I got my hands on this year's Malolo after my 2010 inexplicably cracked at the nose on the toe-side near the contact point. My guess is that Burton sacrificed strength for weight in their "pro-tip" and that somewhere along the way (in high-speed bumps most likely) the stress was too much for the core. I haven't had this board long enough to tell if the same problem exists with this year's model, however it does seem as though the S-rocker starts even earlier in 2011 than it did in 2010. Additionally, the wizards over at Burton changed up the shape of the nose a little for this year, adding a more distinct point than was seen in 2010. The other major change I feel under foot when comparing my 2010 to this warrantied 2011 is that the newer model seems a bit more torsionally soft allowing the rider to manipulate the board much easier. This is especially handy in the trees where last year's 162cm felt like a super-tanker, this year's board feels like a Porsche.

In case you aren't familiar with the Malolo, its Burton's free-style influenced pow-shape with a strong directional shape blended with 20mm of taper this board will handle any and all serious terrain you throw at it. I've even surprised myself a few times this year when I was certain I'd be going over the bars, the Malolo's taper and early rise nose would step in for the rescue. While this board is designed mostly to be ridden forward, you can still ride it switch with not a lot of problem. It busts crud like a champ, and hauls friggin' ass. If you like to go fast, go big, and go deep, this is without question the board for you. But you better hurry because this is the last year for the Malolo. Next year will see the Barracuda, which from what little I know about it, will be very similar to the Malolo, but will only have 15mm of taper and an early-rising nose rocker that begins even further back under the front foot. If you're wondering why I only gave this board an 8 out of 10 its because it is a little bit of a quiver board, and also because of the nose issue I had on my 2k10. Those things aside, if I were to strictly rate this board on how it does the job it was designed to do, it would receive a 10/10 without question. The Malolo will have you grinning even more in pow, and your back leg will thank you at the end of the day.