Jones Mind Expander 2.0 Snowboard Review with Davey

An In Depth Breakdown / Comparison of the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 and Jones Mind Expander Review by The Good Ride

• User Reviews
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Overview

How The Jones Mind Expander 2.0 Was Tested

I rode the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 primarily with my Union Force and Nitro Team BOA. This was tested four days in brick-hard snow, some rainy, wet, hard-to-ride-in snow, firm to fun perfect post-powder corduroy, and lucked into 6 to 10 inches of powder with the help of my Union Rover Carbons with Drift Board bindings on.

I really got to see what this Mind Expander is all about.

Size: 158 & 162
Days:  4
Conditions:  and some early morning Slackountry pow time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9 E, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards, 200+ bindings, and 120+ boots
Boots: Nitro Team BOA, Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas Step On
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Skyline Fase 3L Bib Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag Low Bridge Fit
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

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

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Jones Hovercraft, Gnu Gremlin, Korua Transition Finder, Salomon Dancehaul, K2 Excavator, Amplid Surfari, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander, YES PYL Uninc, Stone Farther

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Sizing

How it Fits Me

When it comes to sizing, the 158 fit me really well. It felt smaller than the older 158. The 162 wasn’t hard to turn either, and I’d probably size up to that if I was more powder focused. But the 158 is a great daily driver.

The old Mind Expander is considerably wider over the front half of the board and even with a year between riding the old and new you really feel the difference.

So if you’re a bigger boot size, make sure you look at the width over the back insert. Jones is good enough to provide that which many brands don’t.

How It Might Fit You

Sizing is highly subjective and personal, and many factors come into play when choosing a board. I rarely use “all caps to emphasize something, but NEVER TRUST ANYONE who just references their height and weight. Here are all the factors to consider

Boot Size

You should always start with your boot size first. If your board is too wide for your boot, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. This is the most important part of sizing a board.

One thing to note with tapered directional setback boards like this is it’s very important to make sure the back foot fits this board correctly and make sure you don’t get toe or heel drag.

Here is the sweet spot to turn easily with mid-response bindings/boots and not boot-out. You can go wider if you carve really hard or have very responsive bindigns/boots. The narrower you go though with bigger boots the more likely you are to boot out.

With the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 you can go smaller boot wise than the suggested sizing below and it will still turn very quick and easy. Just don’t go bigger because of the width over the back foot.

150: 7-8
154: 8-9
158: 9-10
162: 10-11
166: 11-12

Weight

Your weight determines how the board flexes underfoot, giving you more or less pop, speed, etc. An easier-flexing board can also be easier to turn. The Mind Expander 2.0’s recommended weight is fair but it’s ok to go over or under to better match your boot size.

Height

The length of the board determines the swing weight/control. If it’s short, it’s easy to spin, and if it’s longer, it floats better and can help with speed.

Boots and Bindings Response

Always factor in your boot and binding’s responsiveness to determine how well you will be able to turn/control a board.

Stance Width

Check your stance width against their reference and/or the set back stance to see if it fits you. The good thing about the Mind Expander 2.0 is the stance is narrower this year so it better matches the inseam / stance width of the rider’s buying that size.

Personal Preference

Some prefer control, so matching the boot size to the board width is first, with weight second. Others prefer speed over control, so they size up to a wider/longer ride and have very responsive boots/bindings.

Design

Construction/Weight

When it comes to construction, the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 isn’t up in that ultra-durable class, but it’s very good.

It also feels a little bit lighter than the older models, but that can vary greatly from board to board.

Shape & Setback

The Mind Expander 2.0 went from 20mm of taper in the tail to 10mm, but this is still pretty tapered. It’s very directional and very set back.

It really changes the way this board rides in terms of weight above your front foot but the stance location on board is very typical of that Alt Freeride shape. You’re not super far back like you would be on a snowsurf board that rides almost near the tail. But this gives you a surfy, fun turn while still having some tail behind you for airs.

This year they changed the reference stance to match more the size of the board and stance width of the rider that’s going to be riding it. It varies board to board, and it’s overall a good bit narrower. In the past it was taint-tearing and super wide in most size ranges.

Camber

When it comes to the camber profile, this is all new. Starting from the tail, you have a backseat camber that rises up a little higher than the older Mind Expander, which had camber from the tail to just a little bit before the nose.

Now the camber comes up over the back foot and then ends right after the front foot, giving you a lot of rocker before this refined 3D Tech nose.

There is no lift well after the rocker until you start to get towards the 3D nose. Then you see some lift, but as you come down, it quickly transitions to flat.

On Snow Performance

On Snow Feel

This new refined 3D Tech gives you the feeling of a normal camber-dominant snowboard on groomers that’s forgiving. This one-foots and flat bases incredibly well.

But then in soft snow to powder, this 3D Tech in the nose comes alive and makes the turning experience more fluid edge to edge and smooth.

It’s a very easy board for people of almost any ability level to ride. I would say intermediates on up to experts could have a time with this. I found it very easy to skid a turn when I got off my game.

Edge Hold

When it comes to the edge hold, they dropped the Traction Tech. That was a disappointment for me.

I would have really liked to have seen a mellow bump over each insert just to give it a little more grip in hard snow because, on that brick-hard day, this did not grip as well as the old Mind Expander would have.

It didn’t hold up as well compared to other boards I tested that day that had some kind of disruption in the sidecut.

But here’s the thing: there are a lot of people out there who do not like any type of disruption whatsoever. They feel it’s a little too grabby and it slows down the board. If you’re one of those people, you’re going to love this.

Flex Personality

Let’s talk Mind Expander flex here. It’s got a medium-stiff flex. There’s a little give in between the feet, and most of the give is down in the nose area.

The tail is considerably stiffer. Then it’s a little softer between the feet and the softest in the nose.

You can butter pretty easily for how stiff it is in the tail. Now this lifted tech doesn’t really come down much past the darkest blue, so if you want to butter on this, it’s going to be flat right here. You can really lock in a butter you couldn’t before.

The pop on an ollie is really good. This new core and different camber profile really give you more than you had before, especially in the region where you load this camber.

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow, this new Jones Mind Expander 2.0 did better overall than the old Mind Expander.

While it doesn’t grip as well in hard, micro-bumpy snow as the older model did, it handles the chatter that’s sent up into the board better.

Then, when you get it into soft, thick, tracked-up uneven snow, I feel this is about the same as the old Mind Expander.

Turning/Carving

Turn Initiation

When it comes to turning, this new Mind Expander turned faster than the old Mind Expander.

Usually, boards with less taper don’t initiate a turn as fast as boards with more, especially old model versus new model. But what I found is because of this new camber, along with the narrower width over the front foot that is more set back, you’re engaging a much narrower part of the board, and therefore it turns much quicker.

So this is a much better board for the trees and riding in tight spots.

If you just like to roll edge to edge really quickly back and forth and make really quick turns, this is much better than the older Mind Expander.

Carving/Committed Turns

When you really engage the edge and commit to a harder turn, the spring out of the turn is really good. I like the pop better than the older one, especially over the back foot.

While it’s not totally washy, if you really drive over the front foot, you just don’t have a lot of camber and spring there. So it’s going to shine more as a center-weighted to back-foot-weighted turner.

Turning Experience/Sidecut

This is a dual-radius sidecut. I could feel when I leaned back more into a turn that this had a tighter radius and a fun spring out of the turn.

But you can make all kinds of radius turns with this because the sidecut radius starts out pretty mellow in the nose and only gets tight as you come out the back.

It really shines with a circle carve across the groomer. Turns are really fun too. Medium-radius turns are great, but as you get into those longer, drawn-out, down-the-line turns, it does not feel hooky or try to fight you.

Speed

The Jones Mind Expander 2.0 is very composed at a moderate straight line.

That being said, if you love to go fast, then you need to look at the Hovercraft 2.0. That is a much more straight-line-friendly board than this.

Base Glide

The graphic underneath this clear base is great, but I really, really miss the old black base.

It felt faster than this, and it was much easier to repair. But this is still a very good base with very good glide.

Powder

When it comes to powder float, the Mind Expander did an amazing job.

In the 6 to 10 inches I tried it in, it wasn’t even trying. I like this extra rocker. The refined 3D Tech in the nose, although less than the older Mind Expander, still had a really easy roll and a more fluid turn in powder than it does on groomers.

I like this quicker, more turny feel as well, and it was much easier to turn in the trees. The old Mind Expander wasn’t very challenging in the trees either, so this is a nice bump overall.

I think the float is a little bit better than the old Mind Expander. It feels small between your feet but floats big from tip to tail.

Final Thoughts

James’ Final Thoughts

Overall, other than the edge hold, I love all the changes to this new Jones Mind Expander 2.0.

I think this is a great board for people who love a setback turn on groomers but also want to be ready for the deepest of deep powder days.

This is a great option.

Davey Boy’s Takel

What’s up, everybody? Davey Boy here giving you a big guy’s perspective on the Jones Mind Expander 2.0.

How Davey Tested It

I rode this board about 12 days in all different conditions: great springtime hard, firm groomers with nice corduroy on them, some firm almost icy groomers, and some messy late-season groomers that were set up from the slush before but were still frozen over in the morning.

Also, I got some pretty good pow about knee deep and some pretty shallow pow that was kind of wet and thick.

Size: 162
Days: 12
Riders: Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Venture BOA
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas Step On
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Shralpinist
Pants: Jones Shralpinist
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag Low Bridge Fit
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove
Davey’s Set Up: 23” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3. Close to Reference on groomers and Set back in powder.

Sizing For Davey

I’m a size 12 boot, 250 pounds, and I’m 6’3.5″. The 162 was a little small for me.

I would definitely want the 166, but the 162 is still pretty fun.

How It Rode For Davey

This board definitely got an upgrade to me. I didn’t really get to ride the rockered version of the Mind Expander that first came out, but I spent a good amount of time on the cambered iterations in the last few years, and this seems like it’s kind of a blend between the two.

To me, going from my 166 Mind Expander with last year’s camber to getting on the 162 this year, I felt like the old Mind Expander lost 15 pounds and was moving like he played back in high school.

Turning

This board is just easier to turn. It’s a lot quicker underfoot, felt a little lighter, and felt a lot more playful in powder. It’s just easier to cruise around and get some really playful turns, and it’s not quite as fast and aggressive as the old Mind Expander.

Edge Hold

The one thing I did notice was the edge hold on this was not as good as the previous Mind Expanders. It just didn’t drive and hold an edge out of a carve quite as strong as the previous one.

But you get a little more playfulness and fun personality. For a lot of people, that’s something they’re willing to sacrifice.

This board was pretty easy to pop. It didn’t seem quite as poppy as my 166 previous model, but that could be because of the size as well. I’m sure if I had a 166 of this, I probably would have been getting a little bit more air on my ollies.

The powder float on this thing was good. The 162 held me up. I definitely would have wanted to be on a 166, but the little bit of powder that we did get this year, the 162 was mighty fine in those conditions.

I had no issues with the float and didn’t get stuck in any of the flatter spots on Mount Bachelor.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this board’s fun. I like the makeover.

It’s easier turning, quicker underfoot, and a little more playful. I think it has more personality than the previous model.

It kind of fits more of the classic Mind Expander personality type that I would expect this board to feel like, and I think this can be a really fun board for a lot of people.