Jones Stratos Snowboard Review

Jones Stratos 2024 Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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A Breakdown Of How The Jones Stratos Rides And Who It Is For

How It Was Tested. 

I borrowed the Jones Stratos for an extended demo and sent it back. On a pow day, I compared it to the Burton Gril Master, Jones Frontier & Jones Ultra Mtn Twin. On a groomer day, I compared it to the Burton Power Wagon, Burton Straight Chuter, and Jones Frontier.

Size: 159
Days: 3
Conditions: Some Great spring pow, Good Groomers, and Ok but kinda messy groomers.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs)
Boots: Ride Fuse, Nidecker Rift Lace
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same): Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, Burton Skeleton Key, YES PYL Uninc, Weston Backwoods, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Close to Reference on groomers +18/+3 and +18/-9.  Set as far back as 21.5” could go in powder +18/+3.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews, which is our unfiltered opinion. We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average rider’s perspective.
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Approximate Weight

The 2024 Jones Stratos might be a little bit heavier than the previous year’s models, but it’s still very light. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 159 Jones Stratos fit my boot size very well, and I love this length. However, at this weight, it does feel chattery. Going up to a 162 would reduce the chatter a little but not eliminate the problem. I could handle that width/length, but it wouldn’t be my ideal size for how I like to ride.

If this used the same damp construction as most of the other boards Jones boards in the line, this would be my perfect size like the 156 Hovercraft, 159 Frontier, and 161 Flagship are for me.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Jones Stratos boards. You can, of course, go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
149: 5.5-6.5
153: 7-8
156: 8-9
159: 9-10
162: 9.5-10.5
154w: 10-11
158w: 10.5-11.5
161w: 11-12
164w: 11.5-12.5

For weight I would stay well below Jones’ recommended weight ranges with the Jones Stratos. This board doesn’t do well with heavier riders. If you like a board to fit your boot size well maybe pass on this board if you are on the upper end of the recommended weight.

Shape

With the Jones Stratos, you have a pretty directional but not too tapered (-10mm) shape. With the set-back inserts, it can feel very set back or pretty centered without them.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

There is a decent amount of camber with a good height between the feet but then the Jones Stratos transitions quickly into some pretty pronounced rocker in the nose along with some spoon nose starting mostly after the camber ends. There is a little in the tail with a touch of spoon there too.

I don’t feel that washy like I do with some Jones boards, and they seem to keep most of the spoon tech away from the camber area. They’re very stable and have great one-footing, but they’re still very forgiving when skidding a turn.

Flex Personality

The new top sheet seems to make it stiffer. Especially between the feet, but the tip/tail is still easy to butter. The only thing is the spoon tech in the nose makes it wash out on a butter a little easier than I would like.

The real treat is how well the Jones Stratos Pops. It’s such an easy ollie for any ability level. I just felt like I could Ollie higher.

Uneven Terrain

All this pop and light construction comes with a price, though. The 2024 Jones Stratos is a little better than the 2020-2023 models with the hydrophobic top sheet, but it’s still not where it should be if you ride in uneven snow a lot.

On one pow day, I got off the Frontier, ran to my car, grabbed the Stratos, and did the same run. The difference in dampness in uneven snow was massive. The Frontier easily powered through the soft, uneven snow in such a damp, easy way, but the Stratos bucked and bounced me around. It jarred me and made me feel like it’s too tracked up…time to go home. So this is the only problem for me. If they added some dampening tech similar to the other Jones boards, this would be hands down my favorite Jones Board. As it stands now, I want only to ride it in clean, pristine conditions.

Edge Hold

Great grip with the Jones Stratos as long as the conditions are hard and smooth. Hard, uneven snow can buck the edge out of your line.

Speed

You can point this in good condition, and it does very well. If the conditions are slightly variable, you will feel chatter.

Base Glide

A-game base glide here. I could get the Jones Stratos through a traverse where almost every other board couldn’t that day. I couldn’t even get it to go as fast as the other boards through this uneven snow before the traverse, but it still got me further.

Turning Experience/Carving

The Jones Stratos is quick to turn but far from being twitchy or hooky. Carving with this is a pleasure…as long as the snow is clean. There is such a lively spring out of the turn that I prefer this over Flagship, Flagship Plus, Mind Expander, and Ultra Mind Expander. It’s definitely better than the Frontier, but I like their similar sidecut. I’ll give all day turning to the Frontier, though, just because of how much more damp it is.

One thing I didn’t mention in the video is that I rode it +18/+3 one day on groomers, and it was just as fun as riding +18/-9. You can drive through the turn on your front foot pretty well, and it’s not too washy. Its center weight turns well, too, and of course, it is fun to lean into the back foot out of turn.

Powder

The set-back inserts are glorious but just have such a wide stance width. At 22.75” wide, you can use the set-back inserts for both feet and get 5.75” back from the center of the board. That is massive for a freeride board like this, and it makes for such a great floater. Even only using the set-back inserts on the front foot with my 21.5” stance width, it still had an exceptional set-back directional float. I wish they moved the reference into 22”, as most brands do as well.

The bottom line is that this is a great floater for this kind of board. The set-back inserts lead the charge float-wise, but the 10mm of taper and early rise before the spoon nose all help with great float. The turning experience in Pow is pretty special with the spoon nose, too. It’s such an easy, smooth transition in powder.

Switch/Freestyle/Park

Very doable switch when close to the reference. This would be fun in smooth pipe. It tracks well into a kicker, too.

Final Thoughts

So, if you get to the conclusion, you will see one theme in this review. This is an amazing versatile board if you mainly ride in very clean conditions. I often ride in pretty good conditions, but this wasn’t there for me. If they could give this more dampness without sacrificing too much pop, this would be one of the most recommended boards out there for mostly directional riders. I would be riding this all the time. As it stands now, though, it’s a great one-board quiver for really light directional riders.