Hello and welcome to my Burton Pow Wrench review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Pow Wrench as a mellow freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pow Wrench a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow-freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Pow Wrench
Price: $549
Style: Mellow Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5/10)
Rating Score: 87.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards.
Out of the 33 men’s mellow freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Pow Wrench’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pow Wrench's specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Mellow Freeride |
Price: | $549 - BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 1" (25mm) |
Base: | Sintered (Recycled Sintered WFO) |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
142 | 250 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
148 | 255 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
152 | 265 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
158 | 270 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
Who is the Pow Wrench Most Suited To?
The Pow Wrench is best suited to someone looking to add a powder board to their quiver.
Whilst it's not dreadful on hard snow, it's not a board I would get as a daily driver, but for powder days, particularly if you're going to be spending a good amount of time in the trees, that's where the Pow Wrench will come into its own.
A pretty easy going ride, but I'd still say not for beginner, but fine for intermediate, even low intermediate riders.
The Pow Wrench in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pow Wrench is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Family Tree Pow Wrench 2022, 152cm (265mm waist width)
Date: March 18, 2021
Conditions: Cloudy and quite windy too. And a chilly wind. 25kph (16mph) winds
Temperature was around +2°C (36°F) - and -4°C (25°F) with wind chill. Could really feel that wind chill today.
24 snow: 0cm (0")
7 day snow: 5cm (2")
On groomer: Slushy and slow for the most part. Not super slow or anything, but a little slow. Some (but not many) icy patches underneath the slush on steeper sections.
Off groomer: Ditto on-groomer
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 530mm (20.9″)
Stance Setback: Setback 25mm (1")*
You might be only setback 1" on the effective edge but on the overall length of the board, there's a massive setback - and you feel it. I measured 57cm from the center of the front binding to the nose and just 31cm from the center of the back binding to the center of the swallow tail (42cm to the farthest part of the tail).
Width at Inserts: 279mm (10.98") at front insert and 273mm (10.75")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Control Board for Control Laps: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Weight: 2960grams (6lbs 8oz)
Weight per cm: 19.47 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.43 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 100 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021 *& 2022 models. If I could do grams per surface area, this would be a more accurate measure, but since not all brands publish surface area (and I don't have the tools or knowledge to work it out), I can't unfortunately.
It's on the heavy side when you look at grams/cm, but it's a wide board, so the surface area of the 152 is more like the surface area of a regular width 157-158 or something like that, at a guess. Grams/cm would then be much closer to the average. And on snow it felt normal in terms of weight.
Damp or Chattery?
More damp than chattery for sure. That extra weight probably helps there too.
Smooth or Snappy?
More smooth than snappy. This is a board that likes to stick to the ground and enjoy a smooth cruisy, surfy ride.
Powder
Unfortunately didn't have any on the day because this thing screams powder. Even on firm snow, I could feel how well this board would float - and the specs back that up too.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Not really one for big carves, particularly not on firmer snow. You can lean into a bit, but not ideal for big arcing high speed carves.
Turning: Really fun board to turn on. It's got an easy to turn feel. I would describe this as a "turny" board.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Nice and nimble and super quick to whip that tail around in tight spots. Even with the extra width (which I usually find to be inhibitive to quick turns at slow speed) it still felt nimble.
Skidded Turns: Felt marginally more catchy than my control board (Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker). Not super catchy at all overall but just that tiny bit more than my Terrain Wrecker (which I find is really forgiving of skidded turns).
Speed
It's never going to be a speed demon at the size you get it in and with that flat-to-rocker profile and the flex and everything - but it can handle a bit of speed pretty well.
And the base had really good glide to it as well, I found. Which really helped in some slight uphill sections in the trees where I felt I wasn't going to have enough speed up certain sections, but it got me there.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Doesn't smash through but glides over top nicely. Confident in crud on this thing. And even though it didn't feel like it smashed through that well, it didn't really get bucked around either - I think the extra weight helped there. It's a board that likes to stay on the snow, even when it's not smooth.
Bumps: Really really good in trees, just able to flick that tail around to maneuver through those bumps easy. Nice and nimble and really fun. And hugged the bumps well going over top of them.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
The Pow Wrench starts at around 4:35 in this video.
Jumps
When I said this board prefers to stay on the snow (and does a really good job of it) it doesn't make for much of a jumper.
Pop: I wouldn't say it's non-existent, but there's very little pop. Not overly hard to access what's there, but there's not much there. When you really wind it up there's not much more to be had.
Approach: It's fine on the approach. Relatively stable, without being ultra stable, and easy enough to make corrections, speed checks etc.
Landing: Forgiving of errors, but definitely not a stomper.
Side-hits: Was quite fun for sidehits. The approach was good - but lacked pop to make them really exciting.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for small to medium jumps, but not great for any really.
Switch
Feels weird riding this thing switch. When the tail's in front it feels too light and whippy. Feels like it wants to whip around to get that big heavy nose back out front.
Spins
It's got a size that made it a little easier than it otherwise might be for spinning. But landing and setting up switch isn't great and that lack of pop doesn't help - as well as being quite heavy.
Butters
A very uneven feel between pressing the nose and tail (not surprisingly). Easier to press the nose - it's a little softer and there's more there to press off. But much harder off the tail. And overall feels a bit strange, given how different the nose and tail feel.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 5.0 | 30/30 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 4.0 | 12/15 |
CARVING | 2.5 | 5/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SPEED | 3.0 | 6/10 |
JUMPS | 2.0 | 2/5 |
SWITCH | 1.0 | 1/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.1/100 |
Overall, the Pow Wrench is a fun little board that would be a great addition to someone's quiver as a powder/tree board.
Unless you only ever ride in powder and trees, then it's not going to be the best daily driver - but after a storm, particularly if you're somewhere with good trees, this is the board I would prefer to have over a lot of others.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Pow Wrench, 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 mellow freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Pow Wrench to other mellow freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
I currently ride a 2019-2020 burton HTH 156 and looking to add to my quiver. I was looking at a Burton Custom 154w or go with a pow specific board like a 152 or 148 pow wrench.
Do you think my HTH is already closer to the custom and better off with the Pow wrench? Also should I go with a 148 or 152? Im 5’7 and weigh 155. Thanks
Hi Jr, thanks for your message.
HTH and Custom certainly not super similar, but I would say that the Pow Wrench is a bigger contrast to the HTH than the Custom. The Custom/Pow Wrench would be an even better 2 board quiver, IMO. But the Pow Wrench and HTH would still make a good 2 board quiver and I’d say that’s the better contrast than the HTH/Custom.
Size-wise on the POW Wrench, both the 152 or 148 are possibilities. Depending on boot size and how you’d use the board would help determine which way I’d be leaning. If you could let me know your boot size that would be great. And also, if you could let me know how you think you’ll use it. If it’s going to be pretty much powder days exclusively or would it be something that you’d use on powder days and sometimes use on non-powder days (e.g. in trees – I find sometimes I like to spend a day mostly in trees, even without powder, if it’s low vis conditions, for example).
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m a size 10.5 boot and would probably ride is mostly on decent pow days and definitely some trees. I was considering the 152.
I’m also thinking about the new Burton Gril Master either 155 or 155W. Any thoughts on that board especially with me owning a 156 HTH? Thanks
Hi Jr
The Gril Master is certainly (I rode the 2025 model, but don’t have the review for it up yet) more powder oriented than the HTH and better in trees, IMO, but it’s not as specialized as the Pow Wrench, so the quiver doesn’t make as much sense, particularly with the 155. While the 155 is the probably the size I’d look at for you for that board, it’s not going to perform, IMO, quite as well in the trees as the 152 Pow Wrench will. And probably not quite as good in powder (but wouldn’t be far off, given sizing – noting that the Pow Wrench is wider, so overall surface area probably isn’t actually too different). I wouldn’t go 155W on the Gril Master for you. The Grill Master with Custom would be a very good quiver though, IMO. But if you’re going to stick with the 156 HTH, then I’d be leaning 152 Pow Wrench for the better quiver.
Thank you so much Nate. I ended up going with the 2025 Gril Master 155. Can’t wait!!
Hey Jr. Thanks for updating me. Hope it treats you well! If you think of it at the time, let me know how you get on, once you’ve had a chance to get it out on snow.
You got it Nate and I will definitely let you know how I like when I get to ride it. Would you recommend Burtons cartel X, genesis, or 2023 malavita’s all in EST to go with the gril master? Thanks in advance 🙌🏾
Hi Jr
Any of those bindings would go with it fine, IMO, but the Genesis would be my choice to match with it, if cost wasn’t a factor. I think it’s the best match to the Gril Master, but the Custom X (a little stiffer) and Malavita would work with it too.
Hi Nate, what size of this burton pow wrench board would you choose for me?
I measure 188 cm (6.1), I weigh 86 kg (189.5 pounds) and my foot size is 44 eu (10 us).
Thank you very much as always
Hi Javier
I’d say something around 154/155 would be ideal in this board for you. I would personally go to the 152 if I was you, but it is on the smaller side. But the 158 is on the bigger side for this board for you, IMO. If you’re looking for a predominantly tree board – something that’s going to help you quickly maneuver in tight spaces and you’re not too worried about it being a board you can ride fast, then I would go 152. If you’re wanting it to be good for open terrain powder and have good stability at speed and that kind of thing, then you’re better off with the 158. But whilst powder is certainly one of the things you buy this board for, speed isn’t, so if that’s the case, then I’d probably go with a different board.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate, thanks for your quick response.
I was also evaluating the burton fish 3d, what difference do you see with the burton pow wrench?
I have been reading and I hardly see any differences between the two tables
Size for me of the burton fish 3d? 156 ?
Thanks a lot
Hi Javier
Quite a few differences, including:
– Fish not as wide
– Fish has more setback on effective edge (-50mm vs -25mm on the Pow Wrench)
– Quite different in terms of contact length and effective edge
– Fish has 30mm of taper vs 20mm of taper on the pow wrench
– Pow wrench has a twin flex vs directional flex on the fish
– They have different glassing
I haven’t ridden the Fish so I don’t know how different they feel, but they certainly wouldn’t feel the same. The Fish seems even more powder specialized than the Pow Wrench, which is saying something given how pow oriented the pow wrench is.
Size-wise, I think the 156 would be a good bet for you for the Fish 3D
Hi Nate. Been reading your reviews. Super helpful stuff here. Thanks for all the work you put into this site. Impressive!!! Like many people I’m torn between a few boards and could use an expert’s advice. I’m 5’11”, 185lbs, and have a size 11 boot. I spend most of my season in Colorado or Utah, riding with Skiers. I don’t do the Park, and while I do tend to stay with Skiers on Groomers, recently I’ve been getting into the trees which I love, and looking for steeps and bowls. I’m also loving powder, which is new to me. I tend to ride in one direction, but want to throw in occasional switch riding. My level is mixed … I’d say I’m a beginner when it comes to tricks and jumping, but an intermediate to expert when it comes to carving and terrain (I am very comfortable on Diamonds, double diamonds … pretty much anywhere on a mountain). I have a Korua Dart which I LOVE, but am looking to add an All Mountain Board for days when there is no POW. While the Dart is also great for Groomers it has not Pop for getting air and obviously can’t ride switch. I’m considering the Korua Otto, also looking at the Burton Custom … and now the Capita Mega Merc or just Mercury. Any thoughts on these? Recommendations? Thanks in advance. Much appreciated.
Hi Rolan
Thanks for your message.
Out of the options you’ve mentioned I think it depends on how much you want to bomb and how much you want to be able to take it easy and how nimble you want to be in the trees. E.g. the Mega Merc is great if you want to bomb and ride aggressively most of the day – and for the most part ride fast. It’s a board that prefers to be ridden fast. Not so much for slowing down or getting technical in the trees.
Also in terms of pop, I look at pop in two ways. 1. pop ceiling and 2. ease of pop. What this means is that some boards are just really easy to extract the pop from them. You don’t have to wind it up much and gives back plenty. They might not have a really high pop ceiling (as in there total pop when you really wind it up might not be massive). And then some boards won’t give you much back if you don’t really put in the effort, but might have a high pop ceiling – as in, they’ll give you massive pop, when you do really wind it up.
Typically I find that people who are new to getting air prefer pop that comes easy. Something like the Mega Merc has decent pop, but it’s not easy to extract. The Mercury is a better balance of ease of extraction and pop ceiling. It’s not ultra easy to extract, but you can get a good bit of pop without too much effort and then you get even more back when you put in the effort. The Burton Custom has more total pop than the Mercury, IMO and it’s similar in terms of being a balance of getting some of that pop without too much effort and there’s more to be had when you really wind it up. To put this in perspective, some boards you have to really put it in to get any pop out of, some boards you get plenty of pop without much effort, but you don’t get much more back if you do wind it up. And some just don’t give you either easy access or massive pop. The Mercury and Custom to me are in between. You get a good amount easily and then you get more when you wind it up. The Custom a slightly higher pop ceiling and a little more effortless too. Hope all that makes sense!
I don’t currently test Korua boards (hoping to change that!) so I can’t say much about the Otto, except that it looks on paper to be something that would suit what you’re describing. It does look to be a little more directional than the Mercury and Custom, so maybe not as easy to ride switch. Not sure what the pop would be like. But it looks on paper to be still be a good compliment to your Dart.
Also for reference, in case you had a certainly flex in mind, I would say:
Custom 6.5/10
Mercury 6.5/10
Mega Merc 8/10
Otto – not sure, but Korua rate it at 7/10.
Hope this helps with your decision
Nate wow thank you SO MUCH for such a thorough response. Didn’t expect that. so kind of you. RE the MegaMerc, I didn’t realize it was so stiff. Capita rates it as the same flex as the Mercury. Hmmmm that leaves much to consider. I’m torn between getting a board that can bomb vs something more playful when going slow. I guess since I’m almost always with Skiers maybe the later. One last question: Do you think these boards all Carve as well as each other?
You’re very welcome Rolan.
The Mercury and Custom carve as well as each other, IMO. The Mega Merc a little better when it comes to big carves. But yeah, the Custom and Mercury are a better balance between being able to bomb, but also not so beastly that they can’t be ridden slow. I mean you can ride the Merc slow, but it definitely doesn’t prefer it. But don’t get me wrong both the Mercury and Custom aren’t what I would call playful boards looking at the overall spectrum. But just compared to the Mega Merc they feel more playful.
Mega Merc is listed at the same flex, but Capita’s flex ratings are based on the core and don’t take into account things like the glass. Not sure exactly what makes it feel stiff, but it definitely feels stiffer. The Mega Merc is listed as having triax/triax glass and the regular Mercury Triax/Biax glass, and Triax is always stiffer than Biax, so that will certainly be part of it. Also the “Mega Carbon Array” on the Mega Merc likely also adds to the stiffer feeling.