Hello and welcome to my Burton Free Thinker review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Free Thinker as an aggressive all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Free Thinker a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other aggressive all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Free Thinker
Price: $579 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Aggressive All-mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 85.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Aggressive All-mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 19 men’s aggressive all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 85.1/100
- The highest score was 90.8/100 (see below)
- The lowest score was 76.4/100
- The average price was $513
- The Free Thinker ranked 10th out of 19
Overview of the Free Thinker’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Free Thinker’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style | Aggressive All-Mountain-Freestyle | Flex | Medium-Stiff (7/10) |
| Ability Level | High Intermediate to Expert | Feel | Locked In |
| Weight | Normal | Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast |
| Camber Profile | Traditional Camber | Shape | True Twin |
| Stance Setback | Centered | Edge-hold | Medium snow |
| Price | $579 (USD) | Base | Sintered |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 150 | 154 | 157 | 160 | 157W | 160W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 246 | 248 | 252 | 255 | 260 | 263 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 120-180 | 120-180 | 150-200 | 180-260+ | 150-200 | 180-260+ |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 54-82 | 54-82 | 68-91 | 82-118+ | 68-91 | 82-118+ |
Who is the Free Thinker Most Suited to?
The Free Thinker is best for anyone at a high ability level who likes to ride aggressively but also likes to ride freestyle, whether in the park or over the whole mountain.
Definitely not for the beginner (too stiff and too much camber) and definitely not for riding powder.
But if you like to carve up the groomers, find every natural hit you can, pop over rollers and generally bomb whilst also getting freestyle along the way, then the Free Thinker is definitely worth checking out.
The Free Thinker in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Free Thinker is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Free Thinker 157 (252mm waist width)
Date: April 16, 2017
Conditions: Sunshine! And plenty of it. Snow conditions were a great mix of hard spots and soft-pack on the groomers and plenty of powder to be found off-groomer, making it the perfect conditions for demoing – a bit of everything. Quite cold in the morning but got quite warm in the afternoon (it was spring after all, but you’d never have known it with the amount of snow around and how cold it was in the morning!)
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Powder
Not really a board designed for powder in my opinion. Of course, you can ride it in powder but as it gets deeper, you’ve got to put a lot of effort in to keep the nose afloat.
But that was expected after riding it for a bit. And expected from it’s specs – it’s Traditional Camber – that and being true twin and centered. So not expected and not what it’s designed for.
Carving & Turning
This was a fun board to carve on. It’s quite stiff, and has a good spring to it. All that camber helps to make for a nice carve.
It felt feisty on a turn and preferred short sharp aggressive turns to mellow long turns.
Not one you can really get away with skidding your turns on – not very forgiving of skidded turns, one big reason it’s not beginner appropriate.
Speed
You couldn’t call it aggressive, if it couldn’t bomb at speed. And it can. It’s something you can ride at good pace and still feel really stable on. It felt better riding fast than it did slow – and again this is no surprise given it’s flex and camber profile.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
You want to be blasting over the top of it on this thing. It’s not one that really absorbs the bumps easily (of course using good technique you can but it’s just not that easy, especially if you’re not adept at uneven riding) – but it’s got the power to power through or over most. Just not that great at hugging the crud.
Jumps
Really fun for jumps – and apart from speed and carving, this is the other thing you really want out of an aggressive all-mountain-freestyle deck.
It’s got good snap to it for ollies and popping off lips, rollers or jumps. It’s stable for landings and really suitable for large jumps too. It’s also a great board for spinning.
The only reason, I haven’t given it 5/5 is that I prefer something with just a little more forgiveness for when you’re hitting smaller side hits that require some more agile exits after landing at slower speeds. But other than that, it’s a ripper for jumps – very feisty.
Switch
It’s a true twin (twin in every way – flex, nose and tail width and length the same etc). So, it’s pretty much ideal for riding switch. You’ve still got to be on your game riding switch – because it’s not forgiving of skidded turns in that direction either, so not necessarily the easiest to learn switch on, but if you’re switch game is decent, this is a great board to ride and land in both directions.
Jibbing
Too stiff and too much camber to be a great jibber, in my opinion. Not undoable but not a jib dream either.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Switch: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Jumps: | 4.0 | 16/20 |
| Carving: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Speed: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Pipe: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Powder: | 2.0 | 2/5 |
| Jibbing: | 2.0 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 85.1/100 |
The Free Thinker is a take no prisoners all-mountain-freestyle ride for those aggressive riders who like to jump/spin all that they see and like to lay down a good carve and ride at speed.
If all that applies to you, and you like the feel of Traditional Camber and a stiffer flex, then the Free Thinker is definitely worth checking out.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in learning more about the Free Thinker, are ready to buy or want to research current prices or availability, check out the links below.
- Burton Free Thinker at PRFO.com (CANADA)
If you’d like to see how the Free Thinker compares to other aggressive all-mountain-freestyle boards or want to check out other options, check out the next link.
>>My Top 5 Men’s Aggressive All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
Sunny says
January 18, 2019 at 1:53 amHey, thanks for your detailed review about the free thinker. I’m having a difficult time deciding between the free or deep thinker. I’m looking for a board that I can carve well with and go into some powder runs, but also would like to spend a day or two in the park and practising my switch riding. Which one would you recommend in this case? I currently have a lobster parkboard as my only board but if I travel I will most likely bring one of the thinkers.
Thanks!
Nate says
January 19, 2019 at 2:11 pmHi Sunny
Thanks for your message.
Tough call. The Free Thinker will go better in the park and be considerably better for switch, but the Deep Thinker considerably better in powder. Similar for carving/speed. So I would say it comes down to park, switch and powder. If you’re in powder quite a bit and the park not that much (when travelling), then I would go Deep Thinker. But if you like to ride a fair bit of park, even when travelling, then the Free Thinker might be the best bet – you’ll just have to work harder on powder days, to keep afloat. Setting it back on powder days would help with that, but it still won’t be a free flowing board in powder, IMO. Since you have the Lobster for park, for when not travelling, if you don’t spend that much time in the park when away, then I think the Deep Thinker would allow you to have a board for powder days, whether home or away.
Hope this gives you more to go off for your decision
Vittorio says
March 14, 2019 at 9:45 pmThanks for the review, a lot of helpful info.
Right now I am torn between a Custom X and the Free Thinker. Love to ride fast, hard, dig into my turns, but I also like to hit the natural features throw some grabs just have a fun time. I like to ride switch throughout parts of a run too. I need some thoughts on it.
Thanks
Nate says
March 15, 2019 at 10:20 amHi Vittorio
Thanks for your message.
The Custom X is going to be that little bit better for speed and carving, but the Free Thinker better for when you want to ride switch and hit natural features. But it’s still really good for speed and carving. It’s a tough call, but I think the Free Thinker would be the better option all-round for what you’re describing.
Hope this helps