Jones Aviator 2.0 Review

Overview of the Aviator 2.0’s Specs

* the 157W is a new size for the 2024 model

Who is the Aviator 2.0 Most Suited To?

The Aviator 2.0 is a great option for anyone wanting a stiffer aggressive board for bombing/carving down the mountain, but one that can also perform well on jumps and rides switch well. 

It's not great for deep powder and not easy to butter or jib with, but for everything else, if you like to ride more aggressively, it's got you covered. 

Not for beginners and even intermediate rider's might find it a bit much - though I think it would be fine for a higher end intermediate rider who was quite strong/athletic. 

The Aviator 2.0 in More Detail

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 560mm (22″)

Stance Setback: 20mm (0.75")

Width at Inserts: 264mm (10.39") at front insert and 266mm (10.47") at back insert* 

* with the 560mm (22") stance I rode it. At the 600mm (23.6") reference stance, it was 266mm (10.47") at front insert and 268mm (10.55") at back insert 

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 185lbs

Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV

Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M 

Weight: 3060grams (6lbs 12oz)

Weight per cm: 19.37 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.43 grams/cm*

*based on a sample size of around 100 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021 *& 2022 models. The Aviator 2.0 was quite a bit heavier than average on the scales, but on snow it didn't feel much heavier than normal. Pretty close to normal.  

Powder

We didn't have any on the day, but it's a full camber board, so no rocker to help out - and it's not super directional. The nose is 1cm (0.4")  longer than the tail and there's a reference setback of 20mm (0.75") and a bit of a contour in the base but otherwise, there's not a lot helping it in powder. 

Carving & Turning

Carving: So much fun to carve with this board. Once you get it up on edge, it really hums - has so much life and locks into a carve and holds it really well. 

Turning: You've got to put in to get it out of this board, but when you do there's good spring out of a turn. But for the most part, this board prefers to be right up on edge and engaging in a carve. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Not super agile at slow speeds, overall this board feels best with a bit of speed under it. But it's not tank either. 

Skids: It's not the most catchy board I've ridden - you can get away to skidding to a certain extent, but it's also not completely un-catchy and could punish you if you got too lazy. 

Speed

Felt confident opening this board out and getting some good speed on it. It felt nice and stable and quite damp too. Not much chatter at all. Good glide too, typical of Jones boards. Didn't notice it to the same extent as their sintered 9000 bases, but still really good. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud: Smashes through crud like it's nothing. Doesn't really get bucked around at all. 

Bumps: As it's not super nimble at slow speeds it wasn't amazing weaving between bumps, but it wasn't terrible - and if you were able to keep a bit of speed up it performed better. Because of it's stiffness, it doesn't hug bumps super well when going over top, but it's fine, if you're using the right technique. 

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Jumps

Had a lot of fun jumping with this board. It's got real good pop and that's no surprise, given the camber on this thing was 9.5mm off the ground (unweighted). 

Pop: Not super easy to access, but also not super hard to access, but you've got to give a little. But boy does it give back, when load it up! 

Approach: Super stable. Somewhat nimble, not super easy to adjust but not bad either

Landing: A stomper. Not ultra forgiving of errors, but when you get it right, you can really stomp it and it feels good. 

Side-hits: Not amazing, because you do have to load that pop a bit and it's not super easy for trickier approaches, but for open easy to hit side-hits, it's a lot of fun. 

Small jumps/Big Jumps: Biguns! But still good for small and medium as well. 

Switch

It's pretty good riding switch. And that was not surprise, given it's not that directional. 

Spins

When you've got the space to load up that pop it's a good board to spin - it's pretty good taking off and landing switch. A little heavier than normal does hold it back a little bit, and it's not as good for spinning off trickier to hit side-hits. 

Butters

You've got to have some good strength to butter this one - it's not easy to butter, but it's not un butterable either. And the feeling nose and tail is pretty similar, so it's not weird in that way. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

The Aviator 2.0 is a beast, but it's a beast that's not ultra hard to tame or anything. You can push the envelope on it - and it certainly prefers to be ridden aggressively and fast and on edge, but it's not so unforgiving, that you'll be cursing it at the end of a long day. 

It's not powder oriented and for the park it's very much a jump line board, IMO, but a good one for the jump line. 

It's damp when you need it to be, but at the same time it's got enough snappiness to it as well. 

All round really fun board and can't wait to get back out on it sometime.