With the Free Thinker and women's Talent Scout retiring, it's been left up to the Burton Blossom to take the reigns.
While, IMO, it doesn't quite get to the bar that the Free Thinker set. And while, on paper, it looks like nothing has really changed versus previous Blossom models, on-snow it did make improvements from the previous Blossom model's, in my experience, and I found it to be a really fun and capable semi-aggressive all-mountain freestyle board.
In this review, I will take a look at the Blossom as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Blossom a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Blossom 2026
Price: $599
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 87.2/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Of the 33 current model all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Blossom ranked 7th out of 33
Overview of the Blossom’S Specs
Check out the tables for the Blossom’s specs and available sizes.
STYLE:
All-Mountain-freestyle
PRICE:
$599 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
Traditional Camber
SHAPE:
setback stance:
CENTERED
BASE:
SintRUDEd - Burton's "Sintered WFO"
weight:
FELT Normal
Camber Height:
7mm
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
144 | 240 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
149 | 244 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
152 | 249 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
155 | 251 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
158 | 254 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
162 | 258 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
Who is the Blossom Most Suited To?
The Blossom is best suited to riders looking for a semi-aggressive board that is freestyle oriented, but is still fast and stable and can lay down a good carve. But mostly this board is for those that like to get air and lots of it.
Could be a one-board quiver for the right rider and also make a great compliment to a quiver, paired with a more specialized powder board and/or a softer, more playful freestyle/park deck.
Not for beginners, IMO - too much board for that.
TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Blossom
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Blossom is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Blossom 2026, 158cm (254mm waist width)
Date: April 14, 2025
Carving
The Blossom felt great on a carve to me, as it has in the past. All types of carves from tighter/slower carves to more drawn out higher speed carves. It has enough stiffness and edge-hold to hold on to carves well at higher speeds, but not without it's limits in terms of how aggressive/fast you can rip a carve with it before it gives out. But that's a fairly high limit, particularly for a board that's not overly stiff.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: It's not effortless to initiate a turn or release the tail to slash it out, but it's also not a lot of effort and I feel like this is one area that this edition of the Blossom improved over the previous models.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Surprisingly agile. Not lightning edge-to-edge, but again better than previous models, in my experience.
Catchiness: Very minimal, which was quite surprising given its full camber profile and a flex that's just north of medium. Another area where the Blossom improved and felt more like the Free Thinker than Blossom's of old. Felt like the torsional flex was mellowed out a bit, which would explain the easier turning, maneuverability and reduced catch.
Speed
Felt good and stable at speed and overall decently fast. Not up there with the most hard charging bombers, but still really decent, especially for a freestyle oriented all-mountain board.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: Again really good. Had enough dampness to make sure the chatter wasn't too bone-shaking and the stability to stay quite stable through rough snow. This is one area where the fact it's heavier than the outgoing Free Thinker is to its advantage.
Trees/Bumps: Pretty good really and that improved maneuverability definitely helps here. Still not going to be great when there's a good bit of powder in the trees. Had to take it pretty cautiously in the trees the day I rode the Blossom, as it wasn't great conditions, but it handled it pretty well.
Powder
Nothing to test in on the day, but based on feel and specs, it's not going to be great, IMO. A full camber profile with a centered true twin typically isn't the best recipe for easy powder float.
Jumps
Pop: I wouldn't say the pop was hard to access, but you did have to give it a little energy to get the best of the pop it offered. However, when you did give it that energy, it responded in kind and gave a really good boost - really good total pop. Heaps of fun!
Approach: I found it had a good mix of stability and maneuverability, leaning a little on the stability side of things, but not by much.
Landing: Can stomp landings for sure! But you didn't have to get them perfect to ride out the landing - it was pretty forgiving of off-kilter landings and pretty good for any post-landing adjustments you might have to do and for landings on rough, uneven snow.
Switch
Naturally felt good riding switch and transitions were really good too. With that reduced catch, it made transitions better than previous models, IMO.
Spins
Again that reduced catch made for easier setup for spins and for correcting under-rotations or reverts. That great pop helped for getting the right amount of air to complete rotations and it didn't over-rotate after landing.
The only real downsides here was the weight - which wasn't even heavier than a typical board, but compared to the Free Thinker it was harder work due to that weight - and that you had to put in a little bit of focus/effort to extract that great pop.
Jibbing
Still not the ideal board for butters, but the changes helped it to be better/easier for jibbing, in my experience.
Butters
There's a bit of stiffness in the tip and tail, so you had to direct some weight/energy towards the back/front of the board to get the tip/tail flexing, but they didn't feel overly stiff or anything, so it wasn't a huge amount of effort.
Locked in nicely and the lower catch-risk for rotations was nice too versus older models.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Jumps | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Carving | 4 | 8/10 |
| Turns | 4 | 8/10 |
| Switch | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Speed | 4 | 8/10 |
| Spins | 4 | 8/10 |
| Butters | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Jibbing | 3 | 3/5 |
| Crud etc | 4 | 4/5 |
| Trees | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Pow | 2 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 87.2/100 |
Long story short, the Blossom mellowed out from previous models, which led to an improvement, in my opinion/experience, for ease of turning, maneuverability and butterability, which in gave it an overall better balance for jumps/side-hits and made it more fun for trees.
In turn this made it a little less of a beast for carving, but still very good. Overall a more balanced overall ride - less aggressive and burly, but now more versatile.
On paper, it doesn't appear there's been any changes for the '26 model. However, at the same time, it has been touted as the board that has absorbed the Free Thinker and the women's Talent Scout. In reality, it feels like they've mellowed out the torsional flex, which I think must be the main contributor to the changes in ride feel described above.
It's also lighter than the previous model I rode (which was 3020grams or 19.11g/cm versus the '26 which I weighed at 2900g or 18.35g/cm - both the 158 model) but still quite a bit heavier than the outgoing Free Thinker (which was really light at 2680g for the 157 - which is just 17.07g/cm).
IMO, it still doesn't meet the standard of the Free Thinker, but IMO, is improved over its predecessors and does seem to have taken on some of the Free Thinker/Talent Scout qualities despite not appearing to have had any changes made to it.
Sizing Rant
Apart from not quite being the board the Free Thinker was (IMO) the other thing I don't like about the new model is the sizing. Previously you had, between the Talent Scout and Free Thinker:
Talent Scout
- 138 (235mm waist)
- 141 (237mm waist)
- 146 (240mm waist)
- 149 (242mm waist)
- 152 (245mm waist)
Free Thinker
- 150 (246 waist)
- 154 (248 waist)
- 157 (252 waist)
- 160 (255 waist)
- 157W (260 waist)
- 160W (263 waist)
And now:
Burton Blossom
- 144 (240 waist)
- 149 (244 waist)
- 152 (249 waist)
- 155 (251 waist)
- 158 (254 waist)
- 162 (258 waist)
This leads, IMO, to less people being able to access this board with optimal sizing. Of course, not an issue if there is an optimal size for you, but there will be less in that category now.
So while I was relieved when I rode it that it did take on some of the personalities of the Free Thinker and Talent Scout, it was still a bit disappointing that more sizes weren't brought in for the Blossom to compensate. Hopefully the '27 model will come with better sizing options.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
To learn more about the Blossom, or if you're ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
To check out some other all-mountain-freestyle snowboard options, or to see how the Blossom compares to others, check out our top rated all-mountain-freestyle snowboards by clicking the button below.
Hi! I am a female rider, 5’2″, 125lb (and hoping to lose a bit of weight to get to 115lb, in case that matters), and I was wondering if I should get the 144 or 149? Any advice would be much appreciated!
Some background info: I am a beginner with jibs/boxes and intermediate with jumps (M size is perfect). I am comfortable with hitting jumps with speed, as I am an aggressive rider outside of the park; by this, I mean, I am comfortable with small drops, extreme bowl terrain, and some chutes depending on fall consequence. My daily driver is a 147 Burton Storyboard, my splitboard is a 146. I am looking to upgrade my park board from a 141 Burton Rewind, and I recently demoed the Blossom in a 152, loved the pop and aggressive feel, just a bit too stiff since it is the mens’ sizing/stiffness. The Burton employees informed me the sizes below 150 are made with more women-friendly stiffness. I think that’s all the info, thank you so much!! Your reviews are very helpful.
Hi Lisa, thanks for your message.
I would go 144 for sure. I would put your “typical all-mountain” length at around 144 and this is your park board, so I wouldn’t go any longer than 144, if I was you. Typically I would suggest going shorter than that for your park board, but since you ride a 147 as your daily driver and it sounds like you didn’t completely loath the 152 Blossom, I think the 144 should work well, but I definitely wouldn’t go 149. That’s based on 125lbs, but you should still be OK with it at 115lbs, so long as you don’t loose strength in your legs.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
I just want to say great thanks to you for continuing sharing valuable snowboarding knowledge to us in snowboarding communities globally. I really appreciate and respect the work you’re doing, and you really helped me and other snowboarding friends a lot.
I’ve bought boards (2!), bindings (2!), shoes according to your advices!
Really thank you very much! Hope if one day I get a chance to meet you in person would love to buy you a drink or a meal together!
I’ll continue to come back and learn from your website!
All the best,
David
You’re very welcome David and thank you for the kind words!
Hi Nate,
I continue to get inspired by your website and learnt a lot! Great thanks for the effort on profiling boards and replying to our messages!
After reading your review I’m considering buying a Blossom! My current board is Burton Process 155, I majority ride indoor. I’m thinking about getting into more park, particularly interested in jumps. Hence I’m looking for a more advanced park board vs current Process. after reading your review I think maybe I can even position this Blossom as my park board plus some occasional carving board, vs Process. How do you think? 🙂
Also would like to seek your advice on Blossom size, I saw Burton sizing recommendation for blossom, both 155 and 152’s rider weight ranges are the same… not sure which size to get is more optimal for my purpose?
My boot size: US 9
Height: 172cm
Weight: 74kg
Great thanks for your expert advice as always!!!
Best,
David
Hi David, good to hear from you again.
Yeah, you could definitely use it for both carving and park. It’s a stiffer board, in my experience, while I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 157, I’d probably size down to the 152 in this case, given you’d be using it indoors mostly and mostly for park stuff. Even in the 152, you’re likely to find it more stable than the 155 Process, so going shorter shouldn’t mean you lose any stability.
Hi Nate!
Great thanks for your continuous helpful advices to us snowboarding communities globally!
Following your advice here and in the separate Mountain Twin thread, I’ve now decided to purchase both Burton Blossom 152 and Jones Mountain Twin 154 accordingly. Your advices were really helped! 🙂
Now I face a new problem. Recently I decided to size down my boots (previously size 9 / 270, now I’ll size down to size 8 / 260, for Burton Photon step on Wide model).
I’m curious how does snowboarding boots size affect board length choices? (Apart from whether choose wide board).
Would sizing down to size 8 / 260, Wide, affect my optimal choice for snowboard lengths? (172cm, 74kg). While I certainly need to change my Burton step on binding from Medium to Small size now hahaha…!
I would really appreciate your advice on the boot size change impact towards my 3 boards. I may then decide whether to buy different board lengths accordingly.
1. Burton Process Purepop Camber 155
2. Burton Blossom 152
3. Jones Mountain Twin 154
Great thanks in advance for your reply! 🙂
David
Hi David
Boot size (or more accurately foot size) does affect size decisions and not just for whether to go wide or not. If a board is too wide for your feet, then it’s often a good idea to size the length down a bit. However, this is related to your foot size more than your boot size. Boot size is the most important consideration in terms of a board being too narrow and in terms of potential boot drag, but it’s the foot size that is ultimately the focus when looking at a board that may be too wide.
In your case specifically, your feet haven’t changed size, and while I made an assumption on your foot size, based on your boot size, I think all of those sizes are still appropriate. In terms of the Mountain Twin, I think we previously discussed the Mountain Twin as being doable in the 157, but the 154 probably being the better bet. Now, while I wouldn’t say the 157 would necessarily be wrong, I would be leaning more strongly towards the 154 – which it seems you’ve settled on anyway, so I would stick with that.
Nate,
Great thanks! Yes I settled Mountain Twin 154 recently, I love the board! Hahaha, thanks to your advice.
So the background on boot size change was, I only got to measure my foot size recently, and it’s 260. So previously I bought 270 (US 9) boots were too big (it felt too big too that’s why I decided to measure my feet).
So would you say that even with foot size 260, my 3 board lengths still appropriate and no need to further size down?
And, I found that Burton boards have recommended binding size corresponding to each board length. So, with foot size 260 and if I also change to boot size 260 (US 8), I will need to size my binding down to size S (previously I had size M step on). And, I found my Process 155 and Blossom 152 boards both recommend by Burton to use M/L binding. Would it be a problem if I use size S binding on them? Or, would it be better I size up half size to 265 boots and continue use M binding? (I suppose here it’s a question of, whether to prioritize boot fit to 269, or prioritize binding vs board size fit per Burton’s board size recommendation… OR maybe I need to further shorten my board because of size S binding not fit the lengths I have now? OR maybe even to the extend that Process and Blossom may not suit me if I’m on size S binding?)
Thank you again for continuously sharing your snowboard knowledge with us, it really helped us! 🙂
Best,
David
Hi David
Firstly, yes I think those lengths are still the most appropriate and you don’t need to size down further, IMO.
I would get the best boot fit first and foremost. While Burton recommends certain binding sizes, it’s not crucial and they are just recommendations. Question though, have you tried on the Burton Photon Step On US8s yet? I find that often your best size isn’t necessarily your exact foot size. It’s a nice idea for it to work that way but in practice it often doesn’t. I’m a 10 in Burton boots though I technically should be a 9.5 according to mondopoint. So it may be that the 8.5 is actually the better size for you. If that was the case, then you wouldn’t have to choose between boot size and binding size. But if the US8 are better, then I would go with the smaller binding to get the better boot fit, rather than the other way around.
Hey Nate, Ive been riding an burton huncho 2012 green for the past year and I recently started trying some stuff (I can do 360, wanna get into the rails) do u think the blossom is a nice cop for me and if yes Ive been lookin and cant find difference between the 2023 and the 2024 blossom except only the cores(idk the difference only saw its different names) the 2023 core :
FSC™ Certified Super Fly II™ 700G Core with Dualzone™ EGD™
and the 2024:
Super Fly II™ 700G Core with Dualzone™ EGD™
Can u tell if u think its a good cop for me and exaplain the differnce between the two models. Thank you so much and appreciate yall.
Hi Dju
Thanks for your message. As far as I know the 2023 and 2024 models are the same – the FSC Certified part of the 2023 core is just in relation to the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies certain products as being from sustainable forests. I’m not sure why the 2024 isn’t certified or if FSC certification is still a valid thing. I would look into it, but super busy right now!
However, I think the Blossom would be too stiff/aggressive a board for you, given you’re looking to get into rails. Coming from the Honcho I understand if you want to stay with something full camber, but I would go Freethinker rather than Blossom, it’s not as stiff/aggressive, and would be easier to tackle rails on. Even better – the Good Company – even more jib friendly, IMO.
Hope this helps
Thoughts on 152 vs 155 for a 5’10 dude who weighs 150? They’re the same weight range so a bit confused thank you!
Hey Michael
Thanks for your message.
I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 155, so the 155 is certainly an option, depending on how you were wanting to ride it. If you were doing a lot of freestyle stuff, then the 152 would work for you as well. It may also depend on your boot size. If you’ve got smaller feet, then it might be better to size down to the 152 anyway. If the width of both is about right for your foot size, then it depends on how you’ll be using it. If you were going to be predominantly riding it fast and carving and valued stability over maneuverability, then I would go 155. If you were doing more freestyle stuff – butters, spins, ollies, boxes/rails (note that this is quite a beast of a board, so for butters and boxes/rails, you’d want to be very experienced and strong to be doing those with this board) – and valued maneuverability over stability, then I’d be leaning 152. If you’re doing really big jumps in the park or really big natural hits/drops, then having a bit more size for that extra stability can be good. But for smaller jumps, especially where you need to generate a bit of your own height through pop, I would err a little smaller as it will be easier to get the pop out of it.
Hope this helps
i ended up going with the 155 as my foot size is 10 and they was right in the edge of the 152 waist width depending how duck i went, rode it today and half to admit its quite the hard board to ride, i was able to ollie and 180 off side hits and ground without any issues but when picking up speed you were right you really gotta be aggressive with it or you’ll get punished.
I think this board could even benefit from cartel Xs even to hit the park with aggressive freestyle/all mountain is 100% the best way to put it. i tried using my union ultras and they just felt too soft. malavitas are being discontinued apparently and cant find my size anymore. i also talked to a Burton guide who rode the 155 even at a lighter weight than me and said when he tried the 152 it did not feel too good for him.
thanks nate! hopefully our comments can help someone else too
Hey Michael
Thanks for the update and insights. Much appreciated. Yeah, stiffer bindings would definitely help, IMO.
Hello Nate.
I am wondering if this board will be wide enough for my daughter. She won it in a contest and it looks like it could be a good half pipe board.
The board size is 149. My daughter is 5’-4”, 110 lbs with size 9.5 women’s boot. She will probably grow a bit before we snowboard again in November. Her binding are set at 12 deg and 12 deg. She is an aggressive/advanced rider but still getting stronger as she is 11 years old. Her typical half pipe board has a similar profile, but is less stiff and wider. We typically look for wide boards due to her foot side.
Thank you for the amazing website!
—Corin
Hi Corin
Thanks for your message.
I would say it should be wide enough for right now, with those binding angles. It is on the long side for her height/weight though, IMO. I would put her “typical all-mountain length” at closer to 142. If she’s used to riding closer to 149, it might be OK, but strictly looking at height/weight specs, it’s bigger than I’d typically recommend.
But in terms of width, I think it would be fine. You’re looking at around 25.7cm at the inserts, though that’s assuming a 22″ stance width. Assuming closer to a 19″/20″ stance width, then probably more like 25.4cm at inserts. With a typical profile women’s 9.5, you’d be looking at an outer sole of around 29.5cm. That would be a total overhang, straight across of around 4.1cm (or roughly 2cm per edge, assuming perfect boot centering). I would comfortable with that as is – and with 12 degree angles, that’s probably going to reduce to less than 3.5cm overall. So that leaves some room for a larger profile boot too.
Hope this helps
Nate.
She rides a 147 and it is a bit big, so yes 149 is too long currently. Thinking ahead here since she is 11 and growing. 😀
This information about board width is helpful to us in general. With proportionally larger feet in our family, this is a common question we ask. Thank you for the detailed info.
Thanks for all you do!
You’re very welcome Corin. Thanks for visiting