Few brands have such a profound impact on an entire industry and ability to create and innovate in a way that makes their brand name synonymous with the industry itself as Burton Snowboards. What started with slabs of wood with rope handles has evolved into a seriously well oiled machine that not only continues to push snowboard technology forward but is a driving force in winter sports as a whole. Burton now does much more than just snowboards - everything from a full blown outerwear catalog including their top of the line [ak] collection, to bags and accessories, and of course the impressive Anon brand of helmets and goggles. With all these moving parts Burton has had to expand and lean on their factory partners in Austria and China, however their roots remain in Burlington, Vermont with their Headquarters and Prototype Facility.

We had the incredible opportunity to get an inside look at the Burton HQ and Craig Kelly Prototype Facility where the first iterations of boards are made, color palettes are decided, marketing stories are told, dogs roam free, and many many people are hard at work to make Burton the powerhouse it is. There's a lot happening here and each room we walked through had its own wow factor that made the whole experience feel a bit Willy Wonka-ish. We'll let the photos do most of the talking - so much cool stuff to see and a great showcase of the past, present, and even future of Burton if you look close enough!

 

We started our day with a line showing of next season's outerwear line. The new [ak] gear looks, feels, and fits awesome; look at those colors!!!

The Anon lounge is fully prepped for a mini ramp session with some of the best goggles in the game watching you.

Neil took another look at this season's lineup of boards, and Devon got to take home her first ever Burton board!

Mood boards line the walls of the photo studio focusing in on each line of outerwear. Neil is checking out the Carbonate collection in the poppin' Jake Blue colorway.

The photo studio is impressive to say the least. You're in a massive white room with cyclorama walls on all sides so there are no floor to wall seams in photos. There are four different sets ready to go at all times with enough camera and lighting equipment to make your head spin. Oh, and if you're wondering how they keep the white floors clean for photos...they paint them before every photoshoot.   

On our way out of the showroom and photo studio we made a pit stop at the Burton bar, how could we say no?

We headed over to the Craig Kelly Prototype Facility, named after one of Burton's original and most iconic team riders. Craig Kelly is widely known as the 'Godfather of Freeriding' and had a passion for being involved in the r&d of the equipment he was using, thus Burton's prototype facility was named in his honor. Much of what happens in this building truly is top secret and won't be seen by the general public until years down the road. We were lucky enough to get an in depth look at what goes on here, what is in the works for seasons to come, and what sort of new technology Burton is experimenting with to continue progressing snowboarding.

Plenty of original boards and parts are on display that Jake Burton himself built, shaped, tested, and scrapped as he grew the Burton brand.

We cruised through the museum at Craig's which has boards from the early days of Burton all the way up to some more modern boards showing the progression of technology and how quickly Burton grew from slabs of wood with a rope handle to bindings, boots, metal edges, better base materials, and much more. We even got a look at some hand-written notes that Jake had in old notebooks with sketches of what would be some of the first Burton outerwear!

These are some of Craig Kelly's pro model snowboards, you'll notice most of them don't have his signature in the graphic...this is due to a legal battle that took some time to resolve. Once the rights were released to use his name on Burton boards they didn't hold back and plastered his name on his latest pro model hanging up top.

Some of the first Burton boots and bindings, times have changed, huh?

This is the Willy Wonka part - unreleased boards that never made it to production (or at least not yet!), one-off graphics, experimental shapes and technology still being tested, everlasting gobstobbers, you get the gist. Craig's is where new ideas come to life for the first time. Prototype boards are built here that are then tested and fine tuned before heading to production. Craig's is also responsible for building limited edition boards found in the Mine77 collection, Mystery Series boards that use the highest end materials possible, and team riders' boards.

The capabilities of this place are insane. A lot of the machines used at some point in the process of building snowboards are machines that Burton built themselves. If there is something that Burton wants to make, they have the means to do so.

The woodshop is where the cores are made start to finish. Big blocks of wood are glued and pressed together, then shaved down to the right thickness.

Once they have the rough cut, the core gets shaped, thinned out in the nose and tail, and Channel inserts get milled out. The detail and variation found in each core is wild - different types of wood are strategically placed in different locations and directions to achieve the desired feel and personality of the board.

Each board model requires a different set of materials and steps to come together and make a finished product. We built the standout of the Family Tree line, the Hometown Hero. Starting by laying down the base material, fixing the metal edges in the mold, and laying down a sheet of fiberglass, epoxy is added to hold everything together.

Next up - a full layer of carbon fiber. The Hometown Hero is a responsive and lively feeling snowboard, a lot to do with this sheet of carbon.

The core goes in next followed by another layer of fiberglass.

Two additional pieces of fiberglass are placed where the outside edge of your binding lands. These pieces give the Hometown Hero a stiffer nose and tail while keeping some torsional flex located between your feet for easy turn initiation and a nimble feel. 

The topsheet goes on and everything gets buttoned up before heading into the press. The press is adjusted to put the appropriate camber profile into the board, and is easily manipulated to experiment with more or less camber in any part of the board. 

Once the board is pressed, shaped, sanded, and just about ready, it finds itself here. This machine flexes the board in all directions to break it in so it is ready to ride right away. Through Craig Kelly's testing and feedback, Burton realized that it is better to 'overbuild' their boards and then break them in before a consumer gets their hands on them. This way the flex with remain consistent for the life of the board, rather than feeling stiff at first and then softening up over time.

Molds for all the models you know and love plus many more you haven't seen quite yet are ready to go at a moment's notice. A screenprinting area is able to take designs from all kinds of mediums and put them on topsheets. Craig's is responsible for producing the boards in the Mine77 collection that oftentimes use artwork from music albums, famous photographers, and other collaborators.

These are works of art. The amount of time, energy, money, people, love that go into building these things that we slide on snow with is unbelievable. Burton's commitment to constantly innovate and push the boundaries of what's possible is evident. It was an absolute privilege to peel back the curtain and see exactly what it takes to create these products that we all care so much about. Thank you Burton. GO SNOWBOARDING.