Jones Ultra Aviator 2016-2015 Snowboard Review

So I bought this board, around April 2015 as an end of the season sale. I work at Windward Boardshop in Chicago, and my boss went to SIA that year telling us at the store how this was one of the boards he liked the most. I kept his feedback in mind, and once this board went on spring sale for 40% off, I snatched one. I have never owned a board that high end before and I was really hoping it would be worth the hype.

On the Snow feel: As Jones claims, this board is very light indeed. Light in the right places though, the tip and tail are super light and flexible while the core of the board seems to be pretty stiff. When riding, this really comes in handy on uneven terrain, such as moguls, bumps etc… All the extra flex on both ends of the board make the ride a little more maneuverable and adaptable to not-so-ideal situations. I have never ridden the regular aviator, but based on others reviews I assume this board would be a lot easier to manage in bumpy/chundery conditions. I have owned a Flasghip in the past though, and I can say that the Ultra Aviator is a better resort board than the Flasgship, giving you a lot more flexibility while maintaining a high performance level on groomers, trees and powder.

Turn Initiation: Owning this board for an extended period of time, made me understand it a lot better. During my first days with the Ultra I set my bindings with the recommended regular stance width (around 23') and I really did not feel the board responded that great. So one day while preparing for a powder day at Copper I decided to shorten my stance to 22' and set it back a little. Huge difference! While riding groomers to get to the good fluffy stuff, I noticed the board being super quick edge-to-edge on both low and high speeds, and the same thing happened when I was riding powder. I am not that tall (5'8 and boot size 9), so the shorter stance and the set back really helped. At first, I thought this board was going to be too wide for me, and it would not turn as fast as I would want to due to its 25.3cm waist width, but after adjusting the stance everything changed for the better. Therefore I would strongly recommend for those who are going to ride this board or even the regular Aviator, to set it back and not follow the suggested stance that Jones suggests (if you want a more responsive ride).

Speed: One of my fears was that this board would get chattery when riding fast. I come from a racing background, and I need a board that is VERY stable going fast. Some say that this board is not as stable as the regular Aviator, and even though that might be true, I would say it is definitely stable enough. When at A-basin riding icy morning groomers early April I reached 62mph on this board, riding with confidence. The edge hold was also precise and trustworthy without being catchy or too grippy (thanks to Jones’ mellow magne-traction). If you like to bomb down the hill, relax and enjoy the ride! The base is super fast, I believe Jones calls it Sintered 9900 or something like that. That is their higher-end base, the same that they use on the flagship and some other models, so traversing through cat trails with this board is as easy as it gets.

Powder: No problems here, great float and response as long as you set it back. It felt very above the snow, and the little extra width definitely made things easier for me.

Carving: Super fun. All that camber gives you a great spring out of the turn, and euro carves are also a blast. This board is a great carver and loves morning groomers.

I am not a park rider, jibber, or a guy that loves to ride switch therefore I am not comfortable giving folks any feedback regarding that.

Conclusion: Great one board solution if you can bring (or own) only one board to the hill, as long as you set it back. If you do, enjoy the powerful, speedy, surfy ride and have a blast! Cheers!

I have been snowboarding for 20 plus years on an ageing Burton Charger 156 board that I have dearly loved. But time was catching up with the board (as it is me) so I decided to look for a new board. I spent many hours researching (including a lot of time watching the Good Ride videos and reviews) and narrowed it down to the Jones Ultra Aviator or the Ride HighLife UL. I couldn't get the Ride HighLife UL anywhere in Europe, so the Jones Ultra Aviator it was.

Next the size. I was influenced greatly by James from the Good Ride reviews and even emailed him for advice. After a few very helpful emails I went with the 156 rather than the 161 (everyone said get the 161 except James). What a great choice.

This board is light, which really helps me as I have dodgy knees. The 156 is very quick edge to edge and turning is a breeze, even in tight situations or uneven snow I found it very responsive and quick. The edge hold is amazing. Speeding down steep icy blacks was no problem and I never felt that the edge would give or give me trouble, which was great. In deeper snow my time is limited so far, as we just haven't really had the snow in Italy yet, but the few runs I have managed it has been run and responsive and fairly easy to go through the powder without me feeling that I am fighting the board.

The board is fast enough for me. I like speed and often board between 85kmph and 100kmph when given the chance and an empty run and this board feels very stable. You do know you have a board on your feet but nothing bad. I have never felt like I have ever even come close to pushing this board to the maximum, which is great and hopefully this board will last me a while!

One thing to note is that you do have to be on your game most of the time. Even with 20+ years snowboarding this board has dumped me on my arse a couple of times when I have not been fully engaged.

Overall this is a truly excellent board, great responsiveness, good speed, great edge hold and a board you can take all over the mountain.

A special thanks to James from the Good Rise team for taking the time out of his day to provide me with some excellent advice.

Happy boarding.