Burton Grails: Stand Out Outerwear Patterns & Prints

Snowboarding has always been as much about personal style as it is about skill.

One of our favorite things about snowboarding? No two people do it the same. Whether it’s park, street, backcountry, you name it, we all express ourselves a little bit differently on our boards. And the same goes for what we choose to wear, which is why we’ve always made it a point to release some vibrant outerwear patterns over the years.

After all, what fun would it be if we all dressed the same, in snowboarding, or anything for that matter?

From the first colorful prints of the 90s and plaid patterns of the 00s, to snakeskin and even “skier” prints (more on that below), we’ve admittedly gone a little wild over the years. We may have pissed off a couple parents and authority figures a few times, too.

Let’s dig in...

Ah the early ‘90s. Snowboarding was gaining traction, pop culture was still holding onto fads from the late ‘80s, and we were all apparently wearing a lot of turtlenecks and mock collars. Needless to say, the ‘91 Freelight Shell captured it all. Constructed for warm weather with its lack of insulation and a hidden hood, this pullover was built for spring vibes and party laps. While all of the color combos had some bright-colored flair, this Print/Black combo was not only a special request from the team riders, but also the first time Burton incorporated a print on a jacket.

Remember those parents and authority figures we probably pissed off? Well, here we are. Long before the devil’s lettuce was a legal fixture in most states, we thought it simply made a nice-looking camo print. A collaboration between our [ak] line and Nitraid, a Japanese design group, both the jacket and pant featured a “RealWeed” camo pattern. Essentially, it mimicked the more widely known RealTree camo, except with marijuana buds.

From a distance, it’s simply a sleek-looking camo print. But upon closer evaluation, mom and dad may have wanted to see what you were stashing in its pockets.

If you were snowboarding in the mid-00s, then you were well aware of the chokehold plaid prints had on the industry. Heck, it seemed like everyone wanted to be a lumberjack hipster back then. In 2006, we offered a range of varying plaid prints, one of which was our “Tartan Royalty” seen here. These Cargo Elite Pants were a favorite of women riders with their cargo pockets, relaxed, low-rise fit and eye-catching Red Plaid print that was symbolic of the era.

And we’re back to the mid-00s plaid obsession. This pattern, known as Mocha Plaid from our “Alpine Lodge” collection, was certainly a fan favorite. Enough so, that we still see it circulating around ski resorts and lodges each winter. But what truly made this particular model special was its MP3-ready integration. Featuring Motorola Audex technology, which used Bluetooth to connect your cell phone or music player, this jacket had a built-in control module (with caller ID!) on the sleeve — meaning you could flex on your friends while taking a call from the chair way back in ‘06.

An outerwear line designed to disrupt the status quo and resist conformity, Analog refused to repeat itself or do whatever everyone else was doing. So why not make a snowboard jacket with a bunch of skiers on it? While still possessing some of the military and revolutionary inspiration that Analog was founded on, the Valve jacket embodied what it meant (and means) to be a snowboarder: not taking yourself too seriously.

Plus, how sick would it have been to spray a skier while wearing one of these?

Like its namesake masterless Samurai, the Burton Ronin outerwear collection was characterized by non-conformity and unapologetic individuality. Existing from 2002-2009, it featured baggy fits with loud fabrics and sometimes quirky accessories or attributes. 2007’s Ronin 2L Jacket easily fit that description. With its Day Glo Green Snakeskin print, there were very few heads that didn’t turn when seeing this slither around the mountain. And if you really wanted some extra style points, we had a matching set of bibs to go with it, too.

While printed GORE-TEX jackets are commonplace these days, such was not the case in a world of monochrome jackets prior to 2007. In fact, this [ak] Half Life jacket established itself as the first printed GORE-TEX Burton jacket ever produced. To make it even cooler, the graphic was a stylized version of the classic 1978 DC Comic, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, making it an iconic print that still would turn heads nearly 20 years later. Oh, and to top it all off, it also incorporated Audex Push-To-Talk Tech, designed to work with Motorola Two-Way Radios. Pretty innovative all around.

After producing Burton’s first printed GORE-TEX jacket ever in 2007, our designers continued pushing the construction envelope the following season. Featuring a clean, Roasted Brown Smoke Camo print on a new GORE-TEX 70D performance shell, 2008 was yet another step forward for Burton’s printing prowess on GORE-TEX. Additionally, aside from the [ak] 2L Turbine Jacket, this print extended into the majority of the [ak] line, including outerwear, baselayers, and packs.

As kids, one-piece snowsuits were anything but fashionable. But when Burton designers saw opportunity in its massive canvas, they had to run with it. Staying true to the Ronin line’s baggy, loud, and unexpected vibes, this oversized snowsuit couldn’t have been a more perfect blank canvas. While the process was technically demanding, our designers were able to take a single photograph of a backlit forest and apply it to this functional — and now unmistakably stylish — one-piece outerwear kit.

One of our flashiest and favorite prints over the years, the Light Camo print on this Launch Jacket was designed in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist, designer and creative director, Chuck Anderson, of Chicago’s NoPattern Studio. Known for his use of vivid color and light and surreal layering, Chuck’s work is immediately recognizable in the wild. As a new offering in the Burton outerwear lineup in 2009, we couldn’t have thought of any better way to launch the Launch Jacket than with this memorable print.

Remember those cool, fuzzy black light posters that you used to hang in your dorm room when you got really into psychedelic rock? Well, this jacket is essentially the wearable version of that. Remaining true to the counter-cultural vibes of its predecessor, the Ronin collection, 2010’s transition into the Restricted era of outerwear wasted no time in bringing out some heady offerings. Constructed with an actual flocked black light fabric, the Restricted Chigurh jacket paid homage to all those smokey dorm room days — while still functioning as a high-performance jacket on the mountain.

Snowboarding has always been our favorite way to express ourselves, and that extends well past the way we ride and even the boards we ride.

The fact of the matter is, individuality has always been integral to Burton’s DNA — from our Team Riders, to our designers, to the people like you who choose to put on our gear. So, whether it's snakeskin, plaid, bright colors, or hell, even just black, we’ve made it a priority to provide a little bit of everything and anything to every individual rider out there.

Now, what wild patterns should we come up with next?