Burton Realigns

[RXPXSkier]

Just came across this...http://snowboarding.transworld.net/1...rLt00.facebook

[Name Redacted]

Sucks to hear about Special Blend and Four Square. They made quality stuff for a long time, Forum, not so much.

Snowboard industry is in a slump, they blame the economy, but I'm guessing last year's snow totals and a slumping snowboard industry has more to do with it than the overall economy.

[totaliboard]

This is good news.. Viva la foursquare

[neckdeep]

Burton needs to realign its basic philosophy cuz it sucks ass. Some companies, you know if you pay more you get more. Not Burton. The high-end stuff performs great out of the box but its still pathetic durability gear designed to soon fall apart and force you to buy more. 3 pairs of Driver Xs and not one lasted more than 50 days before the lacing systems failed. Burton knows its speed laces are a big durability fail but won't go to the expense of distributing repair kits to dealers. Took Burton 7 months! to relace my last pair and the boots came back with torn foam in one liner and it started disintegrating almost immediately. Got a whole 45-50 days out of that $300. Jake Burton laughs all the way to the bank while you and I sit at the base with broken gear on a powder day.

[shredGenius]

It makes sense, but it still sucks to see more brands go. I grew up with Backhill, which was such a sick brand as a young'n, I remember when they shut that down, I was pissed.

I agree they need to realign their philosophy. I learned long ago never to buy their soft goods. Had a pair of boots a few years ago, nothing but trouble with their lacing system. Sucks sitting at the car trying to get the boot off your foot without ripping the laces. As cool as I think their AK gear looks, I would never buy it with quality companies such as flylow offering better products at better prices.

[boltonoutlaw]

Jake Burton laughs all the way to the bank while you and I sit at the base with broken gear on a powder day.

Your experience with Warranty 48 sounds unusual. Have to step in here to defend the best large-scale warranty and service department in the business.

Also must mention that I have great luck with durability issues. However, I will only buy boots with traditional lacing, and sadly Burton is putting speed-zone lacing in all of their high-end boots now.

[AdironRider]

My Driver X's are going strong after 100 plus days. No issues. Held up better than any of my Salomons actually.

I dont think many tears are going to be shed for the loss of Forum and Foursquare. Seems to be the smart play here.