The vapor 157 shown in gold, doesn't come in gold, they will send you a black one. They did to me anyways and said they had no gold 157's. I kinda wish they could of been more straight forward there.....otherwise the board is sick and I've never had any issues w/ this company other than this little flaw...

I purchased this board last year (on sale, here) to replace a 5 year old Burton Custom. I was quite hesitant about the purchase, given the astronomical list price. Worse, the Burton catalog and website, provided an abundance of vaporous (pun intended) hype, but little useful information for the potential purchaser. I finally made the purchase based on the substantial mid-season price reduction. Having used this board for the equivalent of a full season, I am very happy with the purchase. First, the board is quite light. Largely due to that fact (I assume) it is also very responsive. Doubtless, the technical "marvels" Burton extols contribute substantially to performance, but I suspect weight is a major factor, as well. Second, the board has worn well: there is hardly any evidence of use, though I almost exclusively freeride with it. Third, construction quality is first rate, at least compared with the older Custom, which began to disintegrate after about 3 seasons use. Forth, it rides well on most conditions, but becomes unstable on icy terrain. Finally, it has a good "feel", by which I mean that the terrain can be sensed through the board, allowing appropriate rider adjustments in real time. In summary, this is a nice board, but suffers from very high pricing.

I've been riding the 06 Vapor now for around 100 days, admittedly this is the older model, so Burton may have improved it.

Negatives:
1. It's way too stiff - I think this lessens its maneuverability and stability - especially when ripping through a tight packed tree run.

It also makes it completely unsuitable for buttering or any kind of trick that requires flex in the board.

It could be me, but I don't find that it pops well at all.

2. It doesn't hold its edge very well - so as soon as you're riding on steep, hard packed snow, you'll find that your edges start to slip out - and yes, I've had it tuned, and it still does the same thing.

3. It's flimsy. The topsheet flakes and cracks like it's going out of fashion. The die-cut on the bottom is de-laminating as well.

4. The price man. The price. What the? Who's stupid enough to pay that much. Oh... me...

Positives:
Err... it's ok in the deep powder.

Bottom Line: Ride something else. Your wallet will love you. Your skill level will also love you.