Jones Men’s Hovercraft Snowboard Snowboard 2023 Jones

The Hovercraft is an alternative freeride board whose nimble maneuverability and diverse performance has earned it a cult following.

It’s unique, compact shape matches a short tail with a long sidecut so you can rip turns of any size. The Hovercraft is designed to be ridden shorter than your average freeride board as the trim shape packs serious surface area in a small package. For serious float in any snow condition, the Hovercraft features a directional rocker profile and a 3D Contour Base 3.0, and for added edge grip it has Traction Tech 3.0 edges. Fresh for 21/22, the Hovercraft has a new look with a refined Engineered Veneer Topsheet and a black + transparent base plus laser etched topsheet markings that eliminate all solvent inks. Without any inks on the board, not even the sidewalls, the new Hovercraft is the most sustainably produced board Jones has ever made!

Profile: Directional Camber
Terrain: Resort/Pow
Response: Medium

Features:

• 3D Contour Base 3.0: Freeride focused 3D-base contours featuring an even balance of 7mm of spoon bevel in the nose and 7mm of spoon bevel in the tail. Spoon bevel starts at the rocker point.
• 3D Contour Bases are designed to make every run smoother and every turn more effortless by reducing the drag of the board tips. 3D Contour Bases enhance glide and improve float helping you ride faster and with better flow.
• Traction Tech 1.0: Like a serrated knife slicing into the snow, Traction Tech improves your edge grip by adding multiple contact points along the running length of your board.

  Traction Tech is a critical feature for rockered boards. Rocker improves glide in mixed conditions, but the decreased edge contact makes it harder to really lock into your turns and hold a solid edge. Traction Tech is crucial to offset the edge drift of rocker. – Jeremy Jones

• Progressive Sidecut: At the far ends of the sidecut, the radius is incrementally increased as the edge reaches the contact point. Gradually increasing the sidecut radius towards the contact point delivers smoother turn initiation and exit as the edge tracks in and out of the snow with a less abrupt transition.
• Blunt Nose: How a board glides in powder, crust, corn or any snow more than an inch deep, is dictated by it’s front contact point and just past it. Next time you are in soft snow watch how much snow comes over the corner of the nose near the contact point. The billowing snow coming out from behind the tip means you are plowing through it which is obviously slowing you down. By adding a blunt nose you get the float benefits of a much longer nose without the ‘snow plow’ rounded tip and it’s extra swing weight. – Jeremy Jones
• Biax Fiberglass: A dual-direction, dual-layer, stitched fiberglass laminate that provides a fun, forgiving and snappy ride.
• Bio Resin: Bio Resin is a bio-based epoxy made with 27% plant-based carbon instead of petroleum-based carbon. The organic raw materials used to make bio-resin are co-products or waste products of plant-based industrial processes. Bio-resin requires 33% less greenhouse gas emissions to produce than conventional epoxy.
• Oversized Recycled Edges: All Jones boards are made with oversized recycled steel edges for added durability and improved production sustainability.
• Recycled ABS Sidewalls: ABS Plastic is one of the necessary evils of snowboard production. We improve the sustainability of our snowboards by using only recycled plastic.
• Factory Tuned: All Jones Snowboards are factory de-tuned at the tip and tail so you can go right from the shop to the mountain.
• Forever Flex: Forever Flex is a new manufacturing process that helps stabilise the flex and rocker of a board for its lifetime.
• Engineered Wood Veneer: New composite wood veneer topsheets. Wood veneer topsheets dampen ride and absorb board chatter.
• No Ink!Laser engraved graphics: The Hovercraft series now features laser etched topsheet graphics that eliminate toxic inks.

Profile: Directional Camber

A hybrid rocker/camber flex pattern defined by more tip rocker then tail rocker and camber between the bindings. The rockered tip floats the board’s nose and improves maneuverability while the camber underfoot provides edge hold and response. A slightly rockered tail maintains the power and stability of a traditional board but helps keep the tail catch-free initiating turns and landing switch.

“My experience is that most falls in freeriding start from the nose of the board – you either go over the bars in powder, the nose gets caught under a weird crust and tosses you, or you hit a hard tranny at the contact point of the tip and get bucked. Directional Rocker eliminates most of these falls.” – Jeremy Jones

Shape: Directional

A smooth, reliable ride.

Directional shapes generally feature a longer, softer nose and a shorter, stiffer tail. These shapes thrive in an all-mountain environment, as they possess the ability to ride more smoothly than their twin-tip counterparts and behave more reliably in variable snow conditions, anywhere from choppy snow to deeper powder. More twin-looking directional shapes where the difference between nose and tail appear minimal will perform best as crossover freestyle snowboards for those looking to still access the park, while more exaggerated differences will excel for additional float in deep powder.

Flex: 7 (Scale 1 – 10)

From the park to the peak, and anywhere in between.

Base: Sintered 8000:

New super durable material made from Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE) and carbon. Base is easily repairable, highly wax absorbent and wicked fast.