Jeremy Jones and his company Jones Snowboards has led the movement to free snowboarding from the boundaries of ski resorts for well over a decade now. His signature boards have helped elevate the sport to new heights, both literally and figuratively with Jeremy and friends accomplishing some of the most daring splitboard descents ever on Jones boards. In fact, Jeremy Jones is a snowboarding icon credited for pioneering backcountry technologies with his company, Jones Snowboards. Jones teamed up with legendary surf shaper Chris Christensen to bring a whole series of boards to market - aptly named the surf series.
Among these boards, the Mind Expander stands out. So, let's delve into a comprehensive review of the Jones Snowboards Mind Expander, exploring its design, performance, and suitability for various riding styles and conditions.
The Mind Expander is a playful all-mountain board designed by surf shaper Chris Christenson that wants to pop pillows and porpoise through pow. The Mind Expander is perhaps the most playful and “surfy” of them all, allowing you to make quick turns, put some weight on the front foot, and pop in powder like nobody’s business. It’s a unique shape that just begs to be slashed or ridden through trees. It’s a friendly ride as its easy to turn and has a directional shape with a long nose and tapered tail for epic float.
The new simple, white look really resembles the visuals of a modern surfboard. The entire Surf Series received updated graphics for 2023.
The 2025 Jones Mind Expander Review
Key Features and Technology
Advanced triple-density full wood core made from responsibly harvested Bamboo, Paulownia and Poplar. BComp Carbon / Flax stringers offer the perfect performance balance as the carbon provides crazy pop and the flax sucks up chatter and reduces CO₂ emissions compared to a full carbon stringer. A bio-based epoxy made with 27% plant-based carbon that reduces CO₂ emissions by 33% compared to conventional petroleum-based epoxy.
Read also: Jones Solution Splitboard: Full Review
- Core: Advanced triple-density full wood core made from responsibly harvested Bamboo, Paulownia and Poplar.
- Stringers: BComp Carbon / Flax stringers offer the perfect performance balance as the carbon provides crazy pop and the flax sucks up chatter and reduces CO₂ emissions compared to a full carbon stringer.
- Epoxy: A bio-based epoxy made with 27% plant-based carbon that reduces CO₂ emissions by 33% compared to conventional petroleum-based epoxy.
Mind Expander Splitboard
The Mind Expander Splitboard takes Jones’ best-selling alternative-shredder shape beyond the bounds of the resort and into the backcountry. The Mind Expander Split is not your typical board. It rides differently than any other board I’ve ridden, and I’ve ridden quite a few boards.
Right out of the box it’s impossible to overlook the Mind Expander‘s weight - or lack thereof. Clocking in at 6.5 pounds, it feels very easy to pull out and get set up. The shape is distinct, in that it has a tapered nose and tail that allow for the board to sink down in the back and let the nose float. When splitting the board apart you notice the uneven inside edges, which actually allow you to put it together easily like a jigsaw puzzle.
For one, it allows you to put weight on your front foot and pivot without having to lean back; which feels much more like the mechanics of surfing. It also floats with ease, staying on top of the snow in situations where I would otherwise have to be riding in the backseat. I tried the board both in deep powder snow and in spring melt-freeze crust, and had fun in both sets of conditions. The board definitely prefers powder to crust, but then again most snowboarders would say the same. The shape is certainly one that you have to get used to, and creates a whole new riding style.
The Jones Mind Expander Split is the closest feeling I’ve found to surfing a shortboard on a mountain. The ability to put pressure on the front foot, slash at will, and float through the pow was incredibly fun. The fun comes in maneuvering the board and looking at the terrain through a different lens. If you’re a surfer who likes to wha-bap a good rooster tail on the lip, you’ll love playing on this. Wha-bap!
Mind Expander Twin
Last year Jones added a new board to the collection - the Mind Expander Twin. The result is a friendly freestyle snowboard that goes as well switch in the park as it does floating over pow. In short: The Mind Expander Twin is as playful and versatile as a traditional freestyle board, but with glide that uniquely compliments my surf-inspired riding style.
Read also: Choosing the Right Salomon Snowboard
The Mind Expander Twin is part of Jones’ Big Horn series, meaning it’s exceptionally wide and carries more volume. The added girth is an asset in powder. Once I got used to it, I grew to love the added volume. It feels exceptionally stable underfoot. The only other update to the Mind Expander Twin is the addition of two new sizes. It’s now available in 150, 154, 158, and 162 cm.
At the root of the Mind Expander Twin’s design is the rocker-camber combo, which features a healthy rocker in the nose and tail, and Christenson Surf Camber underfoot. Paired with its wide, high-volume nose and tail, camber is what gives the Mind Expander Twin its surfing signature, and a supremely floaty feel that turns powerfully.
At the Mind Expander Twin’s core is a Flax/Basalt Stringer that dampens impact on snow for a smoother glide with a friendly flex. The camber-rocker profile does well to counter the flex so that it doesn’t bog in turns.
That’s thanks to Jones’ latest iteration of Traction Tech. This provides three or more points of contact between the board and the ground at all times. In a steep and weighted turn, the snowboard essentially stands on edge. There’s a third point of contact between the feet, where the board’s flex flattens out the camber in turns. This translates to more edge grip on hard or icy snow.
Read also: Innovation in Skateboarding: Toy Machine
Performance Analysis
The Jones Ultra Mind Expander felt a little lighter than the Mind Expander but not by too much. You have a good bit of taper happening here and the tail of the Jones Ultra Mind Expander is much narrower than the waist and nose. There is a good bit of spoon tech/lifted sides from the nose to a little bit into the effective edge past the rocker but you don’t feel it on snow uless you are in very soft snow to powder.
The Jones Ultra Mind Expander is a pretty stiff board but it’s not hard to access the pop. This thing is ok on a butter but man can it ollie well. The Jones Ultra Mind Expander has a much more poppy dynamic flex, but it doesn’t deal with uneven snow very well.
The Jones Ultra Mind Expander is not as damp as the Mind Expander, but man, you get a lot more pop on an ollie and a turn. The Jones Ultra Mind Expander has a big nose so that has a little clown shoe chatter but if you want a board that has more dampness at speed than the regular Mind Expander this can work. It can’t keep up with the Flagship or Ultra Flagship though. It’s also not there with the Hovercrafts by any means.
The float of the Jones Ultra Mind Expander is pretty exceptional…until you compare it to the regular Mind Expander. All that crazy surf rocker on the regular mind expander makes it effortless in powder.
The 2020 Jones Mind Expander might be my favorite directional powder board now. With the 3D Base Shape and the mild rocker, it’s just a super easy, nimble, and fun board to be on.
Riding in Powder
The narrow/small tail, and early rise before the big ass nose really helps this float very well in pow. The Ultra Mind Expander, with a 21.25” stance width set all the way back, has a -4.25” set back from the center of the board. It’s not like the old surf rocker mind expander, but it sure floats well.
So this review is Peter and I mainly talk about how the Jones Ultra Mind Expander rides in powder and comparing it to other Jones boards……after many drinks. We had it in some deep powder to some wet powder and felt that overall it’s on the upper tier of floaty boards. That being said, the Jones Mind Expander, with all that rocker, is on another level. Get that board if you want something for powder. Get this board if you plan to ride groomers more and want a little of everything.
Turning Performance
Once you get it on edge, the turning experience is not super turny but much more turny than most Jones boards. It likes wider S-Turns, across the groomer carves and is far from slouchy on a circle carve.
Making turns on the Mind Expander is way more fun than you would think for a board with that little flat and that much rocker but the Ultra Mind Expander gives you a mellow camber feel that springs out of turns much better. It’s not going to compete though with boards that have a lot more camber but you get some nice trade-off in terms of float/forgiveness with this in comparison to those bucky camber boards.
Grip and Stability
The grip on the Jones Ultra Mind Expander and Mind Expander is very similar but you loose your edge more on the Ultra because the edge doesn’t stay as quiet when the groomers aren’t perfect and become slightly uneven. Both Mind Expanders have a mellow disruption in the sidecut that help with grip but what surprised me is the Gentemstick Mantaray and Cardiff Powgoda gripped a little better.
The Jones Ultra Mind Expander has a mellower disruption than the Flagships and many other Jones boards but it is still there. Its a bit behind them in harder snow but it still holds a little better than a traditional side cut.
Flex and Handling
The Mind Expander isn’t that stiff of a board. It’s always weird how much the nose on these chatters, but you don’t actually feel it in the board. It’s just something you see. One thought I had while riding was that this board has a long board skate feel to it. Not surf, not snowboard, but skate. The 3D base gives it this steanfely fluid edge to edge transition that you just have to ride to understand.
In hard, uneven snow, the Jones Mind Expander isn’t great but doable, but the Ultra Mind Expander is a little worse. In softer, uneven snow, both are better, but the Ultra Mind Expander is still more bucky and bouncy due to the poppier flex personality.
Sizing Recommendations
Not sure which size will suit you best? For weight I would stay close to the Jones Ultra Mind Expander’s recommended weight ranges as they are pretty fair. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first and then your weight second. Especially if you are on the heavier side.
You want to size down from your normal Freeride snowboard size. Peter and I both like the 161 Flagship size a lot so sizing down to the 154 felt good for me but a touch too small. The 158 felt a bit too big for me but not for Peter.
Final Thoughts
The Mind Expander is a unique board that offers a surf-inspired feel on the snow. Whether you're carving groomers or floating through powder, this board provides a playful and versatile experience. The Jones Ultra Mind Expander shines over the Mind Expander here for sure when it’s groomer time. Having some camber between the feet really makes this board much more fun to turn.
The 2020 Jones Mind Expander might be my favorite directional powder board now. With the 3D Base Shape and the mild rocker, it’s just a super easy, nimble, and fun board to be on. Overall: Annoyingly I felt this way about all the Jones boards I rode to some degree: this might be my new favorite powder board. There is some magic in this ride and it’s one that I suggest putting in your powder quiver.
Here is a summary table outlining the key differences between the Mind Expander and Ultra Mind Expander:
| Feature | Mind Expander | Ultra Mind Expander |
|---|---|---|
| Flex | Medium | Medium-Stiff |
| Dampness | High | Slightly Lower |
| Grip | High | High |
| Pop | Moderate | High |
| Powder Performance | Exceptional | Excellent |
| Groomer Performance | Good | Great |
tags: #jones #snowboards #mind #expander