Burton Short Stop Snowboard Review

Want a board specifically for riding trees? Then the Burton Short Stop should be near the top of your short (pun intended!) list.

This thing just rips tight turns, has a teeny tail that can sneak through any gap and lives for powder. 

In this review, I will take a look at the Short Stop as a mellow freeride snowboard.

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

NOTE: The review below hasn't been updated beyond the 2025 model as the 2025 model was the final version of the Short Stop.  

Overall Rating

Board: Burton Short Stop

Price: $819

Style: Mellow Freeride

Flex Rating: Medium

Flex Feel on Snow: Mid-Soft (4/10)

Rating Score: 88.8/100

Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards

Of the 30 current model mellow freeride snowboards that we tested:

• The average score was 85.6/100
• The highest score was 93.8/100
• The lowest score was 72.5/100
• The average price was $587
• The Short Stop ranked 9th out of 30

Overview of the Short Stop’S Specs

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

Who is the Short Stop Most Suited To?

The Short Stop is best suited to anyone looking for a tree board, in short. That's where it really shines. But even if you just want a super agile powder board and aren't expecting anything stable at speed, this board is a lot of fun - and even on groomers, again so long as you don't ride it too fast - it's a fun quick turner. 

For a vast majority this isn't a one-board quiver, but I'm sure there are some out there whose style would suit it as one. But for most this is a quiver addition - and one that I would gladly have in my quiver for those explore-the-trees days. 

Really easy going, but I'd still say not for beginners - partly because it would really restrict the aspects of snowboarding that you could develop with it - and would likely make the average snowboard feel a bit strange compared to it. 

TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Short Stop

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

Demo Info

Board: Burton Short Stop 2025, 150cm (260mm waist width)

Date: February 7, 2024

Powder

Didn't have any on the day but the specs and feel suggest it should do really well in powder. 

While it has a "centered" stance, that is in reference to the effective edge. It's setback on overall length is around 125mm (4.9") and that's measuring to the back of the tail. The center of my back binding was only 26cm (10") from the middle of the swallow tail - and that was in reference stance - I could have gotten even closer to the tail. 

Add to that a tail that was made to sink (not raised much at all and really narrow compared to the nose), a nose that was made to float (early rocker and long and wide), with  20mm of taper, I imagine it would be hard to sink the nose, even if you were really trying. 

Carving

This isn't the board to rail hard carves at high speeds, at least not in my experience. Getting on edge and railing a tight slow speed carve is fine, but it doesn't take a lot of speed before it starts washing out. 

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing: I found it ultra easy to turn with this board and ultra easy to slash out the tail. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Was lightning quick edge-to-edge. Just super fun and effortless to make tight, sharp turns.  

Catchiness: I didn't notice any catchiness with the Short Stop. 

Speed

Doesn't take a lot of speed before this thing becomes wobbly. Certainly not a board for bombing straight down the mountain. This board is a turner, not a bomber, that's for sure. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud/Chunder: Did surprisingly well for how soft it is. That big rockered nose probably helped. Not the ultimate crud crusher, but handled it pretty well. You definitely feel the chatter though!

Trees/Bumps: If the term "tree board" was in the dictionary, you should see a picture of the Short Stop. Seriously killer in trees. Ultra agile and easy to make quick sharp turns - and should be just as good when there's deep powder in there.  

Jumps

It was OK but had some pretty obvious drawbacks.

Pop: Super easy to access but not a lot of overall pop. 

Approach: Good adjustability, but gets wobbly when needing more speed for a take off. And if you even think about approaching switch, you're a braver human being than I am!

Landing: Pretty sketchy to be fair. Fine if you're not doing anything bigger than a side-hit or small jump, but beyond that, just make sure you're sure of your landing. Doesn't let you get away with much - and it goes without saying that tail-heavy landings aren't going to end well. 

Side-hits: Keep 'em small and that nose forward at all times and they're actually pretty fun. You're not going to launch to the moon on it, but for little airs or 360s, it's not bad. 

Small jumps/Big jumps: 

Switch

Scroll up (or down) and take a look at the picture of this board again, then you'll have your answer! But seriously, yeah not the best for riding tail first. Not only is the size and shape rather disconcerting, it's also pretty flat - as in not a lot of rocker up - in the profile, so it feels a little as if you could tomahawk at any moment on a groomed slope!

Riding this thing in switch would be a sure recipe to catch some good tomahawk footage!

Spins

Super easy to get get the board around on a spin - certainly a large part of that is because of its length, I would say.

Not as bad as I would have thought when setting up switch, but also not ideal and landing switch felt rather sketchy, with that tiny tail. Would be especially so for bigger spins. Definitely not catchy at all on setup and landing - just that it's not one for riding tail first!

I didn't find that it over-rotated after landing and easy to complete an incomplete spin on the snow after landing. 

Butters

There's enough flexibility there, but there's also very little tail there and a lot of nose. Both pretty awkward to press and the tail is stiffer than the nose. So, they feel very different and I found that the tail too short and nose too long to lock in.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The Short Stop is a wickedly fun board, when you ride it the way it was meant to be ridden. And that's making sure it's turning as much as humanly possible. This thing loves to turn and when there are obstacles (i.e. trees) in the way, then it's all the more fun. 

Don't expect it to be something that you can bomb without white knuckling it and hoping it won't implode on you, but for slower speed, tight turns, it's lightning in a bottle. And it's built for powder. Not a one-board-quiver in my books, but would be a sick quiver addition as your tree/powder board, IMO.