30 Years Of Burton Custom

Celebrating three decades of an icon: The Burton Custom

For three decades, the Burton Custom has been more than just a snowboard – it’s been the benchmark for what a board should be. Launched in the 1995/96 season, the Custom set a new standard by proving one board could do it all: float through powder, charge steep lines, and still deliver the snap and precision needed in park and pipe. At a time when boards were divided between freeride and freestyle, the Custom bridged the gap and created a true all-mountain icon.

What makes the Custom special is not just its design, but its staying power. While trends, technologies, and even the definition of snowboarding have evolved, the Custom has remained the longest-running model in Burton’s line – consistently refined but never losing its identity. For many riders, it’s the board that defined their progression; for others, it’s a rite of passage. Today, the Custom stands as both a piece of history and a board that’s still pushing the sport forward.

Todd “TK” Kohlman, as Burton’s resident archivist, is the walking index of the brand’s 40+ years of boards, boots, outerwear, ads, and ephemera, based alongside Craig’s Prototype Facility in Burlington, Vermont. Day-to-day, he catalogs and preserves Burton’s product history, pulls artifacts and images for storytellers, and supports design and R&D by surfacing past innovations that still spark progress. 

Here’s TK’s favorite take on Burton’s most iconic model – the Custom – and the specific boards he singles out, and why.

Todd “TK” Kohlman favourite Customs

1996 Custom 55

The very first Custom by Dave Downing and Joe Curtes.  Joe drew this one on a napkin on a European Photoshoot trip.

1997 Custom 59

The Turtle Custom. Riders like Terje and Iguchi made this one famous.

1999 Custom 56

Mike Parillo did this art.  Mike did the 1998 and 2000 Balance with us as well.

2000 Custom 56

The Shaft Graphic.  Base done by Brian Hunter.

2007 Custom

Andy Jenkins did it. Timeless.

2009 Custom

Light Camo.  We did a similar jacket that year.

2012 Custom Restricted

They made the drinks, and Greg Comollo took photos of them.

2013 Custom Restricted

The Muppets.  My favorite was Miss Piggy.  Mikkel Bang rode that one. 

The Board That Almost Never Happened

Behind the scenes, the Custom nearly didn’t make it to market. Inside Burton’s hardgoods department, there was real debate about launching a do-everything shape. Product manager Paul Maravetz and head tester John Gerndt were pivotal in pushing it through – a decision that quickly proved itself once riders got the board under their feet.

The Custom crystallised ideas from the early ’90s rather than discarding them. It was conceived to bridge the gap between playful freestyle twin-tips and directional freeride chargers. Dave Downing and Joe Curtes are the two original riders behind the Custom ’s emergence in a specific moment when versatility became the new north star.

Thirty years on, the Custom’s story reads like the blueprint for modern snowboarding: a board that almost didn’t ship, refined by a hardgoods team willing to back a risky idea, and validated by riders who needed one deck to do it all. From its early brief to bridge the gap to its status as Burton’s longest-running model, the Custom has held a steady line. As TK’s picks show, each vintage carries a moment in time, but the through-line is constant: the Custom remains the yardstick by which all-mountain boards are measured.