2012-2013 Burton Easy Livin

Burton Easy Livin, Blister Gear ReviewBoard: 2012-13 Burton Easy Livin, 158cm

Dimensions (mm): 299-253-299

Turn Radius: 7.35m

Actual Tip-to-Tail length (straight tape pull): 158cm

Boots: Burton Hail

Bindings: Burton Malavita

Stance: Regular – 15/-15, 24 in. wide. Centered

Test Locations: Mt. Hood, Oregon

Days Ridden: 30+

Price: $530

This past summer while coaching at Windells Camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon, I had the opportunity to ride a number of boards. I spent a lot of time on the Burton Custom and the Burton Aftermath, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with either; I felt a lack of responsiveness from the Custom, and didn’t like the narrow waist width of the Aftermath. A Burton rep then recommended that I try the Burton Easy Livin (EL), since it is slightly stiffer than the Custom and wider than the Aftermath, so in theory would give me a bit more control at speed and less toe drag.

The EL is also Danny Davis’s pro model, leading me to assume that if it could provide Danny with the performance he demands from a board in the superpipe, it would work for me throughout the park. And since there is little available outside of the park at Mt. Hood during the summer months, I was in search of a stiff and versatile board that could handle halfpipe and jumps with equal prowess. The EL fit the bill perfectly.

Camber/Rocker

Burton applied a whole slew of technology to the Easy Livin, with the most notable being the “Flying V” camber and “Squeezebox” design.

The Flying V is Burton’s version of the increasingly popular hybrid camber design. Similar to Lib Tech’s C2 and Technine’s Cam Rock camber profiles, the EL has cambered areas underfoot to give it the stiffness, response, and stability of traditional camber, but reverse camber between the bindings and in the tip and tail to aid the board’s float in slush and powder, and to give it playful, skateboard-style feel at lower speeds. By combining the best aspects of camber with the best aspects of reverse camber, the idea is to make the EL a one-board quiver suitable for jumps, pipe, and free riding.

Burton Flying V, Blister Gear Review
Burton Flying V

Mt. Hood was an ideal proving ground for this. In the mornings, the snow is firm after being groomed and re-freezing overnight, and the jumps are solid from being freshly salted. The mornings are also when the Flying V camber stood out most. The EL held a turn well while cutting through the ski racers’ gates and turned quickly as I slalomed between them. Other reverse camber boards I rode (like the Burton Super Hero) tended to slide carves more, as opposed to really powering through them as the EL did.

As the sun rose, Windells’ park quickly became soft and slushy. Massive bumps developed in the landings of features from riders stopping or turning immediately after landing to get to the towrope, and ruts appeared on the takeoffs. In these conditions, the reverse camber aspect of the Flying V made it much easier to keep my tips from getting dragged down in the slush and helping me get through ruts on the takeoffs of jumps without getting hung up in them.

4 comments on “2012-2013 Burton Easy Livin”

  1. I rode the easy living / uninc for a while now and it excels out of the park and in pow well too. I have neve had any binding heel lift with the channel the only problem i have had with the channel was that there were some manufacturing issues on some of the flying v boards with the channel bubbling the base under the channel for some reason but burton warrantied it and it was fine on the next one. Have you tried it with burtons est bindings? that may solve your binding lift problem. good review this is my favorite board for the last few years.

  2. I did not have the chance to try it with EST bindings, although I would like to because they are specifically designed for that system and have extra support from the track running down the side. I imagine that would help. Often times my bindings came loose, and some friends recommended using Loctite to keep them in better. Thanks for checking it out and glad your stoked on the board!

  3. i have had the issue with the loosening screws on the mounting with the new screw system and was able to use the old screws where the male part was on the board that system never came loose. I just went back to the habit of checking my screws everyday after my bindings came loose and shifted slowly to a 28 in stance while riding. I think loctite voids burtons warranty though or it has in the past.

  4. As a newbie, I feel really confortable with the EL. I gave it a 2 months shot in freeride and also in the park and it’s amazing! Can’t really say anything about rails, I only rode 2 and I fell on my face but that’s because I just began with tricks :)

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