Sick bike. Nice and versatile. I live in Edmonton which has 6 month winters, so the plus sized tire is a big advantage for year-round riding. Also the fork is coil, not air, so its much more resilient in the cold.
I bought the 2020 Growler 40 and its hands down the funnest bike ive ever owned. I live in BC and i can easily pedal it to my local trails and it keeps up with the big bikes all day. It jumps amazingly and i forget its a 29er (my first experience) dropper post is amazing and so handy. I have owned many full suspension and DH rigs and id never go back.
I have the Growler 40. It likes to roll fast and point downhill. It handles technical sections unbelievably well. It does not like you to sit in the saddle and grind uphill. I think of it like a hard tail enduro bike.
The WTB stock tires are great but heavy. I kept them on for the mud season. I am going to swap out for 2.6" Maxxis Rekons for dryer weather. I want to swap the brake levers for Shimano adjustable reach levers. I will ride the SX cassette until I need to replace it. Then, I will upgrade to GX to lighten the rear end. The Suntour fork is ok. Not bad, but work considering the upgrade to the Growler 50.
This bike is not light and playful like a Salsa Timberjack. It is a chunk and gnar bruiser. I descend anything a Stumpjumper can, but more carefully because of the HT. Sometimes I do get going so fast that I forget it is a HT until the rear tire catches a bug hit.
I’ve got the Growler 50 and also live in BC. Hugely capable HT, it’s all I ride now.
I think the spec on the 40/50 isn’t a huge difference just the fork which can be easily swapped out. The geo is the important thing and that is nailed on this bike. It’s stupid heavy and not that easy at really tight stuff just due to its size but it’s awesome downhill.
Climbing isn’t too bad, I’m quicker on this than a full sus rig. Only issue I have is the brake levers too actually, I don’t have huge hands and would prefer some adjustment or ideally a one finger lever. But that’s it, I love riding it.