Snowboard Review: 12-13 Jones Hovercraft

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Location: Revelstoke, BC and Thompson Pass, AK

Snow Conditions: Deep powder and some crusty chopped powder days

Setup: I rode the Jones Hovercraft with Union Atlas Team bindings and Vans Ferra boots size 8.

Size: 156 cm

First Impression: Taking this board to AK and BC for deep powder riding is exactly what it was designed for.

Weight: Average

Flex: The blunt nose is softer flex on the Hovercraft to help give it more float. The stiffer flex is between the bindings to the tail of the board to deliver the power in the riding. The hovercraft features rocker towards the nose of the board with camber underfoot. The combination delivers rocker for powder riding and camber for riding any kind of non powder and stability on the charging.

Turning: Despite the wider waist (26 on the 156cm), the board can turn. It handles like camber and initiates the effective edge for response on turns on the mountain. In powder, it definitely likes the longer drawn out S turns but it can handle the quick responsive pow slashes and turns. I did notice in really tight trees, it was more difficult to maneuever than I thought and so I just tried not to ride the really tight trees.

Stable: The design of the Hovercraft allows you to stand naturally on it and still float in the powder. But in the really deep stuff, when you wanna create a wave of pow, you end up riding in the back a little bit. Overall stability in powder is amazing, it floats and keeps you charging. In AK I rode a couple sluff slides with the board and had the speed and handling to ride them out. On the groomer trail (on the flat terrain in powder), the board did fine staying in the bumpy groomed track but really loved the powder more than being stuck in the flats. On the choppy, cruddy conditions, the board did ok but it was bounced around because of the size.

Pop: When I was riding the backcountry trees with Eagle Pass Heliskiing, there were a couple natural pillows that I accidentally went over. So I didn’t so much pop them but the board did and we  rode out of the landings.

Switch: I didn’t even try to ride this board switch.

Overall Impression: The Hovercraft is Jones Snowboards powder board. The blunt nose and directional rocker keep you floating without having to ride the backseat, the camber underfoot and stiffer rear flex allow for the board to ride the groomers and harder conditions. But in all honestly, you just want to surf the pow with this board. It’s meant to ride open freshies with only its trail left behind.

Shay’s Honesty Box: When I knew I was going to BC and AK, I immediately asked to bring the Hovercraft with me. This board was meant for deep powder days and I wanted to deliver with backcountry riding it was meant for. It didn’t underestimate, it loved the powder and floated, surfed and made me smile a lot. In the really bumpy cruddy leftover stuff, I only wished I had a bigger size but it still did okay.

Review Disclosure: I borrowed this board from Jones Snowboards to ride in BC/AK.