I was skeptical of trying another Hero, as I am so smitten with the Villain S, and I didn’t prefer the Hero of yesteryear over the Rocker. But the New 2011 Hero is in a league of its own!

The 2011 Hero holds its own as a *legit* creek boat while allowing you to have more fun out there! I felt confident with everything I normally do in the Villain S, and I never had a moment of ‘o crap this boat has its limits.” It hangs right with the Villain S (it’s almost as fast), and makes the moves a little easier! Correcting your mistakes is a cinch, and there is pretty much an auto-rockspin feature that kicks in as soon as you commit. 🙂

In addition to being ultra maneuverable and agile, as I would expect a short creeker to be, it accelerates and boofs with little time or effort, just like the Villain! The bow stays up, and it is hands down, the easiest boat to boof I’ve ever paddled. If zinging from one small eddy to the next and stomping sweet boofs is your goal, there is no better boat out there. And it will get you some sweet surfs too!

The verdict: This year, I will still be paddling my Villain S when I’m doing the fastest laps, loading up for multi-day trips, or feeling like stepping it up. But the Hero is so easy to carry, not to mention capable as a creeker, it will probably end up loaded on the truck pretty often! The Villain S is still my army tank that will take me there safely and comfortably. But I will be happy paddling either of these boats.

I can’t wait to take the new Hero to Hellhole and surf it. Plugging for loops in the Villain is fun but I almost never complete the loop. The Hero will be a blast for that!

-Kat

ps- Here are some photos of JD taking the hero for a spin!

JD Henderson (who owns a Rocker) styles 'Diaper Wiper' in the 2011 Hero