Burton Alekesam Snowboard Review

The 2026 Burton Alekesam  resembles its 2025 self on paper, but in reality, it's a much more mellow ride - most likely due to a softer torsional flex, based on the feel of the board. 

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

Note: We had the Alekesam's previous model in the (non-mellow) freeride category. This year's model felt to us like a cross between the '25 Alekesam and the '25 Gril Master (which didn't get a 2026 model), and actually closer to the Gril Master. In other words, it felt noticeably more mellow than the '25 model. 

Overall Rating

Board: Burton Alekesam 2026

Price: $629

Style: Mellow Freeride

Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)

Rating Score: 88.3/100

Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards

Overview of the Alekesam'S Specs

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

Who is the Alekesam Most Suited To?

The Alekesam

TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Alekesam

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

Demo Info

Board: Burton Alekesam 2026, 156cm (256mm waist width)

Date: April 14, 2025

The '26 Alekesam changed quite a bit. Most notably getting a more mellow/easy-going feeling vs the '25 model. It feels to me like they've merged the '25 Alekesam with the not-retrurning '25 Gril Master - to such an extent that I actually felt like the '26 Alekesam was closer to the '25 Gril Master than it was to the '25 Alekesam. Somewhere in between them, but closer to the Gril Master. 

As such this review will make a lot of references to those two '25 models. 

Carving

This is one area that I found the '25 Alekesam was a little better for. The '26 felt just as good to me for slower/moderate speed carves, but not as good for higher speed carves. At higher speeds, when laying down a carve, there was more of a washout threat feel there than with the 25 Alekesam. 

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing: I found it really easy to turn and slash and noticeably better in this area as I felt the '25 was. As easy as I remember the Gril Master being.

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Again, this was an area of significant improvement. As quick edge-to-edge as I remember Gril Master being. The lightness and short tail might help here. But I think the most significant difference is likely to be the torsional flex, which feels a lot less stiff than the '25 model. 

Catchiness: Really very minimal. Surprisingly so, given it's a mostly camber board. That said, torsional flex plays a big role in catchiness too, in my experience, so this is likely the main reason. Less catchy than the '25 model. 

Speed

It feels stable up to decently fast speeds, but that point where it starts to get a bit unstable comes earlier on the speedometer than it did with the '25 model. Not surprisingly, given the overall feel of this year's model. 

Overall speed and glide felt good, though at a certain speed, when it started to get the shakes, it felt like the shaking shaved off some speed. It's a really light board, so it kind of felt like it was having trouble with down force once you got it really opened out. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud/Chunder: Another area where the Alekesam wasn't as good as its predecessor was when crashing through crappy snow conditions. It wasn't terrible but it was knocked around more easily and felt the chatter more.

Trees/Bumps: On the flip side, the '26 was a noticeable improvement for weaving between trees, bumps etc. That quicker, more effortless edge-to-edge maneuverability made it so fun in the trees and would be great in there in powder too.

Powder

We didn't have anything to test in on the day, but based on feel and specs, it should handle powder, even deep powder, really well. 

There are a few things in its favor for this, including a rocker section towards the nose, 15mm of taper and a 1" (25mm) setback on effective edge (which you could set back further of course) and with a longer nose than tail (which also brings the setback on the total length of the board closer to 3 1/4" (83mm))

Jumps

For the type of board it is, it was pretty decent for jumps. Not ideal with that short tail, but still fun. 

Pop: Pop was pretty easy to access. The only thing that was slightly trickier was the size of tail to pop off. It was fine, but more challenging than boards with more tail, naturally. Its total pop was good without being epic. I did find I got full value for pop though, with its lightness.

Approach: A nice mix of stable and maneuverable. For faster approaches that stability was tested but for everything else was a nice approach. Approaching switch not ideal though, naturally. 

Landing:  It was a mixed bag for landings. There was enough give for it to be nice and forgiving for landings from small to medium jumps, so long as you didn't land too tail heavy. If you did land tail heavy it was pretty hard to control, with that small tail not giving much to balance on. 

For landings at higher speed/height, it was a bit unstable, as it was at speed. It felt again, like its lightness was a little against it for this (and it's softer flex) so definitely preferred for small to medium jumps - and really pretty fun for those, just gotta really try to not land tail heavy. 

Switch

All those things we mentioned in the powder section above that were in its favor, now come into play against it. So, naturally not the best for riding switch.

But also definitely doable. You are definitely more restricted in how you can ride switch, with that small tail leading the way, but in its favor transitions in and out of switch were smooth and it felt like there was a low catch-risk. 

Spins

You could really feel its lightness when rotating, which was super easy with how light it was. 

And it felt very catch-minimal for setting up and landing, so it made completing under-rotations on the snow easy  - and I didn't find any tendency to over-spin. 

However, the tail wasn't the best to take off or land on, naturally. 

Butters

Neither the nose or tail were difficult to press, physically. A good amount of flex there. However, it was a bit awkward with the very different feel of the nose and tail. And even isolated, the tail was a bit awkward on its own, being so short and the nose, for opposite reasons, was a bit cumbersome. 

Certainly not what this board was made for though. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

At first glance this year's Alekesam appears to be the same as its 2025 counterpart - and while it does share a lot of similarities, it has been noticeably mellowed out and now feels closer to the now retired Gril Master.

This has led to improvements in agility and slow speed performance overall, with a bit of a sacrifice to its high speed performance. It's a much more fun board in trees and bumps and noticeably less catchy, but gets shaky more easily at speed and in rough snow. 

It retains all its powder riding qualities, so if you're looking for a directional board that you want to take in powder but favor maneuverability over stability and want a board that's easier going and less effort to ride, then you'll likely prefer this year's model. 

On the other hand, if you value dampness and stability at speed more than maneuverability and ease of ride, then last year's model would likely have been more appropriate for you.