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: $599 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Aggressive All-mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 84.9/100
Compared to other Men’s Aggressive All-mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 12 men’s aggressive all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
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 |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
150 | 246 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
154 | 248 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
157 | 252 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
160 | 255 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
157W | 260 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
160W | 263 | 180-260+ | 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
Stance Setback: Centered
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
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.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 4.0 | 16/20 |
CARVING/TURNS | 4.0 | 12/15 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 12/15 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SPINS | 4.0 | 8/10 |
BUTTERING | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
POWDER | 2.0 | 2/5 |
JIBBING | 2.0 | 2/5 |
PIPE | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 84.9/100 |
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.
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.
Hi Chris, I am currently looking to buy either the deep thinker or free thinker. I am not much of a park rider and snowboard in the Tahoe area. So Sierra cement or ice is what I am used to. For that reason, I am leaning towards the Free Thinker but my style of snowboarding more wants the Deep thinker as I prefer carving and big turns over the park. I am also curious what size board you would recommend, or if any other boards would more suit what I am looking for.
Personal Stats:
Height: 6,3
Weight: 175
Boot: 12
Hi Jonah
Thanks for your message.
I would say probably the Deep Thinker based on what you’re describing. However, the Free Thinker is still pretty good for carving and bombing (not quite deep thinker, but close), so if you weren’t concerned about powder performance, then the Free Thinker is still an option. If you get into powder fairly regularly and it’s often deeper than a few inches, then I would go Deep Thinker.
Size-wise, I would say probably 157W. But 160W is certainly doable as well, particularly if you’re looking to maximize stability at speed, powder float and big long turns.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
Many thanks for all the reviews and articles. I’m looking for a new board (actually a complementary one) and your work has been a great help!
I plan on ordering the Free Thinker that seams to match my needs. However I wonder which size would fit best since I am quite light for my height and foot size.
Below my very personal 😉 sizes chart:
-height : 180 cm
-weight : 68 kg
-foot size : 28 cm
-boot size : 31 cm – 43,5 EU – 10,5 US (Northwave Domain)
According to Burton’s recommended weight range, I fall exactly in the middle of the 154 board. According to you charts regarding board length this seams to be a good choice too.
But I wonder if my feet will not be too long for this board (in 154 waist width is given to be 248 mm).
Then, considering waist width, perfect size would probably be 157 (252 mm) or 157W (260) (if I look at your other very interesting work of board width, thanks again!). But of course, weight range do not seem right (68-91 kg).
Considering all this, what would be your choice? Reading all your articles make me think that it is much more important to be in the right weight range than width range. Also because having a good pop is some kind of priority for me regarding this new board (much more than the ability to carve aggressively).
Or would you choose a completely different board ? (But it I think I will have the same problem with other boards since it is mainly due to me being too light for my height and foot size).
Thanks!
EDIT : And I forgot the important information that I ride +15/-15
Hi Leo
Thanks for your message and apologies for the slow response. Having been having technical difficulties with the website all day. Thankfully (hopefully) seems to be all good now.
Yeah I agree that going 157 or 157W is a little long for this particular board for your specs, particularly if it’s going to be a board that you predominantly ride freestyle and are more focused on pop and not speed/aggressive carving. And 154 I think is spot on, length-wise.
The width, like you say, is the biggest concern. I would estimate the width at inserts on the 154 to be around 258-260mm (didn’t measure it when I rode this one, but based on other similar Burton boards. That would mean roughly 5-5.2cm of total boot overhang (given your 31cm boot) – or 2.5-2.6cm per edge (assuming perfect boot centering). This is also assuming straight across the board – with +15/-15 angles, that gives you more leeway. With those numbers, if you’re not going to be really railing your carves, I think you get away with it.
But if you were really worried about that width, some similar boards with wide sizes in smaller lengths that you could check out are:
– Capita Super DOA 155W
– Ride Burnout 154W
Hope this helps
I’m having trouble deciding on the Burton Free thinker 2021 & the Salomon Assassin 2021.
I’m an intermediate rider looking for a twin board I can learn switch while hitting jumps and of course riding back side of the mountain without being buried in snow and not losing speed.
Hi Chris
Thanks for your message.
I would say Assassin, based on what you’re describing. A. because it’s a better option for an intermediate level, IMO and B. because it’s a little better in deeper snow than the Free Thinker, IMO. The Free Thinker is a closer equivalent to the Assassin Pro, IMO – though certainly still different to the Assassin Pro as well.
Hope this helps
Hi! Will 157 fits the boots 11 US ?
Which size of boots you have?
Hi Anton
I ride 10s. Width was fine for me, but could be pushing it with 11s.
If you’ve got low profile boots and riding with angles like +15/-15, then I think you’d get away with it, if you don’t carve that aggressively. But if you like to carve quite deep/aggressive – which is something you probably want to be doing with this particular board – then I think even then it’s probably too narrow.
So yeah, in most scenarios, I would say 157W is the better bet for you.
Hope this helps
Hey, 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!
Hi 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
Thanks 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
Hi 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