Comments on: Snowboard Review: 08-09 Burton Hero

By: Shayboarder.com - The World of Snowboarding Through Fembot Eyes » Blog Archive » 2008-2009 Snowboard Review

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:30:23 +0000

[...] 08-09 Burton Hero -Men’s -Camber: V Rocker -Retails: $449.95 [...]

By: jean-luc

jean-luc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:32:00 +0000

So I finally bought the hero and rode it 3 days in the Alps in the backcountry , and 3 days on icy east coast. It is definitely a fun board, very easy to press and with lots of control at low speed. Very nice feeling in deep powder in the backcountry, feels like flying over the snow, especially whith the EST bindings that have a very thin plate.
On groomers, it is stable at high speed if the surface is flat, but on choppy run the dampening is a bit of a problem as mentioned in the review and can be exhausting (that also comes from the est bindings construction; there is more dampening with regular bindings).
The main problem I have with my board is the ice. I found it disapointing (especially compared to the SLR), which is weird because everybody else seems to say it is good on ice. It maybe that my board came detuned (for rails)? I have the special stock edition, so it may not have been tuned the same way as the normal board. I should have it sharpen and see. Anyone had a similar problem?

By: Shayboarder

Shayboarder — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:02:00 +0000

I rode last years X8 but not this years X8 but between the two I really liked the Hero and the X8 I wasn’t too fond of at the time. Hero was just fun but still handled the mountain for carving.

By: M

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Shay, thanks for the great reviews. Which did you like better, the 08 Burton X8 or the Hero? I’m debating between the two for something good for ollies and butters, but also can handle the icey NE conidtions in between. Thanks!

By: Shayboarder

Shayboarder — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Definitely comparable. I think the SL-R holds an upper hand on ice, but the Hero still does good on ice.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Jean-Luc – In regards to your question about if the Hero holds a comparable edge to the SL-R, it’s pretty close. I recently bought both boards to compare. Took the SL-R out about two weeks ago and the Hero yesterday. Both boards are solid. As Shay mentioned in her Hero review, I put alot of speed on it and it felt very stable at high speeds. The mountain had a combination of powder and icy on some parts. Hero performed very well in the icy groomers and in the powder. At this point I’m having a hard time deciding which board I’m going to keep.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:32:00 +0000

thats because most shops probably have an automated system for entering the info and the heros were incorrectly tagged, a simple phone call should be all it takes but some sites are slow to update. also, most shops will price match so all you have to do is show them porters or dogfunks or sierras price

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:26:00 +0000

My God Shay, you’re making me consider selling the 08 Uninc Burton sent back to me on Warranty and picking up a 158. Why do you hate me so?

-KimChi

By: jean-luc

jean-luc — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Hello! Great review. I would be curious to know your opinion about how the Hero compares to the NeverSummer boards, especially the SL-R. I demoed both but did not get the chance to ride the Hero on the ice. I was amazed by the SL-R hold on the ice and was wondering if the Hero was comparable. The main difference I found was the Hero being softer than the SLR an d easier to press. I didn t try to many Ollies; did you get good pop out of the Hero after getting used to it?

For the graphics, there is a limited edition of the Hero with sick graphics (Cowgirl and Mickey Mouse)

By: Shayboarder

Shayboarder — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:59:00 +0000

Really? I just did a froogle search for hero and came up a lot of shops that don’t offer it for $399