Shayboarder.com

Location: Breckenridge, CO

Snow Conditions: Hardpacked snow conditions with overcast weather

Setup: I rode the Burton Marley Whammy with Burton Lexa winged bindings and Vans Veil Boots size 8.

Size: 155cm

First Impression: This board pulls a whammy everywhere, not a bad ride at all.  This is the whammy bar but with marley graphics.

Weight: average

Flex: Softer nose and tail on the whammy bar with a stiffer flex between the bindings that help create a stable ride down the mountain.  The softer nose/tail made it really fun to playing around with on groomers but also still able to carve and handle some speed.  The marley whammy features V-rocker with a center rocker between the feet and additional rockers outside each foot that lift the tail and tip completely off the snow.  I found the V-rocker a good combo for the whammy, it gave it a lot of the playfulness but still capable of handling the mountain.

Turning: Despite being a midwide, I actually found it very easy to intiate turns with on the mountain.  It didn’t have a slower edge to edge that I was expecting and once I got into a turn, it held a carve throughout the entire arc of a turn.  Both longer drawn out S turns were capable as well as shorter quick turns on the marley whammy.  I never felt the board slip away from underneath me but I didn’t take it in icy spots either.

Stable: For the most part the marley whammy impressed for a park board that could handle some charging and speed on the runs which could have been that it’s a midwide.  But it’s also a park oriented board so it’s not meant to be the best board for stability but I didn’t find it as loose as some other park boards I’ve ridden.  The only complaints I had with the marley whammy  is through choppy snow, it didn’t really cut well through it and you felt it bounce you around a bit.

Pop: I played with the pop off some rollers and it had decent pop to it but was more fun with just buttering and pressing the board. With the softer tail on the marley whammy, you could butter the mountain and just keep holding it endlessly on runs.

Switch: The marley whammy is a true twin with a true twin flex so there wasn’t an adjustment to riding switch in how it handled.

Overall Impression: The marley whammy gives the whammy bar a new graphic to choose from in the park oriented midwide model.  It features mid spoon that helps give the buttery feel, V-rocker for the playfulness and rail ready edges for the park.  Despite a softer flex of 3 by Burton, the marley whammy isn’t a noodle…it’s that mid board that has some softer features but still can handle the mountain outside of the park.

Shay’s Honesty Box: This was my favorite board from the burton demos, I ended up on a couple models but the  marley whammy was the best board for all mountain handling. It was fun in the park and it handled outside of the park.  I was surprised that it was the favorite since I spent the majority of time on it, outside of the park. I definitely don’t need a midwide but it’s not the first time I’ve ridden one either. I rode the Bob Marley collab of the whammy bar which was fun to check out the new graphics.

Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Burton Marley Whammy V-Rocker or shop their full line of Burton snowboards

On Snow Photo

Burton Marley Whammy description

Burton Whammy Bar description

Review Disclosure: I rode this board at a demo day.