Jones Hovercraft 2.0
By PTO Ski Team, Based on the official Jones 26/27 catalog specifications, read from the printed pages · Not ridden by us — this is a spec-and-catalog read, not a ride report on this board · Not applicable — desk review of the official catalog
The take
“Jones's recycled-core deck, and no shape was sacrificed to get there: Powder 10/10, the deepest taper grade Jones makes — on the widest turning radius we ordered.”
The Jones Hovercraft 2.0 is the odd one out in the 26/27 range, and on purpose. Where its siblings run a Power, Master or Control core stiffened by a Bcomp Carbon Flax Stringer, the Hovercraft 2.0 is built on a recycled Re-Up Tech Core with flax fiber, biax glass and no stringer at all. Jones does not treat that as a footnote — its own catalog line calls this "a nimble and explosive alternative freeride board built with our most advanced 3D shape tech and cutting-edge recycled materials."
The shape did not get compromised to carry the story. Jones grades its shape tech Low / Medium / High, and the Hovercraft 2.0 takes the top mark on all three axes it carries: High 3D Contour Base, High Tapered, High Traction Tech. The contoured base is the float mechanism — rounded nose and tail edges cut friction at the contact points, displace snow from under the board and lift the nose clear of the surface, and let you roll onto an edge rather than tip onto it. The deepest taper grade Jones mills stacks on top of that. The serrated Traction Tech edge is the counterweight: Jeremy Jones states in the catalog that it exists to offset the edge drift a rockered nose introduces, and among the boards we ordered, the Hovercraft 2.0 is the only one pairing the deepest taper with the most aggressive serration.
What buyers should weigh honestly is the radius. The sidecut runs 8.1m at the 144 out to 9.6m at the 164 — the widest arcs of any Jones board in our order, where a Storm Chaser 142 turns on 6.3m. This board wants long, open turns; it resists short, snappy ones on firm snow. Two other things go unstated by Jones and we will not fill them in: the Speed Hull printed on the tail diagram has no published mechanism, and the Re-Up core's contents are documented nowhere, though Jones does say the flax topsheet absorbs chatter. The one hard number available is weight — 3.1 kg at the 156, against 2.9 kg for a Stratos of the same length.
The Hovercraft 2.0 ships as a flat deck; Jones names the Mercury FASE and the Orion as its partners, and we mount and set your stance in the shop. Take it because deep snow is the point of your season. Its All-Mountain 7/10 is a real ceiling, not false modesty.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: 2x4 insert pattern. Our pick: Jones Mercury FASE.
- Jones Mercury FASEOne of the two pairings Jones names for this board
Jones lists the Mercury FASE and the Orion as the Hovercraft 2.0's official partners. The 26/27 catalog prints no flex rating for either, so we will not claim one is stiffer or better matched than the other. Bindings are sold separately; we mount them and set your stance and angles in the shop.
- Jones OrionThe second official pairing — same standing as the Mercury FASE
The other binding Jones names for this deck. With no published flex figure to separate them, we treat the two as equally endorsed and would rather fit you to whichever suits your boot and riding style. Not included with the board.
Common Questions
- Is the recycled Re-Up Tech Core a compromise?
- Jones does not publish enough to answer that honestly. It names the core, says it is recycled, and releases neither its contents nor any ranking against its other cores — so claims that it is livelier, damper, better or worse are all guesses. The one measurable figure the catalog does give is weight: 3.1 kg at the 156, where a Stratos of the same length is 2.9 kg.
- What does the Speed Hull on the tail actually do?
- We cannot tell you, because Jones has not said. The name is printed once, on the tail of the shape diagram, and the 26/27 catalog carries no description of it on the board page or in its technology sections. We would rather leave that blank than invent a mechanism nobody published.
- Can the Hovercraft 2.0 hold an edge on a groomer?
- It grips — High Traction Tech notches serrations along the running length specifically to counter the edge drift a rockered nose brings. What it will not do is turn tightly. The radius is 8.7m at the 152 and 9.0m at the 156, a long arc for a board that short, so it rewards wide, open turns and resists quick ones.
- Which size, and are bindings included?
- No bindings — it ships as a bare deck, and Jones names the Mercury FASE and the Orion as its official partners. On size: Jones publishes no rider-weight chart and makes no wide version of this board, so a larger boot has to gain waist width by taking a longer length (25.1cm at the 144 up to 26.3cm at the 156). Tell us your riding weight and boot size and we will settle it, then mount and set your angles before you ride.
