Hello and welcome to my Burton Hometown Hero review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Hometown Hero as a surfy freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Hometown Hero a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other surfy freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero
Price: $599
Style: Surfy Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium bordering on medium-stiff (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 83.3/100
Compared to other Men’s Surfy Freeride Boards
* note that the "surfy freeride" category is a new category here at Snowboarding Profiles - and represents freeride boards that are in that softer flex range - 6.5/10 or less. They're not necessarily "surfy" feeling boards as such - but "slightly softer flexing freeride" just didn't have the same ring as a category name! The Hometown Hero is more of a locked in feel than a surfy feel, but it's also not overly stiff.
Out of the 28 men’s surfy freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Hometown Hero’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Hometown Hero’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 40mm |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
144 | 240 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
148 | 244 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
152 | 248 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
156 | 252 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
160 | 258 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
156W | 260 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
160W | 265 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
165W | 268 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
* note that the 2020 model only had a 152, a 156 and a 160. The rest of the sizes are new for the 2021 model. Part of the reason is that the Family Tree series from Burton are now unisex.
Who is the Hometown Hero Most Suited To?
The Hometown Hero is best suited to anyone looking for a freeride board that isn't overly stiff, but just that little bit stiffer than medium, but still very directional and oriented to riding in one direction and is still quite an aggressive ride.
And whilst being first and foremost something to carve and ride powder on, it's something that's also a good jumper.
Definitely not for the beginner and probably not even for an intermediate rider.
The Hometown Hero in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Hometown Hero is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Hometown Hero 2020, 156cm (252mm waist width)
Date: March 9, 2019
Conditions: Sunny with some clouds and perfect visibility.
Snow was well groomed and soft on top on groomers and soft but quite tracked off groomer (but there had been quite recent snowfall and still some untouched pockets).
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Setback 40mm
Width at Inserts: 263mm (10.35") at front insert and 262mm (10.31") at back insert
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 185lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Flex
Overall it's just a shade stiffer than medium. Feels stiffer than that tip and tail, but it softens up through the middle and isn't overly stiff torsionally.
Powder
Felt nice to ride on powder. I didn't have waist deep powder or anything like that, but what I did find, the Hometown Hero felt at home there.
With a rockered nose, a tapered shape and ample setback, it's designed to perform well in powder.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Fun to carve on and you can get quite a deep aggressive carve going on it. For some reason I didn't quite get the same on a carve as on the Skeleton Key. I was expecting it to be as good or better, but I slightly preferred the Skeleton Key.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: It's pretty good in terms of slow speed maneuverability. It's not super agile, but it's pretty agile and strikes a good balance between being good on a fast, deep carve and being good in tight spaces at slower speeds.
Skidded Turns: You can, but it's not the most friendly board in terms of skidded turns or riding too casually.
Speed
It's not a speed demon, but it can handle a decent amount of speed for sure.
Uneven Terrain
It's nimble enough to navigate through bumpy terrain and is OK at going over the top of it, but felt the Skeleton Key was just that little bit better.
Good in crud, but again, I just preferred the Skeleton Key.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
For a freeide board it's really decent for jumps.
Pop: Good amount of pop. Quite similar to the Skeleton Key. A good bit off the Paramount, which I also rode that day, but decent enough. You've got to work a little to extract it, but don't have to work too hard.
Approach: Stable and with good maneuverability
Landing: Solid landings
Side-hits: Good, without being amazing. Decent pop and nimble enough.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for medium to large jumps, IMO
Switch
It's not made for riding switch, but you can do it for sure. It's a little better than the average freeride board for this, and was certainly better than the Skeleton Key.
Spins
OK for spins. Getting the spin around was fine, and there's decent pop. OK landing and taking off switch but not great.
Jibbing
Doable, but not ideal of course. Not what this board was made for.
Butters
It felt quite stiff in the tip and tail vs the overall flex of the board, which made butters quite hard. Not a great butterer.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.0 | 24/30 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 14/20 |
TURNING | 4.0 | 16/20 |
CARVING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 83.3/100 |
Overall, the Hometown Hero fits in the ever growing category of in between medium and stiff freeride boards. It's all round a nice ride and quite versatile for a board so directional. Nothing that I disliked about this board at all, but nothing that really stood out as amazing either.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Hometown Hero, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Hometown Hero compares to other freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Thanks Nate! Yes, I forgot to mentioned, my riding angles are +13/-13, I tried with -8 on my rear foot but did not like it… Also I am not an aggressive curve riders…
I have been riding a Burton Custom 158w a few years ago and liked it, however when I switched to narrower boards it felt so different so more lively (not sure if it is only because of the narrower boards, as they were also slights smaller and softer). Therefore my main concern is that if I go with the 156w I will sacrifice a response and liveliness and gain some additional weight.
Hi Jaka
With those bindings angles and if you’re not super aggressive on your carves, then I think you will be fine on the 156 and that’s the one I would choose for you.
Hi Nate,
Thank you for you input! By super aggressive we are talking about Eurocarving and such things?
Hi Jaka
Yeah like eurocarving
Great, thanks Nate! Anyway, how very different would the feeling be between riding a 156 or a 156w? Since I’m on the borderline and I’m not a beginner, would I even feel that I need to put more effort to it? I wish I could try this by my self to see how differently they really are.
Hi Jaka
I personally notice the difference quite a bit between regular width and wide widths. Just takes more energy to initiate a turn on a wide board I find – which can be fatiguing and also can start to affect your technique – and also can cause slower edge-to-edge transition. If I size down, in terms of length, a wider board, then I find that helps. But this is only true because on a wide board my feet are well inside the edges of the board. For someone with longer feet, a wide board is fine, as they can apply that pressure to the edges more easily. Given that you’re in 10.5s, assuming your feet are longer than mine, you wouldn’t notice it quite as much, but probably still to some extent. I always try to get on the narrower option if possible – so long as it’s not so narrow that it will cause boot drag.
Gotcha 🙂 Yes my feet are bigger, in fact my longer foot is 28.4 mm long (the leading one) and if I am assuming that the HH 156W is 270 mm wide at the inserts and with my riding angles that means I would have 6 mm of bare foot overhang, compared to the HH 156 where I would have 14 mm of bare foot overhang. Are my calculations on point? 🙂 So how much overhang is that sweet spot? From your previous comments I am guessing as much as possible 🙂
Hi Jaka
In terms of foot overhang you can’t really have too much, but there’s a limit with how much boot overhang. If your boots were the same length as your feet, you could have as much as 40-50mm foot overhang total (20-25mm toe, 20-25mm heel). But you don’t want too much boot overhang, so that’s where it’s limited.
With your feet being 284mm long and the width at the back insert roughly 270mm long you should have around 14mm total overhang (7mm heel and 7mm toe, if perfectly centered) – if using a zero binding angle. With more angle, that number would come down but only subtly. With the 156 you’d have 22mm of total foot overhang (11mm heel, 11mm toe), again assuming a zero binding angle. With angle that number would come down again too.
So yeah really the sweet spot is to have your feet reach the edges or with some overhang, without your boots having too much overhang, IMO. I think you get away with both. However, with 284mm feet, I would be leaning towards the 156W – since you’ve already got plenty of leverage on the edges (wouldn’t notice that much from 3-4mm once you’re already over the edges) but it would give you more leeway in terms of boot drag.
Thank you Nate! I will try to find a good deal on the 156w, otherwise I will go with the 156.
Thank you again 🙏🏻
You’re very welcome Jaka. Happy riding!
Hey Nate, one more question. 156 or 156W for Burton Photon 10.5 US boots and Malavita M bindings?
Hi Jaka
It’s borderline. I was happy with 10s on the 156. As per my reply to your comment on another post, I think the Vans Aura’s that I rode this board with have a similar amount of reduced footprint to the Photon Boas. So I would certainly be comfortable in Photon 10s. 10.5s are borderline and would depend on a couple of things.
Firstly binding angles. i.e. if you ride with quite a straight back binding angle (like 0 degrees, 3 degrees, that kind of thing), then that would certainly lean me more towards the 156W
Secondly how hard you like to carve. If you like to really get high on those edges, then that gives you more chance for boot drag. If you like to really rail your carves, then I would be leaning more 156W.
But if you like to carve, but not super aggressively and you have angles like +15/-15, that kind of thing, then I think you get away with the 156. Otherwise, I would probably go 156W.
For reference, you’re looking at roughly 5.1cm total overhang (roughly 2.6cm heel and 2.5cm toe, with even boot centering) at a 0 degree angle on the back foot.
Hope this helps.