Hello and welcome to my Burton Parkitect review.
This review will rate the Parkitect as an All-Mountain-Freestyle snowboard and, as per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com, will be given a score out of 100.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Parkitect
Price: $479 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex: Medium-Soft
Rating Score: 91.8/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Below are the stats of all of the men’s all-mountain-freestyle decks that I rated:
- I looked at 50 different men’s all-mountain-freestyle boards
- The average score was 81.7/100
- The highest score was 91.8/100
- The lowest score was 41.2/100
- The average price was $528
- The Parkitect ranked 1st out of 50.
Overview of the Parkitect’s Specs
Check out the tables below for the Parkitect’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style: | All-Mountain Freestyle | Flex: | Medium-soft | |
| Ability Level: | Intermediate to Expert | Weight: | Feels normal | |
| Shape: | True Twin | Camber Profile: | Traditional Camber | |
| Stance: | Centered | Base | Sintered | |
| Feel: | Stable | Edge-hold: | Up to Medium Snow Conditions |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 157 |
| Waist Width (mm) | 249 | 251 | 252 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 115 – 155 | 130 – 170 | 135 – 175 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 52 – 70 | 59 – 77 | 61 – 80 |
Who is the Parkitect Most Suited to?
The Parkitect is suitable to anyone who likes to ride the park but also likes to ride freestyle on the rest of the mountain.
It’s on the park side of an all-mountain freestyle deck with it’s major strengths lying in the park but it’s no slouch on the rest of the mountain – or else it wouldn’t have been my #1 all-mountain freestyle ride.
Unfortunately they don’t make the Parkitect in that many sizes (as you can see in the table above) so the Parkitect is better for lighter riders. I’d like to see it also come in a size suitable for at least up to 200lbs (90kg) but that’s about my only complaint.
The Parkitect In Depth
Let’s take a look a the different areas of strength and weakness for the Parkitect.
Powder
The Parkitect isn’t really made for powder – and as far as riding in the deep stuff goes – this is the major weakness of this deck. And it’s no surprise that it lacks powder prowess, after all it has a traditional camber profile and a centered stance – two things which will make it difficult to keep the parkitects nose out of the snow.
Carving
It steps up its game a bit in the carving stakes so if you like to lay down a few carves in between hitting the park or playing freestyle on the groomers, then you can do so.
That’s largely down to that traditional camber profile which hurts it in the powder – in this case it helps with it’s carving. That traditional camber profile provides good edge-hold, stability and pop for springing out of those turns.
It’s medium-soft flex means it won’t ever be a super carver but it can certainly handle some decent carves in moderate to soft snow conditions.
Speed
It’s not made for it – but the Parkitect actually has some decent speed behind it. This is no doubt largely due to its sintered base. Keep this baby well waxed and you’ll get some decent acceleration out of it.
Uneven Terrain
This board has some great dampening and does a great job over the uneven stuff. This is partly due to dampening technology and partly because of it’s softer than average flex.
Switch
It’ll be no surprise that the Parkitect is perfect for riding switch. It has a centered stance and a true twin shape that means it feels pretty much the same going either way down the mountain (assuming you’re comfortable riding both ways!)
It also has an asymmetry to it’s design – so I guess it’s technically not true twin but asymmetrical twin. But this actually helps it when riding switch – in my opinion. Essentially what this asymmetry (called off-axis squeezebox) achieves is a more natural feel on toe and heel edge especially for riding duck stance. The side-cut for toe and heel is still the same but they’ve tweaked the flex.
Jumps
As you would have learned if you watched the video above, the Parkitect is a demon on jumps.
So if doing big jumps is your thing this deck has you covered. But it’s not just good for big jumps, it’s great for smaller jumps too and great for ollies – that trad camber profile gives it heaps of pop and gives a solid, stable landing platform for stomping those landings.
Jibbing
It’s a trad camber board so I wasn’t expecting too much in the way of jibbing. But it actually surprisingly is pretty darn good – which I suppose it would have to be to be good in the park.
Part of this is down to its medium-soft flex and part of it, I’m guessing, is that feel you get from that off-axis squeezebox.
Pipe
If you like riding the pipe and have access to one, then the Parkitect will take you in there too. To be a true all-mountain-freestyle deck it’s good to know that it can perform in the pipe. It’s not a pipe specialist so it won’t be the perfect board in between those walls – but it will hold its own.
The Final Verdict and Score Breakdown
O.k. let’s check out the score breakdown for the Parkitect in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Powder: | 2.0 | 4/10 |
| Carving: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Speed: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Switch: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Jumps: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Jibbing: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Pipe: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 91.8/100 |
As you can see the Parkitect is just about the perfect balance for the ultimate all-mountain freestyle deck. It has the ability to handle the whole mountain and you can ride freestyle wherever you choose be it the park, pipe or the groomers.
It’s not really suitable for the backcountry in my opinion but for everywhere else if you like riding freestyle it’s as good as it gets and is particularly strong in the park and practically perfect for jumps and riding switch.
When I first tried this board… wow! I tried the 157 version back in 2013 and was blown away – so light and poppy so great for jumps, but the edges are designed in such a way that making turns is incredible. This is a once in a lifetime board. When buying I thought I’d get a 150 because I like a shorter board, but it’s too small for me. Been regretting that decision ever since. If you see a 157 version of this board, please let me know! Send me an email: arbrown23@gmail.com thanks!
Hi Andrew
They haven’t made this board for a good few years now (unfortunately) but if I do see one I’ll let you know.
I would say the closest equivalent now is the Burton Paramount and Burton Kilroy Twin. The Paramount maybe a little stiffer than the Parkitect and the Kilroy Twin a little softer, but subtly so – and both are really fun all-mountain freestyle boards. If you can’t find the Parkitect, those are definitely worth checking out. I would say the 155 in either would be the closest equivalent sizes to the Parkitect 157. Even though the Paramount does have a 158, the 155 is closer, IMO, based on effective edge, sidecut etc to the 157 Parkitect – and being that little bit shorter, the flex probably evens out a bit. So, yeah, I’d say Paramount 155, if you were looking to get the closest feel to the 157 Parkitect.
Hope this helps
Hi Nathan,
It looks like this board is what I’m looking for as an all mountain freestyle board.
What board is the closest to the Parkitect in the 2020 Burton line up in you opinion ?
Hi Damien
Thanks for your message.
I would say that the Paramount is probably the closest equivalent (although the Paramount is a little stiffer). Or maybe the Kilroy Twin Camber which is a bit softer than the Paramount. Certainly not like for like, but I would say those 2 are the closest.
Hope this helps
I like your article and your comparison charts, thanks for the good info!
Hey booklover, thanks for your comments!
Hi Nathan! Great review and I learned some new things about snowboards. Good job!
Thanks Muriel – happy to educate!