Jones Flagship Pro Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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An Un-Paid, Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the Jones Flagship Pro Rides And Who It Is For

How It Was Tested:

I borrowed the Jones Flagship Pro for an extended demo and sent it back.
I was not paid to do this review, and this comes from an honest, objective perspective with no brand oversight.

Size: 161
Days: 3
Conditions: Pretty great pow and very good groomers with only a little hard and uneven snow. 
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards
Boots: Ride Deadbolt
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Skyline Fuse Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib,  Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +24/+6, +27/+9 back, +18/-9, +15/-15. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, YES PYL Uninc, Weston Backwoods, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Flagship, United Shapes Cadet, Burton Gril Master,

Approximate Weight

(We don’t put in the exact weight because, with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 161 worked really well for me, but with the Flagship Pro being so long and narrow, I could easily ride the 164. I rode the 158, 161, and 164 regular Flagship. The 158 felt too small. The 161 worked and was best for steep terrain and tighter tree lines. The 164 was not too much harder to turn vs. the 161 but had more speed and float. I would probably choose the 164 for my Mt. Bachelor since it’s better for my weight and not too hard for my boot size.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size and your weight for how you like to ride. If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. Your weight is a close second to boot size because it determines how the board will feel under your foot.  Height comes in a distant 3^rd. Some prefer control, so matching the boot size is the priority. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.
158: 8-9
161: 8.5-9.5
164: 9-10
162w: 11-12
165w: 11.5-12.5

I would stay close to Jones’ recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape

The Jones Flagship Pro has the exact tapered directional shape as the Flagship. There is a decent amount of taper at 12mm but you don’t feel it that much on gromers. Just in pow.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Jones Flagship Pro has a mellow directional camber with a little more early rise in the nose than in the tail. Many boards these days have a little more camber than this, but this is very forgiving. There is a generous amount of spoon tech in the nose/tail. It also seems to bleed a touch into the effective edge, but it doesn’t feel super washy. Depending on how you weight your turns, you only feel it in harder snow. Despite its stiff flex, the Flagship Pro is very forgiving and easy to skid a turn but still tracks very similar to a full camber without the catch of camber.

Edge Hold

The Jones Flagshp Pro grips very well in hard snow without grabbing much or at all in soft snow. I like this mellow disruption in the sidecut.

Flex Personality

The Jones Flagship Pro has a very stiff flex, a little stiffer than the old Ultra Flagship and stiffer than the regular Flagship that did stiffen up it’s flex a good bit for 2025. I thought it would be nearly impossible to butter, but the early rise before the tail/nose gives you some cheater leverage. I forgot to mention this in the video, but the spoon nose/tail tech can feel a little washy. You don’t get this to butter, though.

Pop on an ollie is much more obtainable for average riders like me. It was easier with the Flagship, but you definitely get more pop out of this. I would say it’s a little behind its predecessor, the Ultra Flagship, but you get such a damper overall ride it’s worth the trade-off for most riders.

Uneven Snow

I didn’t get a lot of uneven snow, but with what little I did, I preferred the smoother ride of the regular Flagship in all conditions, but it was super close. It’s one of the best high-end versions I’ve tried in uneven snow. If you like to hammer through tracked-up powder, the Jones Flagship Pro will actually do a better job than the regular Flagship, but I’d give the hard, uneven snow nod to the regular Flagship. This is much better in all conditions than the Ultra Flagship.

Speed

If you like to go straight and fast, the Jones Flagship Pro is for you. The Jones Flagship Pro has a stiff, pretty damp flex, a sidecut that likes to go straight and a fast base. Everything is working together to make this bomb. Again, this is better than the Ultra Flagship.

Base Glide

The base is a little faster than the regular Flagship and the same as the Ultra Flagship.

Turning Experience/Carving

If sized correctly, the turn initiation is pretty fast, but it doesn’t keep its speed once the edge is committed and you try to make a higher radius turn. The Jones Flagship Pro and Flagship likes to go straight more than the Stratos and Frontier. It’s more straight line to down the line and turn friendly, but it won’t fight you too hard if you want to circle carve. I think that’s because the early rise in the nose and tail makes it easier to make an across-the-grower to circle carve.

The mellow camber has a good but not amazing spring out of the turn. I got more out of many boards I compared it to, but it’s not bad by any means. I’d love to see more camber towards the tail, and I liked this best when I used the set-back inserts on the front and found my 21.5″ stance width on the back inserts. Having my front foot more on the camber made the board turn/carve better. The Jones Flagship likes more backfoot weight on a turn but needs less when it’s set up this way.

Powder

The spoon nose/tail works really well with the rocker before the nose to make the Jones Flagship Pro and Flagship a more turny ride in powder. You can still use straight lines and make longer drawn-out turns, but if you feel the mood to slash, you can definitely do so. It floats very easily, too, for a traditional freeride board.

With a 22.8″ stance width, the Jones Flagship Pro and Flagship can be set back -4.75″ from the center of the board. I really wish the setback inserts were at 21.5 or 22″ like most who would ride the 161. The reference stance is even worse at 23.6″. So, most riders might be unable to use the set-back inserts for pow on the back foot. It still floated very well for me but didn’t have the directional float of the softer United Shapes Cadet at -5.5″ at a 22″ stance width. The Flagship Pro did have a more fun turning experience with the spoon nose/tail in powder.

Switch/Jumps/Jibs

Very doable switch and very good for hitting big kickers for being so directional. The rocker in the tail makes it easy to land the switch, too.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m really torn between the Flagship and Jones Flagship Pro. Both are great boards, and neither has too many flaws. The Jones Flagship Pro is pretty damp, with more pop and only $150 more than the regular flagship. It’s definitely worth the money, and it’s a much better all-conditions ride than the Ultra Flagship. In 2025 I would choose the Pro over the Flagship. I don’t need the extra stiffness, but I love the faster base and the extra pop/spring you get out of a turn.

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