Hello and welcome to my Burton Straight Chuter review.
In this review I will take a look at the Straight Chuter as a Freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Straight Chuter a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and also see how it compares with other Freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Burton Straight Chuter
Price: $839 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff
Flex Feel: Mid-Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating Score: 85.3/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 35 Men’s Freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Straight Chuter’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Straight Chuter’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $839 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 40mm (1.5") |
Base: | Sintered (Burton's "Sintered WFO") |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
151 | 246 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
155 | 252 | 120-180 | 54-82 |
159 | 255 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
162 | 258 | 180-260+ | 82-118+ |
Who is the Straight Chuter Most Suited To?
The Straight Chuter is best suited to someone who wants to bomb and carve up groomers when there's no powder and then when it's a powder day, leave the groomers are float all day.
Not a freestyle oriented board in the slightest and prefers straighter lines down the mountain compared to tighter turns. But it's not so much so that you have to ride the crap out of it the whole time your on it. But it does prefer to be ridden aggressively.
Not for beginners and even intermediate riders might struggle a bit.
THE Straight Chuter IN MORE DETAIL
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Straight Chuter is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Burton Family Tree Straight Chuter 2023, 159cm (255mm waist width)
Date: March 22, 2022
Conditions
Raining. Visibility wasn't unlimited, but wasn't terrible either.
Temperature: Warm. 36°F (2°C) in the morning. Up to 39°F (4°C). No wind chill.
24hr snow: 0.8" (2cm)
48hr snow: 18" (45cm)
7 day snow: 29" (74cm)
On groomer: Soft pack to slushy. Well groomed to start but even at start could feel it a little slushy. Progressively slushier over day.
Off groomer: Plenty of fresh snow around, but it was heavy and sticky and lumpy, so not great.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +12/-9
Stance width: 22″ (560mm)
Stance Setback: 1.5" (40mm)
Width at Inserts: 10.51" (267mm) at front insert and 10.39" (264mm) at back insert.
Tester: Fraser
Rider Height: 6'1"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical Lexicon ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita: M
Weight: 6lbs 4oz (2840grams)
Weight per cm: 17.86 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.59 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 200 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models. The Straight Chuter was a decent amount lighter than normal on the scales. On snow it felt ever so slightly lighter than normal but pretty much normal.
Powder
Whilst we had some fresh snow around it was far from champagne powder! But it did give some indication. And that plus the specs of boards indicate that the Straight Chuter would be very good in powder.
It has a healthy amount of taper and setback as well as a rockered nose. That plus the tail is shorter than the nose, helping it to sink and raise the nose up.
Carving
Really decent on the carve, which was no surprise. Excelled particularly at longer drawn out carves at speed. Definitely likes to track pretty straight.
Turning
Ease of Turns/Slashing: The torsional stiffness isn't ideal for easy turning, but it certainly wasn't hard - and that short tail helped to whip around slashes.
Maneuverability at slow speeds (nimbleness): Felt pretty normal - not lightning quick but not slow either.
Skidded Turns: Was a little catchier in the nose but not so much the tail. A little surprising given the rocker in the nose.
Speed
Felt super stable at speed. Gave it plenty and it held strong.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Smashed through crud with ease. Didn't get thrown off line and felt like it would take quite a lot to knock it off course.
Trees/Bumps: Felt pretty normal. Didn't excel, but was fine.
Jumps
Not ideal for landing switch or tail heavy but you can still have some fun on it.
Pop: Felt like a normal amount. Not oodles. You had to put it in to get it out. Not a lot of easy access pop, but decent when you did wind it up a bit.
Approach: Nice and stable and when you did need to make adjustments was maneuverable enough.
Landing: Can land fairly nose heavy and get away with it. Less forgiving if you land tail heavy. Overall pretty solid landing platform.
Side-hits: Was good without being overly exciting for them. The way it was able to smash through crud made it good when there was crud on your path or on your landing.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Capable of all sizes but with the slightly sketchiness of landing tail heavy felt like I preferred smaller jumps on it, when the consequences of getting it wrong are less.
Switch
Not ideal, given how directional it is. Felt a little wrong riding this one the wrong way.
Butters
Not unbutterable but feels weird with the differences between nose and tail. Tail was easy to press. Nose was a bit awkward to press.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 22.5/25 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
CARVING | 4.0 | 12/15 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 2.0 | 2/5 |
SWITCH | 2.0 | 2/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 85.3/100 |
Burton's Family Tree Straight Chuter is very much a one-direction board that likes to bomb and carve up groomers, smash through crud and would be a great tool on a powder day.
It's not ideal for playing around or slashing or riding slow, but it's not unbearable when not being ridden aggressively.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Straight Chuter, 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 Straight Chuter compares to other freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Does 4cm make a difference in board length ? Will I feel it during my turns ?
I am 180 lbs. freerider, therefore not sure if 156cm or 160cm ?
Hi Manuel
Please see my response to this when you asked the same question on the Choosing the Best Snowboard Specs Based on Different Types of Snow post. I’m guessing you haven’t seen my response there yet.
Found it, Thank you !
You’re very welcome Manuel.
How compare straight chuter vs. hometown hero ?
Hi Manuel
Thanks for your message. Main differences, IMO are:
– Straight Chuter is stiffer (7.5/10 vs 6.5/10 on the hometown hero)
– Straight Chuter is a board you’ve got to be more aggressive with to get the best out of it. Not at it’s best if you want to ride it more mellow. Hometown hero a better balance between aggressive and less-aggressive riding.
– Straight Chuter better for speed and in powder
– Hometown hero better for slower speed riding (still good at faster speeds, but more in between in terms of slower speed and faster speed performance) and better for jumps, IMO.
– Straight Chuter, as the name suggests, is more of a straight liner
Hope this helps
Hi Nate, great review on the straight chuter. Helps a lot. My daily drivers are a 158 leader board and T7 159 and 162. considering buying a SC in 155 as I want to use it for tree runs and also in spring time slush. Do you think that’s an good idea (also lengthwise)?
Cheers
Mike
Hi Mike
Thanks for your message.
I didn’t find the Straight Chuter super nimble at slower speeds, so not necessarily ideal in trees, unless you like to really tear it up in there. That said, it sounds like you have a quiver on the stiffer side, so you’ll be used to that kind of flex. Sizing down would certainly mellow it out and make it easier to weave through the trees, but still not what I’d personally consider the ideal tree board. But if you’re a physically stronger rider you might be OK with it, particularly if your typical size is between 158 and 162. I think it would handle slush fine.
Hope this helps