Jones Hovercraft 2.0 Snowboard Review: For Big Powder Days
The Hovercraft 2.0 has a bit of jaggedness in the edges that Jones calls Traction Tech, which bites into hard snow but doesn’t interrupt carving. I don’t think Traction Tech is as reliable as Lib Tech’s Magne-Traction (same concept, but with a few added bumps), but this board held its edge extremely well in critical terrain.
It’s also the best board I’ve ever used in the trees. Despite its width, it turns with agility in loose snow, where quick changes of direction are of crucial importance. In March 2024, I took this board on a road trip through Northern California, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. At some of these stops it hadn’t snowed in days and everything out in the open had been spotted, but when I took this board into the trees I was still able to find pockets of fresh goodies. On those special occasions when I took it into a big, steep snowfield, the board had a relaxed surf feel. It also glides well on flat places.
The Hovercraft 2.0 is also arguably the most durable snowboard ever produced. It’s the first snowboard made with Jones’ new Re-Up technology, which recycles components from used surfboards. Jones discovered that 95% of a snowboard can be recycled, and that’s where this board’s wooden core comes from. It also contains recycled steel in its edges, recycled ABS in its sidewalls, a carbon-neutral flax fiber top sheet and a bio-resin which would reduce CO emissions.2 emissions of 33 percent compared to traditional epoxy. It is also pre-treated with a natural Wend wax that is biodegradable and contains no fluorocarbon chemicals such as PFAS.
This shouldn’t be surprising, since founder Jeremy Jones is not only a legendary snowboarder but also the founder and president of Protect Our Winters (aka POW). But it’s nice to see companies putting their money where their mouth is.
Ultimately, there is so much to like about this board and very little to dislike, but it is aimed at a specific type of rider looking for a specific experience. If your focus is mainly on groomers, this board is good, but it doesn’t really stand out on the hard pack. For intermediate to advanced riders who want to spend as much time as possible chasing powder on ungroomed terrain, riding steep slopes, cutting big turns, exploring trees, and doing some more fun carving on the way back to the lift line, the Hovercraft 2.0 is an absolute delight.
It’s just a pure fun machine that has given me some of the most memorable runs of my life. It has usurped my beloved K2 Excavator as the board of choice for powder days. If that’s your thing, this board comes highly recommended.
