Hello and welcome to my Burton Talent Scout review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Talent Scout as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Talent Scout a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Talent Scout
Price: $549
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: 5-8/10 (Personality: Medium to Aggressive)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 89.3/100
Compared to other Women’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Of the 21 current model women's all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Talent Scout ranked 2nd out of 21
Overview of the Talent Scout's Specs
Check out the tables for the Talent Scout's specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
ALL-MOUNTAIN-FREESTYLE
PRICE:
$549 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
Full Camber - aka traditional camber.
SHAPE:
setback stance:
Centered
BASE:
Sintered
weight:
Felt normal
Camber Height:
10.5mm!
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
138 | 235 | 80-120 | 36-54 |
141 | 237 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
146 | 240 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
149 | 242 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
152 | 245 | 150-200+ | 68-91+ |
Who is the Talent Scout Most Suited To?
The Talent Scout is best suited to anyone who wants a more aggressive than average poppy board that excels in the resort and the park alike, for those who are solid riders.
It's not super powder friendly, so if you see a lot of powder, you might want it as part of a quiver with another powder specialist board. But apart from powder, it's very versatile.
Not for beginners and even lower intermediates might find it a bit challenging.
The Talent Scout in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Talent Scout is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Talent Scout 2024, 149cm (242mm waist width)
Date: March 9, 2023
Conditions
Sunny with clouds. Visibility 100%.
Temperature: Around 0°C (32°F) in the morning but more like -6°C (21°F) with wind chill. 15kph (10mph) Easterly winds in morning. 1°C (34°F) in the afternoon, -4°C (25°F) with wind chill. 15kph (10mph) NE winds..
24 hour snow: 0.4" (1cm)
48 hour snow: 0.8" (2cm)
7 day snow: 13" (33cm)
On groomer: Hard packed but not icy. Well groomed for the most part and stayed pretty consistent throughout the day, getting a little cruddy towards the end but nothing too bad.
Off groomer: Not ideal. A little icy/crunchy in most parts. Doable but not super fun.
Set up
Bindings angles: +12/-9
Stance width: 530mm (20.9″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 254mm (10")
Weight: 2540g (5lbs, 10oz)
Weight per cm: 17.05g/cm
Average Weight per cm: 17.38 grams/cm*
* based on just over 40 women's boards that I've weighed in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models. The Talent Scout was a little lighter than average on the scales and felt normal on snow.
Tester: Meira
Rider Height: 5'4 (163cm)
Rider Weight: 130lbs (58kg)
Rider Boot Size: US Women's 8 (Burton Limelite)
Bindings Used: Union Milan
Powder
None to test in on the day, but based on specs, it's not going to float super well in powder, given it's a true twin, centered board with no rocker.
Carving & Turning
Carving: For a twin this is one of the better carvers out there. I found it could rail a carve nicely.
Ease of Turning/Slashing: It wasn't super hard to initiate turns and get it to slash, but it wasn't super easy/slashy either.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: When you put the effort in and made sure you were using good technique it could get from edge to edge pretty quickly at slower speeds. Not lightning quick, but decently so.
Catchiness: When riding slow it could feel quite catchy. That catchy feeling all but disappeared when getting some speed under it though.
Speed
It's decently fast and nice and stable at higher speeds for the most part. And it feels at it's best when riding with a bit of speed under it.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: Does a good job of smashing through crud, staying fairly stable and felt pretty damp too.
Trees/Bumps: Felt good in trees in bumps. You had to put the effort in to get it turning quickly in slower more technical sections and had to be on your game technique-wise, but when I was, it was very enjoyable.
Jumps
About as good as it gets.
Pop: Quite easy to access and also a good bit more pop when you load it up. Really liked the balance of pop in this board.
Approach: A good mix of stable but also decently easy to adjust. For slower approaches you've got to be a little conscious that it's more prone to catching an edge, but otherwise felt very good on approach.
Landing: Stomper! Can really stomp landings on this thing. But when you don't get it right it's pretty forgiving of errors too. Can land a little wonky and get away with it.
Side-hits: Really fun. Only thing would be on the setup you've got to concentrate for anything tricky that takes some quick maneuvering but when you do that, the approach is good and that easy access pop makes side-hits super fun on this thing.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Good for everything. Medium is probably the sweet spot, but more than capable of handling bigger jumps.
Switch
It's a true twin, so naturally rode switch well. You had to be a little careful on transitions, particularly if you were riding slow, but otherwise, very good board for riding switch.
Spins
The only thing that marks it down a little is that it can feel a little catchy on setup for the spin, but everything else is well suited to spins.
Jibbing
Good pop onto features and felt good on the jib. But the approach could feel a little sketchy, unless you were approaching with a good bit of speed under you.
Butters
Takes a little bit of effort to get it pressing, but not too much. And once you get it locked in, it's really good for holding a press.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 5.0 | 20/20 |
CARVING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SPINS | 4.0 | 8/10 |
BUTTERS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JIBBING | 3.0 | 3/5 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TREES/BUMPS | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
POWDER | 2.0 | 2/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 89.3/100 |
The Talent Scout is certainly more aggressive than it is playful and you've got to approach it with good technique and a willingness to put a bit of effort into your riding.
But when you do, then you reap the rewards, because it's a super fun, dynamic, poppy board that excels as well for speed and carves as it does in the park. Apart from powder, it's really versatile overall.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Talent Scout, 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 women's all-mountain-freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Talent Scout to other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate,
Can you please give me some advice on size? I am 6’7″ and weigh 110lbs, and I consider myself a low intermediate rider. I guess this might not be the best choice for me, but I really like the graphics. I’m just wondering what size I should go for. I think a 146 might be good for all-mountain riding since I am not planning on learning park yet. A 141 might offer more flexibility and be easier to control, but it may not be long enough as I grow my skills and I don’t plan to get another board anytime soon.
Hi Emma, thanks for your message.
Yeah, not ideal for low intermediate, but if you’re set on it, then it’s a close call between the 146 and 141 and will depend on your boot size. I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 144, and as a low intermediate on this board I would be inclined to size down and not up, so I’d be leaning 141. If your feet are on the smaller side for the width of the board, then I would be even more leaning towards the 141. So, if you could also let me know your boot size (or shoe size if you’re not sure of boot size), that would be great.
Note, I didn’t want to make any assumptions but I based this on 5’7″, rather than 6’7″ but if 6’7″ is your height, please correct me and I’ll take a look at it again.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
I apologize for the incorrect information earlier. I made a mistake with the unit conversion. I meant to say I am 1.67m (5’6″) instead of 6’7″. Additionally, the boot size I currently wear is a size 7 (240mm).
Hey Emma.
All good, I thought it was the case, but wanted to double check to make sure. While the 146 wouldn’t be wrong, I would be leaning 141 for you for this board.