Hello and welcome to my Burton Show Stopper review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Show Stopper as a surfy-freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Show Stopper a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other surfy-freeride snowboards.
DISCOTINUED BOARD: Note that the 2022 model was the last model of the Show Stopper. So this review hasn't been updated past then.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Show Stopper 2022
Price: $579
Style: Surfy Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 91.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Surfy Freeride Boards.
* note that the "surfy freeride" category is a new category here at Snowboarding Profiles - and represents freeride boards that are in that softer flex range - 6.5/10 or less. They're not necessarily "surfy" feeling boards as such - but "slightly softer flexing freeride" just didn't have the same ring as a category name!"
Out of the 30 men’s surfy freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Show Stopper’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Show Stopper's specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Surfy Freeride |
Price: | $579 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 1.5" (38mm) |
Base: | Sintered (Recycled Sintered WFO) |
Weight: | Lighter than normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
142 | 250 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
148 | 255 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
154 | 260 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
158 | 265 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
162 | 270 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
Who is the Show Stopper Most Suited To?
The Show Stopper is a great option for anyone looking to get off groomer (but still rides great on groomer) and explore, whether there's powder or not. A directional freeride board that's more precise than it is surfy, but one that's not unforgivingly stiff.
Someone looking for a board that's nimble at slower speeds, but still stable at higher speeds.
Not for the beginner or even low intermediate. For solid intermediate riders and up.
The Show Stopper in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Show Stopper is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Show Stopper 2022, 154cm (260mm waist width)
Date: March 18, 2021
Conditions: Cloudy and quite windy too. And a chilly wind. 25kph (16mph) winds
Temperature was around +2°C (36°F) - and -4°C (25°F) with wind chill. Could really feel that wind chill today.
24 snow: 0cm (0")
7 day snow: 5cm (2")
On groomer: Slushy and slow for the most part. Not super slow or anything, but a little slow. Some (but not many) icy patches underneath the slush on steeper sections.
Off groomer: Ditto on-groomer
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 530mm (20.9″)
Stance Setback: Setback 38mm (1.5")
Width at Inserts: 271mm (10.67") at front insert and 271mm (10.67")*
* typically with a big setback the back insert is wider and with a good bit of taper, the back insert is narrower. In this case the taper and setback cancel each other out, so that the width at inserts is even
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Control Board for Control Laps: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Weight: 2720grams (5lbs 15oz)
Weight per cm: 17.66 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.43 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 100 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021 *& 2022 models. The Show Stopper is lighter than average. Taking into account it's a wider board, it's even lighter than the 17.66 grams/cm suggests. On snow it doesn't feel super light, but maybe just a little lighter than normal or about normal. On the lift it feels light. I think the reason it doesn't feel as light on snow as it actually is is because of how damp it feels. A damper board tends to feel heavier on snow versus a snappier board.
Powder
Didn't get any powder to ride on the day, but the specs suggest, this thing would handle powder really well.
It's setback quite a long way - 38mm (1.5") on effective edge and setback around 73mm (3") on the overall length of the board - and has a generous taper of 12mm. That plus,
Handled slushy conditions really well.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Has a nice lively feeling on a carve - and holds and locks into the carve really nicely.
Turning: I wouldn't go as far as to say making turns is effortless, but it's also not a board you have to muscle. And the little bit of effort you need to put in to get it humming, gives back. There's good spring out of turns and just a nice lively feel to it.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Really quite nimble. Felt as nimble as the Pow Wrench I also rode that today, which surprised me. Particularly when it gives you that, but is also considerably better than the Pow Wrench when it comes to big carves.
Skidded Turns: Not super forgiving of skidded turns, but not super catchy either. You want to be riding it with decent technique, hence why I'd say solid intermediate and up.
Speed
Nice and solid at speed. Something that felt stable, even when things were a bit cruddy - and felt like the overall speed was good too, particularly given it was a 154.
Good glide on this board too - which was nice for those flatter/slight uphill sections.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Felt really confident riding this board in crud. It could smash through it or go over top and felt really solid. Didn't really get bucked around at all, but even if it did, it's the kind of board that you could correct fairly easily on, due to the control it gives you.
Bumps: Weaves between bumps really well. So fun in the trees - could handle everything in there with ease - nice and nimble and absorbed everything in it's path. Just such a fun tree board.
Jumps
Overall for the type of board it is, it wasn't bad for jumps.
Pop: Good pop. It wasn't super snappy or anything and the pop wasn't super easy to extract, but it wasn't super hard either.
Approach: Nice and stable but with enough agility to be able to speed check and change course when necessary.
Landing: Solid. Wouldn't go as far to call it a stomper - but solid, and some forgiveness too, for those less-than-perfect landings.
Side-hits: Not ideal, but still quite fun.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Medium to Large jumps, straight air is the sweet spot for this board when it comes to jumps.
Switch
It's pretty directional, so it was never going to be amazing for riding switch, but it's doable.
Spins
Taking off and landing switch not ideal. But there's some decent pop there and getting the spin around wasn't too bad. Being on the lighter side helped to. Not the ideal spinner by any means, but if you wanted to hit the occasional 180, 360 etc, it's certainly doable. 3/5.
Butters
It's not unbuttery. It's not super buttery either. But it had more pressability in the nose and tail than I was anticipating. probably 3/5 pushing 3.5/5.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 27/30 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNING | 4.0 | 16/20 |
CARVING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 8/10 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 2.0 | 2/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 91.1/100 |
Overall, the Show Stopper was super fun to ride. And strikes a really good balance between being burly enough to handle some speed, but still really agile when riding slower. It can handle a variety of different turns and is just so fun and lively to turn with.
It's also really well suited to riding powder.
For anyone looking for a one-board quiver, that's pretty versatile outside of riding freestyle, this ticks a lot of boxes (or someone who wants it as their directional freeride/powder board in their quiver).
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Show Stopper, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other surfy freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Show Stopper compares to other surfy freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
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