Are you considering purchasing a snowboard setup or new outerwear but want to test some options before dropping serious coin? Perhaps you have a snowboard trip coming up the thought of all your gear and outwear waiting for you at your destination just sounds so easy. If either of these situations resonate with you, the Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program is for you!
2023 Rental SALE!
Go here and use code spirit20 to get 20% off your Arrive gear rentals this holiday season. Sale ends 12/16/23 12:00 AM (Eastern Time Zone).
Do you have a snowboarder on your gift list this holiday season? If so, be sure to check out TMM’s Best Gifts for the Snowboarder.
This post contains affiliate links, but as always, is exactly what we tell our family and friends.
Why Use Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program
Who Is It For?
The Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program is not just for folks going on a snowboard vacation! This program could appeal to you if:
- You are interested in buying new gear but want to try it out first
- You are snowboarding for the first time and want high-quality gear to ease the learning curve
- You are new to snowboarding and not sure what snowboard to buy (so try a few options!)
- You snowboard just a few times a year and owning gear doesn’t make sense
- Your living quarters are small and there’s no space to store snowboard gear (or you went Marie Kondo during the pandemic and a pile of gear doesn’t fit the aesthetic anymore!)
- You have tweens or teens who suddenly outgrew their boots overnight and new ones are out of stock
- You are vacationing at a new resort and don’t need the hassle of traveling with snowboard gear
Try Before You Buy
Whether you’re a seasoned snowboarder or you’re just getting started, testing out a couple of different setups is a really good idea before you pull the trigger on buying new. The Burton Snowboards Rental Program gear selection has a wide variety of snowboards – from the playful, twin Blossom to the hard-charging Hometown Hero to the pow slaying 3D Deep Daze.
Maybe you’re intrigued by the new Burton Step-On strapless binding system (like I was) but you’re just not too sure if you’ll love it. Step Ons do offer a huge convenience factor, but they probably aren’t for everyone. Having the option to rent first is really nice!
Outwear is as much as an investment as hardgoods, and Burton’s rental fleet includes AK jackets and bib snowpants. Burton AK (which stands for Alaska) is their top of the line Gore-Tex, waterproof, super bomber outerwear.
I was interested in trying an AK shell because I normally choose an insulated jacket, but I was curious to see if I could layer up underneath and stay warm enough – without being bulky (the answer is yes – the Women’s AK Upshift jacket was perfect and kept me warm and dry!)
As of December, 2022, The Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program does not include kids gear – but we hope that this is a product they will consider offering in the future!
Order Ahead for Snowboard Trip Convenience
Planning a snowboard trip is a lot of work, and then you have to schlep all of your gear and hope it arrives in one piece. Using Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program is obviously super convenient but it’s surprisingly affordable as well.
Once you know the dates of your trip, you book your Burton Rental Gear and it ships directly to your condo, hotel or Air Bnb. You arrive, and your gear is there waiting for you. You mount your own gear, ride your heart out, and at the end of your trip you pack everything up in the boxes it came in, attach the prepaid shipping label(s) and leave for UPS to pick up.
No cramming boots into too-small duffels, or paying for oversized baggage fees. It really is so much easier this way.
The Burton Gear I Rented
Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard, 152 cm.
Initially, the Hometown Hero wasn’t available for me rental dates so I chose a Burton Feelgood instead. A few days later, the board became available and after a very quick email to customer service, I was able to swap out the boards.
The day that I tested the board was a below zero powder day. The board floated through the powder really well thanks to the directional shape (more tip than tail). It was also very snappy and responsive in the trees and later in the day when the snow was more chopped up.
Overall a super fun board that I would love to own (hint, hint, Santa Claus!).
Women’s AK Upshift Gore-Tex Jacket
Most jackets I own are insulated and waterproof, so I wanted to test a Gore-Tex shell to see if I could layer enough to stay warm without feeling too bulky. I loved this jacket – I got the Salmon color which was so bright and fun (and my kids never lost sight of me).
The jacket fit loose, so when I layered up with a wool baselayer, fleece mid layer and a thin down vest, I was still able to move and not feel to bunched up. Another thing I loved was the powder skirt has tabs to connect to AK pants. It was a powder day and I got zero snow up my back!
When I was asked to do a review of Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program the first thing I wanted to do was check to see what the gear options were. I was thrilled because the Step On’s are available and i’ve been wanting to try the Step On boots and bindings since they came out a few years ago.
Women’s Step On Re:Flex Bindings
For years i’ve been wanting to test the Step On binding system and I was not disappointed! With the Step-On boots and bindings, you don’t have any binding straps; you just step in to the binding, and click in to 3 different points.
These could be a great option if you have difficulty bending over to strap in your bindings, if you are teaching little kids to snowboard and are constantly in and out, or if you ride with skiers who are sick of waiting for you to strap in at the top of each run.
The Step On’s performed really well. There was no wiggle room in the bindings, they never got iced over (even on a powder day), they were extremely easy to get out of using just one small side lever and I never felt like my foot was going to pop out. I’d give these a 10/10.
Women’s Felix Step On Boots
Step On bindings only work with Step On boots. When the rental boots arrived they were brand new with tags on, and I was so nervous that my feet would hurt all day from being in boots that aren’t broken in. I was so surprised at how comfortable they were!
The BOA system makes putting them on really quick, and the strap over the top really cinches things down once you’re clicked into the binding. The boots were very comfortable and warm (the temperature was below zero the day I tested these).
How the Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program Works
I found the rental website to be extremely user friendly and simple to navigate. But don’t take my word for it – scroll around to see for yourself: Link to Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program website.
Choose Your Gear
This is the most fun part – selecting the gear you want to rent. After navigating to Burton’s rental website you can view all gear, or filter by product, gender, hardgoods or softgoods.
Tip: The gear you want may not be available on your specific dates. When you click on the product you want, be sure to also choose your date range to make sure it’s available. If it’s not, then you know up front and you can keep searching before you get to the checkout page.
Not sure what size snowboard to rent? Head over to Burton’s website and click on the board you’re interested in renting, then select “Find My Size”. After entering your boot size and weight, the form will recommend a range of snowboard sizes for you.
Select Your Dates
You can rent gear up to a year in advance – so as soon as you know your dates, go ahead and reserve your gear to ensure the best selection.
Select the date that you want your gear to arrive at your house or other destination (condo, hotel, Air bnb, etc). The gear could arrive a day or so early so make sure that’s not a problem. You may change or cancel your order up to 10 days before it’s due to arrive. My gear was dropped off by UPS at 4 pm on the day before my rental began.
11 days out, my first choice snowboard became available and I simply emailed the rental customer service contact that I’d like to switch boards. I was shocked at the customer service – I sent the email at 4 pm on a Saturday afternoon and I got a “No problem!” reply less than ten minutes later.
TMM Team Member Sarah
You also select the return date. This is the day that you need to ship your equipment back. So if you plan to snowboard this day, make sure you will have time to pack everything up, affix the label and drop it off with UPS by 11:59 pm that night.
Gear Delivery & Assembly
The gear arrives right on your doorstep (or hotel front desk) via UPS and it’s guaranteed by 8 pm. Burton ships to the continental US – no shipping is available to Alaska.
You receive the tracking info as soon as your gear ships. If you have specific shipping instructions you can email those to customer service (ie: leave with hotel front desk).
The snowboard comes in a large snowboard-shaped box that you can re-use. My bindings, boots, jacket and a tool to mount the bindings came in a large reusable bin with a lid that zips on and off (no need to tape up this box when returning the gear).
You must assemble your own gear. I received all the hardware needed to mount the bindings as well as an EST tool – which is essential for mounting Burton bindings.
Setting up your snowboard requires a bit of skill and knowledge. You have to know your stance width (or you can just go with the center reference on the board). You have to adjust your binding angles and forward lean, and adjust the binding to fit your boot.
None of this is rocket science and there’s plenty of great YouTube tutorials out there. But, if you aren’t comfortable mounting your own snowboard you might want to take it to a snowboard shop to have a professional do it.
What If I Damage The Gear?
The cool thing (maybe the coolest thing) is the folks at Burton are snowboarders, too. So they totally get it if your gear ends up damaged due to normal wear and tear. You aren’t going to get charged for this.
You will get charged for an item that is returned completely broken due to abuse or misuse, or an item that is not returned at all (so don’t do that).
Returning the Gear
Returning the gear is really simple. You don’t need to clean anything – just take bindings off boards, disassemble, pack things up in the boxes they came in, affix the pre-paid return shipping labels and drop off at any UPS store or location (or schedule a UPS pickup) before 11:59 pm on your return date. Easy!
Tip: Extending your rental is not an option. You must return your gear on the date you originally scheduled or you get charged the rental rate plus an additional $50 per day.
How Much Does it Cost?
I compared prices with a company that delivers snowboard rentals in my hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They do not offer any softgood rentals like outerwear – just snowboards, boots and bindings.
The local company’s prices were double the cost of the Burton rental price, and they also had a $250 minimum to deliver versus Burton’s $99 delivery minimum. Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program seems to be a more affordable option than renting locally.
Daily Rates
Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard
Step On Bindings
AK Gore-Tex Jacket
Step On Boots
Rent a Snowboard: Final Thoughts on Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program
The entire process of using Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program was easy, the gear that I received looked brand new, and the price was more affordable than other rental and delivery programs at my hometown resort of Jackson Hole.
I really appreciate how responsive and helpful their customer service was. It was very easy to switch boards when the one that I really wanted became available before my order shipped out.
I also really enjoyed using the program for myself because I’ve been wanting to try the Burton Hometown Hero snowboard and i’ve been so interested in the new Step On boots and bindings. This was a great way for me to try these products out before potentially making the big purchase (which I will do soon because I LOVED the board).
The snowboard that I received was brand new in the plastic, never mounted. That’s way more than I can say for every single rental snowboard i’ve ever come across!
I have to say I was a little skeptical of renting outerwear. The thought of renting a jacket just seemed a little odd to me but the jacket I received was brand new with the tags on. It was super bright which I totally appreciate for being visible on the hill (and so my kids can easily spot me).
I have already recommended the Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program to my brother in law, who lives in the city but takes his family on several ski trips every year. They have a tween and a teen who are growing so fast that it makes more sense to rent gear rather than buy new each season.
Snowboarding Gear Rental Program
Related Articles:
- Best Gifts for the Snowboarder 2022
- Burton Kids Snowboard Gear Review
- How to Teach Kids to Snowboard
- Ten Tips for Family Skiing on a Budget
- Best Snowpants for Curvy Women
Burton Snowboards Online Rental Program
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