Hello and welcome to my Burton Trick Pony review.
In this review I will take a look at the Trick Pony as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Trick Pony a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
NOTE: The 2018 model was the last model of the Trick Pony that Burton produced.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Trick Pony 2018
Price: $549 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain
Flex: Medium
Rating Score: 87.2/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Out of the 27 men’s all-mountain snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 80.9/100
- The highest score was 92.1/100
- The lowest score was 63.4/100
- The average price was $490
- The Trick Pony ranked 7th out of 26
Overview of the Trick Pony’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Trick Pony’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style | All-Mountain | Flex | Medium |
Ability Level | Intermediate to Expert | Feel | Stable bordering on locked-in |
Weight | Light | Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast |
Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber (PurePop Camber) Camber between the feet then flat towards tip and tail with a tiny bit of rocker | Shape | Directional Twin |
Stance Setback | Setback 12.5mm (0.5″) | Edge-hold | Medium-hard snow |
Price | $549 (USD) | Base | Sintered (WFO) |
Sizing (2018)
Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 158 | 158W | 162 | 162W |
Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 252 | 254 | 264 | 256 | 266 |
Weight Range (lbs) | 120-180 | 120-180 | 150-200 | 150-200 | 180-260+ | 180-260+ |
Weight Range (kgs) | 54-82 | 54-82 | 68-91 | 68-91 | 82-118+ | 82-118+ |
Note that Burton has changed their weight recommendations for the 2018 model. The board is essentially the same, so this is just an adjustment in their weight recommendations – not a reflection of changes in the board.
Sizing (2017)
Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 158 | 158W | 162 | 162W |
Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 252 | 254 | 264 | 256 | 266 |
Weight Range (lbs) | 115 – 155 | 130 – 170 | 145 – 185 | 145 – 185 | 165 – 205 | 165 – 205 |
Weight Range (kgs) | 52-70 | 59-77 | 66-84 | 66-84 | 75-93 | 75-93 |
Who is the Trick Pony Most Suited to?
The Trick Pony is one of those boards that is just a really good all-rounder. Though perhaps in the past being more freestyle focused, this board has really molded into a do-it-all quiver killer.
It’s still a great board for riding freestyle but it’s also very good at riding anywhere you take it and however you want to ride – so you don’t have to change boards no matter what you’re feeling for.
Not one for beginners but for anyone intermediate and up that just want one board that can do a bit of everything, then the Trick Pony is one that can do that better than most.
The Trick Pony in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Trick Pony is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Trick Pony 2017, 154cm (252mm waist width)
Conditions: Reasonably hard conditions first thing, with some icy patches in places. Puked snow midday and quickly became nice and soft with enough snow to test this puppy over some shallow powder. Visibility stayed decent even whilst it was snowing.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Powder
Given that it has a directional twin shape (true twin but with a 12.5mm setback stance) and very little rocker in the nose, this board was better in powder than I had expected.
It does have a setback of 12.5mm which certainly helps.
I mean it doesn’t float like a board with a 20mm+ setback, directional shape and large, scooped, rockered nose – but it floats better than average.
And I was on the 154cm – which is a bit short for me for this type of board. I think the 158cm would have better float for me (I’m too heavy for the 154cm).
Carving and Turning
With the new camber profile (mostly camber with flat spots towards tip and tail and very slight bits of rocker after the flat spots) the Trick Pony is a much better carver than it used to be with it’s old camber profile (flat in the middle and rockered on tip and tail – 2016 model and earlier) and now it’s really fun to carve with.
You can skid your turns on it too if you want but not super easy. Not a beginners turning board but not as catchy as you’d expect for the camber profile. Edge-to-edge I found it very quick – but I imagine it to be a little slower on the 158cm, which would have been more my size but still will be decently quick edge-to-edge.
Edge-hold was ok on the harder stuff and fine on the softer stuff. A little washy in the icy patches. This would have been better on the 158cm though I suspect.
Speed
This board can handle a good bit of speed and feels nice and stable when getting up to speeds. I didn’t push it to the limit because I was on the 154cm but I definitely rode it fairly fast and it felt stable. Again, the 158cm for me would have been better for speed but even on the 154 I felt confident at speed.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
It’s pretty good in uneven stuff. I had a fair bit of choppy Sunday afternoon snow to navigate and it could handle it pretty well.
Jumps
The Trick Pony has a good bit of pop and also a nice stable landing platform. I really enjoyed it over jumps and for ollies. You can take it over any size jump really – good on the smalls and the larges.
Switch
Despite a little bit of a setback, I found it really easy to ride switch on. It’s a true twin and I was riding with a +15/-15 and a smaller board – but even so, it’s really quite good at riding switch and you don’t really notice that setback going in your opposite direction.
The setback is very subtle and it otherwise a twin shape – so no surprise that it was good for switch really.
Jibbing
This is probably the only area on the Trick Pony that isn’t as good on the 2018 and 2017 model compared to the older models. You can still jib on it but there are much easier boards to jib with.
If you hit jibs occasionally, and you’re skilled at them, then it’s fine. But if you like to hit jibs a lot or if you’re looking for a board that you can learn jibbing on, then it won’t be ideal.
Changes from the 2017 Model and other Past Models.
Apart from Burton changing their weight recommendations (which had nothing to do with changes in the board), the 2017 & 2018 models are pretty much the same but with a different graphic.
The main change between the 2016 and 2017 model is that it changed to a “pure pop camber” profile, which is mostly camber with flat point as you exit the inserts and subtle rocker sections before the contact points.
The 2016 model had a flat-to-rocker profile. This is now a more all-mountain oriented board and less freestyle focused, than it was for the 2016 model.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
Powder: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
Carving: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
Speed: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
Switch: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
Jumps: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
Jibbing: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
Pipe: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.2/100 |
Overall, the Trick Pony 2018 & 2017 (the 2nd coming of the board really) is a great do everything kind of board. So if you’re a versatile rider and don’t want to have more than one board, then the Trick Pony is a great option.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in the Trick Pony, are ready to buy or want to research prices and size availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Trick Pony compares to other all-mountain snowboards or want to check out some other options in this category, check out the next link.
>>My Top 10 Men’s All-Mountain Snowboards
Hey this is 10 years late. I’ve been riding for a long ass time and have honestly never been on a better board than the trick pony 162. Just rode in Lake Louise, deep and steep and the board doesn’t miss a step. It’s now old and getting noodly. What’s a current comparison?
Hi Unger
Yeah, this review was first published February 2017. Post show last updated as it’s more useful typically as I often update reviews. With this one, it’s a little annoying, because any slight update, like correcting a spelling error or something and it comes up with the date I fixed the spelling error!
Anyway, I’d say the best current comparison would be the Process Camber. It’s got the same camber (PurePop camber) – only the Instigator Camber and 3D Kilroy Camber have the Purepop now, apart from the Process, and their less similar. The Process Camber also has the Super Fly II core, twin shape and 12.5mm setback. It has a sintered base, but he Sintered WFO that the Trick Pony had, so a little bit of a step down in terms of base. The Process may be a little softer than the Trick Pony. Whilst Burton rates the Process as quite soft on their website, I’d say it’s medium. The Trick Pony also medium – but probably more 5.5-6/10 versus 5/10 on the Process. Also note that the Process Camber was full (traditional) camber up until the 2018 model. 2018 was the last model of the Trick Pony – and then the 2019 Process was the first time it got PurePop, so it seems like Burton were trying to put some of the Trick Pony into the Process.
Dimensions are a bit different between the two (sidecut, effective edge, running length, width etc), but overall I’d say the Process is the closest equivalent.
Hello,
How does it compare to the burton custom camber and the Salomon Ultimate Ride?
Thanks
Hi Damián
Thanks for your message.
I haven’t ridden the Ultimate Ride, so I couldn’t say from first hand experience there but vs the Custom Camber:
1. Custom more aggressive, Trick Pony more forgiving – but still not super forgiving
2. Trick Pony better in powder
3. Custom better carver (but not too much in it)
4. Neither overly stiff, but quite a bit of camber in both (more so in Custom Camber of course) makes neither super loose/playful
5. Otherwise kind of similar – though the Custom probably a little poppier
Based on specs, and what others say, of the Ultimate Ride, I’d say it’s more similar to the Custom in terms of feel, but it’s also a centered true twin (whereas the Custom has a little bit of a setback and isn’t a twin).
Hope this helps
How would you compare this to the 2017 Arbor Westmark Camber? I can get a killer deal on this board new for $330, but worried it might be too similar to my Westmark. Love the Westmark, but it’s a bit on the soft side for all-mountain bombing. Also, it tends to wash out when pushing it really hard. Trying to find something that’s closer to the best of both worlds – stable bomber but still playful. Can you provide any insight?
Hi Luis
Thanks for your message.
I will be riding the 2019 Westmark next week, but I haven’t ridden the 2017 version – so I couldn’t compare first hand.
But these are what I would consider the biggest differences between them to be (based on specs of the Westmark):
1. Camber: Westmark Camber is full camber – Trick Pony is what Burton call purepop camber – which is mostly camber but there some flat sections after the inserts towards tip and tail and then a tiny bit of rocker just before the contact points.
2. Trick Pony is setback 12.5mm and has a directional twin shape – the Westmark is a true twin with a centered stance.
There are of course other differences too, but these are the most obvious. What this likely means is that the Trick Pony is a little better in powder and at speed and is probably little more forgiving of skidded turns – but that’s hard to say without having ridden the Westmark yet – and the camber in the Westmark is “Parabolic Camber” which is supposed to make it less catchy than traditional camber – without having ridden it I’m not sure how much difference this makes compared with traditional camber.
I would say that the Westmark is more freestyle oriented based on the specs, so the Trick Pony is better setup for bombing, IMO. But again take that with a grain of salt. In terms of flex though, it doesn’t look like there’s too much difference. If you wanted something marginally stiffer – but not too much stiffer, so that there is still some playfullness, I would check out the following:
>>My Top 10 All Mountain Snowboards
The Rossignol One, Jones Mountain Twin, Slash Brainstorm, Never Summer West and YES Standard all have what I would consider a 6/10 flex – the Trick Pony probably more of a 5/10. Or the Niche Story which is more like a 7/10 as bit stiffer again, but a little less playful.
Or if you wanted to stick with something twin/centered, then this list would be a good start.
>>My Top All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
I know you have the deal for the Trick Pony, which is why you’re looking at that. I would say that it would be a bit more of a bomber than the Westmark, whilst retaining a bit of a playful nature. A little different to the Westmark but not worlds apart. If you were going to keep the Westmark and go for something that’s more of a bomber there are probably better options. If you were replacing the Westmark and just wanted one board, then the Trick Pony is an option – but again, comparing to the Westmark is difficult until I’ve had a chance to ride it next week.
Hope this gives you a bit more to go off
Hey Nate! This is a totally delayed response, but I didn’t want to forget to thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed response! Seriously, much respect for you and your website.
I think I knew the Trick Pony wasn’t the right call for me right now, but that 40% off deal was clouding my judgment… big discounts tend to do that sometimes. Seems like a pretty fun board, but too similar to my Westmark Camber. Also, I do have an old Custom in the quiver if necessary. Chances are slim that I’ll ever ride it again, but it’s there nonetheless, haha.
I ended up putting that 40% off coupon to good use though. I scooped up a new pair of Cartel’s and a jacket instead. Haven’t ridden the Cartel’s yet, but they feel amazing playing around on my carpet. I’ll be testing them in Whistler later this month.
Anyhow, thanks again bro. Cheers.
You’re very welcome Luis. Hope you enjoy your trip to Whistler!