Hello and welcome to my Jones Apollo snowboard bindings review.
In this review I will take a look at the Apollos as freeride snowboard bindings.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Apollos a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other Freeride bindings.
Overall Rating
Bindings: Jones Apollo
Price: $499 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Other Uses: Aggressive All-Mountain
Flex: Stiff (8.5/10)
Rating Score: 85.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Bindings
Out of the 11 Men’s Freeride bindings that I rated:
- The average score was 84.8/100
- The highest score was 92.3/100
- The lowest score was 79.9/100
- The average price was $434
- The Apollos ranked 4th out of 11
Overview of the Apollo’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Apollo’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride, aggressive all-mountain |
Price: | $499 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Weight: | A little heavier than normal (but probably normal for a large - see more below) |
Mounts To: | 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | need separate disc for channel mounting |
Sizing
SIZE | US BOOT SIZE | EURO BOOT SIZE | MONDO |
|---|---|---|---|
S | 5-7.5 | 36.5-40 | 23.5-25.5 |
M | 7-10.5 | 39-43.5 | 25-28.5 |
L | 10-13 | 43-47 | 28-30.5 |
Who are the Apollo Most Suited To?
The Apollo are bindings for those who like their riding hard charging and want something stiff and powerful. And that want bindings that really help to make their ride damp and with minimal chatter when charging.
Best suited to stiff/powerful boards that need something like this to drive them hard enough.
Not for beginners or even most intermediate riders.
The Apollo in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Apollo are capable of.
Demo Info
Binding: Jones Apollo 2021, M
Date: March 3, 2020
Conditions: Limited visibility. Started without snow but snowed most of the time, but pretty wet snow though.
Quite cold with wind. Think it was around -8°C (17.6°F) with wind. -2°C (28.4°F) without. My fingers were certainly feeling it. Quite windy.
Snow was pretty good for the most part. On groomer some harder spots but mostly medium. Off groomer medium with some crunchy spots.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 550mm (21.7″)
Board demoed with: Rossignol One LF 2018, 159
Baseplate Length: 26cm (10.2”)*
*measured on the top side of the footbed - a little bit of angle down to underside of baseplate which was 25cm (9.8").
Baseplate (footbed) Length fully extended: not applicable (doesn't extend)
Highback Height: 22cm (8.7")*
* from bottom of heel cup to top of highback. From bottom of baseplate to top of highback is 30cm (11.8")
Weight: 1020g (2lbs 4oz)
* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of around 30 bindings (2019, 2020 & 2021 models) I weighed, was 895 grams. The lightest was 760 grams and the heaviest was 1,020grams. The Apollo is the heaviest I have weighed, but a large majority of the bindings I've weighed have been medium, so I would say it's pretty normal for a large.
Flex
Hardly any flex in the highback and overall feel very stiff. I rated them 8.5/10 just because they had just that slight bit more forgiveness over the NOW O-Drive that I rode the same day. But could have just as easily given them a 9/10.
Responsiveness
The Apollo really brought out the carving abilities in my board - made it a better carver for sure vs my test bindings (Malavita). On the flip side it made my board less maneuverable at slower speeds.
Board Feel/Butterability
Like most NOW and Jones bindings, there's not a lot of butterability with these bindings.
Pop/Ollie Power
Just a little less in terms of pop/ollie power over my test bindings.
Let's Break this Text Up with a Video
Adjustability
Like with other NOW/Jones bindings, there is minimal traditional adjustments you can make, but there are some unique things you can do with these bindings too.
Heel Cup: no
Stance Width: You can run the disc horizontally if you want, assuming you can get good binding centering across the board when running horizontally. There's no guarantee of that though, given you can't adjust the heel cup or toe ramp.
Highback Lean: You can have two different lean settings setup at once. Either 0mm and 12mm (which you can adjust between tool-lessly) or 4mm and 8mm (which you can adjust between tool-lessly). But once you have it set to either 0mm/12mm or 4mm/8mm that's what you're stuck with until you get to a screwdriver. Which isn't too big a deal though, as most people find a setting they like and don't change it once they do.
Ankle Strap Position: not exactly but in different you can (see below)
Toe Strap Position: no
Ankle and toe strap length: Yes and tool-less
Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: no
Highback Rotation: no
Compatible with: 2 x 4 & 4 x 4 - can get a channel disc but it's sold separately.
There are a couple of unique things you can do though:
- "Flip-it" ankle straps allow you to put them in "freeride mode" for more ankle support or "surf mode" for more freesdom of movement
- You have the choice between softer (surf mode) and harder (freeride mode) bushings.
Shock Absorption
Next level shock absorption, typical of NOW/Jones bindings. Just made my board more damp - and my test bindings (Malavita) are pretty good for shock absorption as they are - and just very minimal chatter.
The footbed is a good thickness and has a nice plush/springy feel to it.
Add to that the skatetech and the way the bindings sit and the bushings, and it all just makes for a very damp ride.
Entry/Exit
Really smooth ratchets. Nice and easy to get the straps on and off.
Comfort
Overall a good level of comfort apart from a reasonable amount of calf bite.
Ankle Strap: Not in love with the ankle straps, but I did slightly prefer them to the straps on the O-Drive
Toe Strap: Quite nice actually. Again preferred it to the toe strap on the O-Drive.
Canted Footbed: No but it doesn't need it with that skate tech.
Padded Footbed: Very well padded and overall very shock absorbing.
Highback: There's padding there, but it's quite thin. Got a reasonable amount of calf bite. This tends to be more the case on stiffer bindings so that's part of it. Another part might also be that even on the zero lean setting of the highback it just felt like there was still some noticeable lean. I'm used to and prefer minimal lean, so that might have been part of it too.
Ankle Support
The ankle support is really good in "freeride mode". Would be less so in "surf mode" but for these particular bindings, I think you'd want to ride them, for the type of riding you would want to be doing in them, freeride mode most of the time.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
RESPONSE | 5.0 | 35/35 |
ADJUSTABILITY | 3.0 | 9/15 |
ANKLE SUPPORT | 4.0 | 12/15 |
SHOCK ABSORPTION | 5.0 | 10/10 |
COMFORT | 3.5 | 7/10 |
BOARD FEEL | 2.5 | 5/10 |
ENTRY/EXIT | 4.5 | 4.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 85.1/100 |
Overall, I really liked the Apollo as a hard charging binding. The calf-bite was the biggest downside, but I think I would get used to that over time.
For pairing with stiffer boards, if you are looking for a really damp ride, want to carve hard and aren't concerned with butterability/board feel, then the Apollo is a great match, IMO.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in learning more about the Apollo or want to research prices and availability check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freeride bindings or want to see how the Apollo compare to other freeride bindings, check out the next link.
What would be the best boot to pair with this binding? I’m looking at either the Flagship or Stratos as a board, but I am still undecided on boots and bindings. Apollo or Mercury and what boots?
Hi Caleb
Thanks for your message.
If you’re going Flagship or Stratos, I would go with the Apollo over the Mercury. Mercury is doable for those boards, so I don’t think it would be a wrong choice, but I would be leaning Apollo.
In terms of boots, I would be looking at something in that 8/10 and up range in terms of flex. Something from this list would be a good bet, IMO. But if you did want to err softer with your boots, then you could look at something 7/10 flex like some on this list but I wouldn’t go any softer than 7/10 flex in boots for that board/binding combo.
Hope this helps
Hello Nate,
I’m asking you once again for a trustworthy advice.
I’ve bought an Ultracraft and I’m looking for a freeride biding to pair with it.
The most sensible choice would be the Jone Apollo I guess.
Would you think it would pair well? I’m looking at bombing the mountain, chasing powder and carving on pistes. I like the versatility freeride mode / surf mode of these bindings hoping it would turn a carving machine in a slashing board in pow (I think I’m dreaming a bit).
In addition, what size would you advise to go with a size 10 pair of Adidas Tactical?
Thank you in advance. Feel free to ask more info or to give alternatives.
Regards.
Julien
Hi Julien
I think the Apollo would go well with the Ultracraft. Not because it’s a Jones binding, but I think it would be a good flex match – and the biggest downside with the Apollo is board feel. But if you’re not going to be buttering/pressing or anything with this board, that’s not going to be an issue really. Great response and holds onto carves really well.
Don’t think surf mode will quite turn the Ultracraft into a slasher in pow, but it might give you a subtle feel in there.
There are other options of course like – >>Top 5 Freeride Bindings – but I think the Apollo would work well.
Thanks Nate,
Swift response as always.
Size wise would you recommend a M or L binding with my size 10 boots.
I’m kinda in between the 2 models on the size chart. As you stated, the adjustability is minimal so I’m willing to get the best fit I can get right from the box.
Thank you again.
Julien
Hi Julien
My apologies, I did read that part of your comment and answered it in my head, but didn’t write it down!
I would go with medium for Tactical ADV 10s, for sure. I typically ride NOW or Jones bindings with a 10 and the M fits me best. Maybe a really bulky 10 would work better in the large, but with Tactical ADVs, I’d go M for sure.
Thank you for sharing your gear knowledge !
Julien
You’re very welcome Julien. Hope you have an awesome season this upcoming winter!
Hi Nate! Hope all is well
Reviews are awesome and super helpful. Thanks.
Will like to get new set up and have some doubts. Ride with some of the best riders on the mountain, no park, half pipe some times but really focus on powder, trees and carving. Main sport is surfing. Used to ride with libtech skunk ape, then went to k2 party platter and never looked back to conventional setups. Used Burton binding and boots. Now i am considering to buy the jones ultra mind expander or the bataleon party wave. Debating between malavita and jones mercury. Considering burton imperial for boots. I am 6’5, 200 lbs, size 15, but always used 14 with shrink technology. Any thoughts that could help me decide? All of my riding and shred are done in west coast. Thanks again
Hi Rodrigo
Thanks for your message.
Personally I would go a little stiffer with bindings for the Ultra Mind Expander. It’s a board I found quite stiff and I would match it with stiffer bindings. Between the Malavita and the Mercury, I would be going Mercury on the Ultra Mind Expander – they’re stiffer and have better response and I think would drive the UME better. Don’t get me wrong I love me Malavita’s, but in this case I would go Mercury. But I would actually go Apollo, if you were to go with Jones bindings. And basically anything at least 8/10 in terms of stiffness. But yeah, between those 2, I would go Mercury.
Also for boots, I would preferably go stiffer to match with the UME. Again, I would be looking at more like 8/10 and up. Imperial to me had more of a 6/10 feel.
Personal preference certainly comes into play and if you know you want softer – and don’t mind softer boots/bindings on a stiffer board, then all good, but that’s how I would match it. If you did want to go stiffer, these are some of the boots/bindings I would look at to match the UME.
>>Top 5 Freeride Bindings
>>My Top 5 Freeride Boots
Hope this helps