- Sizes: 148, 152, 156, 160, 164
- Flex: 7
- Profile: Directional Rocker
- Shape: Directional
- Price: £490 / €550
- BUY DIRECT FROM JONES
Is the Jones Hovercraft the most recognisable snowboard in the world, these days? Possibly. That’s as much a testament to its unique shape and iconic, stripped-back-to-the-core aesthetic as it is to its cult popularity, spotted in lift queues and along ridgelines all over the world.
To the untrained eye, it looks like a snowboard built purely for slashes through the powder fields of Hokkaido. That’s not to say it doesn’t absolutely deliver in these conditions – the original shape and concept owe much of its legacy to the handcrafted Japanese masters over at Gentemstick. But what sets the Hovercraft apart from so many boards of this ilk, is its performance back on the pistes.
“What sets the hovercraft apart from so many boards of this ilk, is its performance back on the pistes”
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The 3D 4.0 Base Contours mimic the underside of a spoon, bevelling out the sides of the base in the nose and tail. There’s also an additional speed channel, shaped into the centre of the tail. All this combines to not only create incredible float – where the back of the board leaves a trail of white smoke after every turn while the nose bounds along the surface – but also a really smooth and predictable transition between the turns, whether on or off the pistes.
Both the directional shape and camrock profile mean you can ride the board completely centred in your stance without so much as an inch of backfoot lean through the whiteroom, but the Hovercraft also keeps a few tricks up its sleeve for when you get it back on the piste.
The Traction Tech disrupts the sidecut on both edges to create a mellow “serration” down the metal. Even when the snow Gods don’t deliver, the Hovercraft does. High speed, high angle carving on groomers is this board’s home from home. There’s a newly, updated, eco-friendly veneer on the top sheet to keep the vibrations suppressed when you get up to speed.
While the bi-ax fibreglass and sintered 7000 base don’t make the Hovercraft the snappiest or fastest in the line, there’s still ample speed and response for just about every kind of turn you can think of. After all, that’s what this one was made for.
