Jones Mind Expander - Women's Review

Edge Hold

The Jones didn't do amazing in steep terrain, and it wasn't able to hold its edge on icy days.

This board does a great job of biting into skier packed powder and in off-piste terrain, but it feels quite loose in icy conditions or when riding in chop or crud. It does have Jones' Traction Tech edges, which do help mitigate the rocker in the nose, but the Mind Expander is by no means a carving board.

Powder Performance

While the rocker in the nose is a detriment when it comes to edge hold, it proved quite beneficial in power. Riding the Mind Expander after the biggest storms delivered a fantastic performance. This snowboard is super fast, super floaty, and is an absolute blast in powder. The Mind Expander has a Spoon 3.0 base with 7 mm of spoon bevel in the nose and tail.

Its unique surf rocker profile gives it unmatched float and glides in a way that you could almost imagine that you are actually surfing if you closed your eyes — not that we would recommend you try that. This board was designed in conjunction with the renowned San Diego surfboard shaper Chris Christenson so its roots are in surfing, and it shows.

Stability

While the surf rocker profile is great for powder, it isn't necessarily a benefit for stability, delivering a so-so set of results in this metric. Jones added web fused carbon into the nose to reduce vibration and make for a smoother ride, and we did find that this board was less prone to chatter than some of the other powder-specific boards in the group.

This board is decent on steep ice and chop, but we wouldn't recommend this board for riders with a hard-charging or overly aggressive style, and we don't feel that it is an excellent carving board. It is super stable when going fast in deep snow though.

Playfulness

In terms of playfulness, the Mind Expander didn't do the best.

This medium flex board is a bit on the stiff side, making it less playful overall than some of the softer and springier boards. We wouldn't pick this board for rails or the park. This snowboard is decently fun to ride switch but just isn't quite as fun on hard-packed snow. However, it is exceptionally fun on deep snow days, giving a freestyle feel to riding in the trees or backcountry.

Pop and Jumping

The Mind Expander was a bit lacking in our pop and jumping metric. It has a surprising amount of pop given its experimental surf rocker design, but can't compete with some of the other boards in our review. You can ollie with it, but you aren't going to be setting any height records. However, it does amazingly well launching off natural features in deeper snow, once again highlighting its powder-specific design.

Value

This board isn't a great value, given its lack of versatility. You would be much better served by an all-in-one board for the same price that performs well across a wider variety of snow conditions if you are shopping on a budget.

Conclusion

If you want a snowboard that feels as surfy as possible, the Mind Expander is the perfect choice for you. Its experimental surf rocker profile is undeniably fun on powder days; most people don't get to ski powder every single day — we're envious of people that do — making this board more of a niche product than most people want when they are getting an all-mountain board. It's a great — but expensive — addition to the quiver if you can afford it but not the best if you only plan on owning a single board.