Burton Alekesam Snowboard Review

The Burton Alekesam is a powder first board, but carving and bombing come in a close second, for when the fresh goodness isn't falling. 

It's decent at slower speeds, but if slower speed riding is your mainstay, then there are more appropriate options that would likely suit you better. 

In this review, I will take a look at the Alekesam as a freeride snowboard.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Alekesam a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freeride snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: Burton Alekesam 2025

Price: $599

Style: Freeride

Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff

Flex Feel on Snow: Mid-Stiff (7/10)

Rating Score: 84.2/100

Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards

Overview of the Alekesam’ Specs

Check out the tables for the Alekesam’s specs and available sizes.

Who is the Alekesam Most Suited To?

The Alekesam is best suited to more advanced riders looking for something that is strong for powder but that can bomb groomers when the pow isn't around.

Your style on groomers would be more aggressive - as in you need to put energy into it to get the best out of it - and you'd prefer to ride faster than slower, but still want something that can perform decently at slower speeds, even if it takes a bit more effort to do than a more easy-going board might. 

Definitely not for beginners and even intermediate riders might find it a bit more demanding than they'd like, unless you're particularly strong/fit. 

Alekesam DetailS

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Alekesam is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: Burton Alekesam 2025, 156cm (256mm waist width)

Date: February 1, 2024

Powder

Unfortunately no powder on the day. Conditions in parts were slushy-mushy rather than floaty pow, but the way it felt surfing the slush made me think it would do quite well on a mid-winter soft snow day.

The specs also suggest that powder performance should be one of its strongest suits, with rocker in the nose, a 50mm setback, directional flex (stiffer in tail, softer in nose), longer nose than tail and 15mm of taper. 

Carving

Big, drawn out carves are one of the stronger uses for the Alekesam. It’s pretty solid and doesn’t wash out, but also prefers a more gradual shape, rather than quick, sharp carves. It's OK for quicker sharper ones, but tends to be more prone to loose an edge if you try those at higher speeds. 

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing: Not the easiest board to initiate a turn on or slash the tail out on. This was brought out especially in the slushy areas, but was there in firmer spots too. But it wasn't anything that was super hard, just not effortless to initiate or slash. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: I was a bit surprised at how good it felt at slow speeds. Particularly with the stiffer tail and a slight tendency toward catchiness I thought it might struggle here. Not effortless but with not-too-much effort I found it could change edges pretty quickly. 

Catchiness: As eluded to above, there is a bit of a catchy feeling there - mostly in the tail and mostly felt at slow speeds - but I didn't find it anything crazy or off-putting. Just the typical feel you get from a predominantly camber board.

Speed

The board handles speed well. It’s stable and on the damp side, so doesn’t chatter around much and feels nice and stable. The glide isn’t world beating level, but it's also not a slug.

Uneven Terrain

Crud/Chunder: I found it remained pretty stable in crud and wasn't easily bucked around and was damp enough that it muffled the chatter pretty well.

Trees/Bumps: While I didn't find it bad in terms of its agility, it's also not lightning quick for short/sharp turns - and because it does take a bit more effort to get it turning quickly, a full day in trees and moguls could be even more fatiguing than it would be on an easier turning board.  But for short bursts, it did pretty well. 

Jumps

If you know what you’re doing and how to put the right effort into the board it does fine, but it doesn’t really make any of it effortless.

Pop: Here again, if you’re someone who can load the tail for a strong ollie you’ll be rewarded with some decent boost, but it takes a degree of skill and effort.

Approach: Pretty stable here which is great, but not super easy to make late-stage adjustments.

Landing: Solid, unless you land tail heavy, then it's a little more sketchy. Also, similar to the comments for approach, it’s not super easy to make quick speed checks after landing, if they're needed. 

Side-hits: A bit more agility and easier pop would make it better, but in general it did fine.

Switch

I could definitely notice that it was a directional board, and as expected, the stiff tail made switch a bit more demanding than a board that flexes more evenly. Transitions were mostly fine, but you've just got to be aware that it can catch, if you get it wrong - particularly as you transition from nose first to tail first. 

Spins

That little bit of a catchy feeling makes it not ideal on setup and landings if you get it wrong, but it wasn't bad enough to make me hesitant to spin on this board or anything. Also not ideal for spins in the multiples of 180, being a directional board, but again certainly doable. 

It doesn't have a tendency to over-rotate after landing which is good and finishing an under-rotation after landing is ok but not ideal. 

Jibbing

The Alekesam isn’t great for rails etc. The stiff tail, slight catchiness and harder access to pop makes the whole process of popping on, doing a trick, and handling options for the dismount a bit challenging. At least it did for me. If you're a jibbing master, then you may not find it as difficult, but still wouldn't think you'd find it good for jibbing. Not what it was built for though, that's for sure. 

Butters

Butters aren’t too bad on it, but you definitely notice the stiffer tail when you do them. It takes a bit of effort and commitment to lock in, but it can be done.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Alekesam is at its best when ridden more aggressively. It's the kind of board that gives back and can handle a lot, but you've got to be willing to supply the energy iit needs. 

Jibs and flatland tricks are its weakest area, and cruisey, big turns in messy snow is one of the stronger applications.