board), the 2017 & 2018 models are pretty much the same but with a different graphic.
The main change between the 2016 and 2017 model is that it changed to a “pure pop camber” profile, which is mostly camber with flat point as you exit the inserts and subtle rocker sections before the contact points.
The 2016 model had a flat-to-rocker profile. This is now a more all-mountain oriented board and less freestyle focused, than it was for the 2016 model.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Powder: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Carving: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Speed: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Switch: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Jumps: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Jibbing: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Pipe: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 87.2/100 |
Overall, the Trick Pony 2018 & 2017 (the 2nd coming of the board really) is a great do everything kind of board. So if you’re a versatile rider and don’t want to have more than one board, then the Trick Pony is a great option.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in the Trick Pony, are ready to buy or want to research prices and size availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Trick Pony compares to other all-mountain snowboards or want to check out some other options in this category, check out the next link.
>>My Top 10 Men’s All-Mountain Snowboards
