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gear reviews

Long-term gear review | Jones Hovercraft

The hovercraft...

by Anselm Köhler 11/23/2016
If you translate the word "hovercraft" with a translation program, the suggested translations are hovercraft, aeroglider, ground effect aircraft and the like. In any case, a term that has to do with buoyancy and hovering just before flying. The Jones Hovercraft lives up to the promise of its name: it can't be brought down by any powder in the world.

The Hovercraft from Jones Snowboards is a directional rocker board. Jones itself defines this as a hybrid rocker/camber profile: lots of tip rocker, camber between the bindings and some tail rocker. It has a long "blunt nose"(nose design with maximized surface area) and a short swallow tail. With a taper of only 1.1cm, the nose is not as pronounced as on other pure powder boards (e.g. 3cm on the Fish), and the setback is not exaggerated at 2.9cm.

The center width of 26cm is quite wide, so that larger feet also have room. As a split, it is equipped with a Voile hole stitch and Karakoram clips. Jones offers its own skins with Quick Tension Tailclip.

Test conditions

I tested the Hovercraft in size 156cm with the universal skins. In the 15/16 winter season, I almost exclusively used the Hovercraft to experience the board in as many conditions as possible. In total, we spent around 40 days on tour and 5 days on the slopes. At the end of the season, I switched back to a camber board. I chose the Hovercraft in the medium size, but with a riding weight of around 80 kg including equipment, it is at the limit for me. On a multi-day tour with a lot of luggage, it barely got out of the snow and through the wind crusts. However, the conditions were really poor at times.

Riding characteristics

Powder: The board is super floaty, the nose stays up and the back leg closes less when the board is not in a very inverted position. Due to the short tail, turns can be made by "stirring" with the back foot. The board is convincing in fluffy snow. Since I rarely ride bigturns at high speed, I cannot evaluate the behavior (Jones himself states for the board: "conditionally-suitable for speed demons").

Steep and narrow: In addition to powder, narrow and steep descents are the terrain where the board can show off its strengths. On the one hand, turns can be lifted over the nose: Load forward, lift the tail, turn. In addition, the edge can be changed directly via the tail, allowing you to turn 180° almost on the spot.

Hard snow: The edge hold on hard snow is less than with a classic camber board. The long nose tends to flutter, carved turns are only possible to a limited extent. The hold comes mainly from the stiffer tail and the camber between the bindings. Most of the weight is on the back foot and finding the balance takes some getting used to. However, when wind gapping and sastrugi on the snow surface are added to the mix, the soft and flexible nose helps to prevent blending. In typical touring/freeride terrain, the Hovercraft performs very well, but there are better boards for ski areas and spring conditions.

Traverses: Long traverses are tiring, as the rear leg holds the tension to maintain height. It is practically impossible to switch to Switch.

Ascending/descending: The board can be ridden short with a clear conscience, it doesn't always have to be the 2m tanker. The advantage of this is that it is light underfoot and turns can be made without much effort. The disadvantages are the wide and soft nose - the edge hold of the valley ski on the ascent is weak and crampons must therefore be used earlier. Especially in spring conditions, the ascent is relatively difficult. Another disadvantage is the high flex of the individual ski halves. Instead of gliding forward, a lot of ascent energy is lost in a "wave track". This is particularly noticeable at the end of the day on long, untracked valley hikes in ski mode back to the starting point.
"Mellow Magne-Traction" has been added to the inner and outer edges of the 2016/17 season model to improve edge hold.

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Manufacturing quality and durability

Topsheet: The topsheet looks great, but didn't prove to be too robust in the long-term gear review. On the ascent, the two halves of the ski inevitably slide over each other and plane down the bamboo step by step. The bamboo fibers in the longitudinal direction, which intensifies this process. After about 15 tours, I reinforced the edges of the topsheet with 2K epoxy resin, which improved the durability considerably. Nevertheless, the topsheet gets a "used look" as the number of tours increases, but if you don't have scars, you haven't experienced anything.

Edge: The small swallowtail and the nose are not protected by a metal edge. Small bumps in these areas are unavoidable in the terrain. After a handful of tours, the tail burst open in a small area, but without delaminating. The spot was repaired with epoxy and a screw clamp. So, don't casually tap off the remaining snow on the board on the ground in the parking lot after the tour... The manufacturer has apparently also recognized a problem here and has therefore added metal protection to the nose and tail for the upcoming season (2016/2017). According to Jones, the edges are oversized, i.e. thicker than average, which should benefit durability.

Skins: The climbing properties of the skins are average, the gliding properties good. Short descents with skins go well. The skin fits well, the edges are free. However, the board contours on the shovel track too well, so that snow accumulates under the skin. The skin attachment on the nose consists of a wire bracket with lateral play. I found it annoying to have to adjust the bracket every time I skinned up. However, a small cable tie provided a remedy here. The skin is hooked into a small slot at the back with a thin rubber band. This skin suspension is functional and simple. The rubber band does not come loose during ascent. So far, however, the skin adhesive is still holding well. If this is no longer the case, it is questionable how much load the rubber band can actually take. After 30 tours, the strap starts to fray, so I will replace it for next season.

Conclusion

I am delighted with the Hovercraft. It's a great snowboard for my riding style (lots of tight turns, mainly powder, not too fast). I'm really looking forward to the coming season with lots of powder. I'll certainly switch back to a camber board in the spring, but otherwise it's a most-season/most-condition board.

Advantages & disadvantages

+Super float
+Maneuverability
+Great in wind-affected snow
+Good for hairpin turns
+Good skins and suspension
-Not ideal on hard piste or when descending too early in firn
-There are better boards for traversing
-Edge hold on the ascent not gigantic
-Robust topsheet, esp.especially at nose & tail not the best, but this has been responded to in the new model

Details:

Length (cm): 152 156 160
Running length (cm): 119.1 122.5 125.7
Nose length (cm): 39.4 40 40.4
Tail length (cm): 15.5 15.5 15.9
Nose width (cm): 29.8 30.5 31
Waist width (cm): 25.4 26 26.4
Tail width (cm): 28.7 29.4 29.9
Sidecut radius (m): 8.9 9.3 9.5
Centered stance (cm): 54 56 58
Setback (cm): 2.9 2.9 2.9
Weight Range (kg): 49-73 59-82 73-95

Here is the manufacturer's website with more information.

This product was provided by the manufacturer PowderGuide.com free of charge for testing. PowderGuide Test Statement.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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