Product Review: Burton Barracuda

Photo courtesy of Burton.com

  After my first experiences in deep pow I knew I needed a board suited to riding those conditions, but I also wanted something that would perform well  on groomed resort trails.  I basically wanted the best of both worlds and found it in the Burton Barracuda.

  The board ranges in size from 149cm to 169cm, giving plenty of flexibility in length for both male and female riders; I purchased the 161cm.  Even for you shorter ladies, if 149cm sounds long it isn't for the purpose of deep powder backcountry riding.  My all mountain board, the Salomon Ace, is a 156cm (I'm 5'7") I found to be a bit squirrelly in powder even with the bindings set all the way back.  With the Salomon I found myself working harder and tiring more quickly than I ultimately did on the Burton Barracuda.  I was initially hesitant about going with the 161cm but after reassurance from a friend who is a product tester for Burton I went for it and that turned out to be a great decision; if in doubt I recommend going a bit longer than you're comfortable for this kind of riding.

  When riding deep pow speed and steepness are your friend.  The Burton Barracuda acquitted itself wonderfully well in these conditions.  The extra length of the board proved to stabilize and balance it both dropping in and at high speed; this was on slopes in the mid to high 30 degree range.  The natural set-back of the bindings (Burton Malavita Restricted in my case) give the board a good long nose to plow through powder while allowing you to keep your balance relatively centered as opposed to leaning back or putting an inordinate amount of weight on your back foot.  This results in much less fatigue than riding a shorter all-mountain board in powder.

Photo by Bill Glude

  Another huge factor in the fantastic feel and effortless slashing of the Barracuda is Burton's S-Rocker shape, found on only three Burton models; the Barracuda, the Fish (a pow-centric swallowtail design), and the Freebird (the Freebird being Burton's sole splitboard offering).  In a nutshell the shape is rockered from the nose of the board to under the front foot, then cambered between the feet.  A quick 30 second visual aid of the S-Rocker design can be seen here.  Early in the season I used the Barracuda extensively on the East Coast of the United States, curious as to how it would ride on hard pack groomers which is where I may have been most surprised.  When transferring weight to the front foot and making turns on groomed trails the rocker flattens out, giving very good effective edge and making carving a blast.  This is also helped by the Barracuda being quite light and flexible, much more so than my 156cm Salomon.  Then in February I get the board waist deep in Japanese pow and it really comes into its' own.  Weight centered on the board causes the camber to flatten out, effortlessly pushing up the nose to keep it driving through the powder (and if you've ever stabbed the nose of your board into deep snow you know the head-over-heels crash that follows).  The end result is an incredibly balanced, responsive, dynamic feel that makes you want to come back to it again and again.  Riding pow on the Barracuda is hands down the best experience I've ever had on a snowboard; the fact that it can be an all-mountain ride is a huge bonus.

  The Barracuda features Burton's updated channel system for their bindings.  I had purchased the Burton Malavita Restricted bindings which were not specific to the Burton Infinite Channel system as I wanted to be able to use them on my Salomon if needed; a special adapter for the channel system came with these bindings and is available separately from Burton in the form of a two hole disc to replace the standard 4 hole one.  The channel system is comprised of two long grooves for each binding with them being screwed into the channel with only two screws through the baseplate.  The channel specific Burton EST bindings are mounted through brackets on either side of the binding, resulting in much less material (and no plastic) in the baseplate giving better dampening and feel.  Without being restricted to a pre-set group of mounting holes the rider is free to place the bindings anywhere along the channel.  My only caveat with the disc adapter is to be sure that they are screwed in tightly.  I had a few instances of the bindings being loose but that may well have been due to my lack of experience in mounting them as I switched them between my two boards several times (always carry a pocket tool kit anyway).  Once I had that aspect dialed in after my first few switches it was no longer a problem.

  Visually the Burton Barracuda is super clean and sharp looking, coming only in white with a simple graphic on the nose and the Barracuda name in the center along with the size.  The bottom of the board features a very cool totem-like graphic; quite unique and the board certainly stands out.


    If you are looking for a ride that absolutely rips in pow but behaves well when you're on-piste it's hard to top the Barracuda.  A much more well rounded successor to the Malolo, the Barracuda is easy to manage in groomed, packed conditions and is simply exhilarating in deep snow.  The Channel System gives virtually unlimited flexibility in binding placement, allowing a truly personalized stance.  Retailing at $499.99 it is worth every penny.  Highly recommended.