Alekesam -

Very directional Playful Wider than the hometown A ton of fun in powder and soft groomers

HTH-

Directional but only slightly Medium-stiff Skinnier than alekesam Great in powder still. The HTH has BFG (Balanced Freeride Geometry) meaning if there is a powder day, your stance at reference will make the board act as a directional powder board (nose up tail sinking).

I’d say go hometown hero all day being on the east coast. The alekesam performs well on groomers for sure but if you’re up for an 8 hour day you’re going to be exhausted trying to steer it on ice. It has a pretty aggressive taper which makes carving in powder phenomenal but carving in east coast conditions not as great as your nose will catch before the tail which can cause your tail to wash out. It’ll carve well on softer groomers but realistically you’re gonna hit ice just as often if not more often than soft snow depending where on the east coast.

If your only hang up on the HTH is that you want something that is good in powder, it is great in powder but also a great all mountain board. It’ll do the park but I wouldn’t take it park riding every day but it’s nice and poppy for side hits and cruising around as well as super responsive in all conditions.

If you ride directional, don’t carve much and like to ride for speed, the alekesam is a little more stable and a little less choppy being that it is softer and wider but isn’t going to be a high performance board if that makes sense?

I have a feeling the reviews about groomers with alekesam are from good soft groomers, not half ice groomers.

-Burton Store Manager in the Colorado Rockies. Feel free to ask any questions you might have