Hello and welcome to my Jones Meteorite snowboard bindings review.
In this review I will take a look at the Meteorite as freestyle snowboard bindings.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Meteorite a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other freestyle bindings.
Overall Rating
Bindings: Jones Meteorite
Price: $299 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel: Medium (5/10)
Rating Score: 85.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Bindings
Of the 25 current model freestyle bindings that we tested:
❄️ The Meteorite ranked 9th out of 25
overview of the Meteorite's specs
Check out the tables for the Meteorite’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
FREESTYLE
PRICE:
$299 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
weight:
Felt normal
Mounts to:
2X4 | 4X4 | CHANNEL
Sizing
SIZE | US BOOT SIZE | EURO BOOT SIZE | MONDOPOINT |
|---|---|---|---|
S | 5-7 | 36.5-39.5 | 23.5-25 |
M | 7.5-10 | 40-43 | 25.5-28 |
L | 10.5+ | 43.5+ | 28.5+ |
Who are the Meteorite Most Suited to?
The Meteorite are best suited to riding freestyle, IMO, and in general for more playful, slower speed riding and great for slashing around.
Didn't perform as well for deeper, more aggressive carves at higher speeds, so not best suited to those who want to charge all day.
IMO, they would match best with boards in the 3/10 to 6/10 flex range, and particularly well in the 4/10 to 5/10 flex range. I felt they matched just right to my 5/10 flex control board.
The Meteorite in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Meteorite are capable of.
Demo Info
Bindings: Jones Meteorite 2024, M
Date: April 13, 2023
Conditions
Overcast with occasional very light flurries of snow and occasional sun breaking through at other times.
Temperature was -3°C (27°F) and -8°C (18°F) with wind, in the morning apparently, but didn't feel that cold. -2°C (28°F) and -5°C (23°F) with wind, in the afternoon.
24 hour snow: 0" (0cm)
48 hour snow: 5" (13cm)
7 day snow: 32" (81cm)
On groomer: Soft packed with hard underneath higher up. Got a little slushy lower down, later in the day.
Off groomer: Decent higher up but icy/ crunchy lower down (slush from yesterday froze overnight, I'm guessing).
Set Up
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance Width: 555mm (22”)
Board tested with: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Boots tested with: Adidas Response ADV, US9.5
Footbed length: 25.6cm (10.1”)
Footbed Length Fully Extended: n/a
Baseplate Length (underside): 24.2cm (9.5")
Highback Height: 21.0cm (8.3”)
Weight: 900 grams (1lbs, 15oz)
* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of around 80 bindings (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models) I have weighed is 920 grams (2lbs). So the Meteorite is really close to the average and felt that way on snow too.
The Meteorites were tested around the same time as the NOW Drive Pro, NOW Select Pro and Jones Orion and were also compared, as is the case for all our binding testing, to the control bindings, in this case the Burton Malavitas.
Flex
In Hand: Surprisingly the Jones Meteorite was stiffer when twisting the highback vs the NOW Drive Pro and Jones Orion (which were ultimately stiffer on snow). But they weren't as stiff when twisting the high-back as the NOW Select Pro - or my control bindings (Burton Malavita). The Select Pro felt quite a bit stiffer feeling in twist vs Meteorite with the Drive Pro and Orion hard to choose between for the softest.
On pull back, the Orion had the most give, with the Meteorite, Select Pro and Drive Pro all about the same.
Ankle and toe strap: Ankle strap flex between all bindings were very close, but the Drive Pro and Meteorite had slightly stiffer ankle straps vs the Select Pro and Orion.
The two Jones’ (Meteorite and Orion) have stiffer toe straps than the NOWs (Select Pro and Drive Pro).
On Snow: As is quite often the case, high-back in-hand flex and strap flex don't necessarily translate into a stiffer binding on snow. Which is why whenever someone puts out a review about the Burton Malavita (or other binding with a stiff highback but overall a mid-flex or just a different overall flex to the high-back's flex feel in-hand) being a stiff binding, I know straight away, they've just gone and flexed the high-back and haven't actually tested them for real.
This also applies to the Meteorite. While the high-back felt stiffer than the Meteorite and Drive Pro, the overall flex was noticeably softer. Maybe it's because of softer ankle straps? Well the Meteotite didn't have those either.
IMO, binding flex is influenced by high-back and strap flex, but the most influential factor in overall flex feel must be the baseplates flex.
In any case the Meteorite felt like a 5/10 flex overall, by my feel in comparison to the Orion (6/10 flex), Drive Pro (7.5/10) and Select Pro (6/10 flex).
Carving Performance
The Meteorite felt like it couldn't hold a carve as well when compared to the Orion, Select Pro, Drive Pro and Malavita. It certainly wasn't terrible, but made my board feel more likely to wash out, when carving at higher speeds than any of the others.
Slow Speed Response
While they down in terms of higher speed carving performance, they were the best of all the other bindings mentioned in terms of slow speed response. They felt like they were designed to be just right for my board when riding slow and increased the ease and quickness of my slow speed turns.
Butterability/Board Feel
While still not as good as my control bindings, in terms of board feel, they actually felt better than other Jones/NOW bindings I've tested.
Adjustability
Heel Cup: No
Stance Width: Not a minidisc, but there’s a fairly narrow space where the screws go, so not a massive amount of stance width adjustment, but there's some.
Highback Lean: Yes - tool-less.
Ankle Strap Position: Yes, in a way, as you can swap the ankle straps between the bindings. One way up they provide more ankle support and the other way up, they give more freedom of movement. What Jones term freeride mode and surf mode.
Toe Strap Position: No
Ankle and toe strap length: Tool-less
Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: None
Highback Rotation: No
Compatible with: 2x4 | 4x4 | Channel
In addition you can also change the bushings to stiffer or softer ones, so that's an extra piece of adjustability that most bindings don't have.
Shock Absorption
As is the case with every Jones/NOW binding I've tested, they had great shock absorption. I would say that they absorbed shock as well as the NOWs, but just a touch down in terms of chatter absorption - maybe because of that extra board feel.
But that's being picky and still more shock absorbing than everything else not NOW/Jones.
Entry/Exit
I found the Ratchets to be nice and smooth on the Meteorite and this helped to make them easy to get in and out of and could trust that they would open up when unstrapping on the move.
They also have hinges on both the ankle and toe straps, which open out and stay open, so you can get your foot in without any straps in the way and you don't accidentally step on your straps. Nice to have it on both ankle and toe straps.
Comfort
Ankle Strap: While the ankle straps were on the stiffer side, they felt nice and comfortable and most importantly didn't feel any pressure points.
Toe Strap: Ditto ankle strap.
Canted Footbed: Yes
Padded Footbed: See shock absorption - the way these things feel underfoot also enhances their comfort.
Highback: Some padding on highback, but main thing was that they didn't produce any calf-bite.
Ankle Support
Ankle support was good. Nothing epic, but good. I was in freeride mode, which gives more ankle support. I imagine in surf mode - and from experience with other similar bindings in the surf mode - there wouldn't be as much ankle support - but you might want that if you want more freedom of movement in your ankles.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Board Feel | 3.5 | 14/20 |
| Shock Absorption | 5 | 20/20 |
| Carving | 3 | 9/15 |
| Slow Speed Response | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Adjustability | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Comfort | 4 | 8/10 |
| Ankle Support | 4 | 4/5 |
| Entry/Exit | 4.5 | 4.5/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 85.1/100 |
The Meteorite are super fun bindings matched to a mid-soft to mid flexing board, when you're wanting to slash around, rip short sharp turns/carves at slower speeds and when doing ollies, spins, butters etc.
They didn't go quite as well when opening them out and trying to do big carves at high speeds. They made my board feel more agile at slow speeds compared to most other bindings, but not as good on a carve.
I really liked the fact that both the ankle strap and toe strap have hinges which open out, to make it easier to strap in. But their best quality was how well they absorbed shock.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Meteorite, are ready to buy or want to research pricing and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out other freestyle options or want to see how the Meteorite compared to other options, check out the next link.
Hi Nate- Not sure if my comment got lost in the site update or not, so I am re-posting. I am looking at a pair of Meteorite bindings and a pair of Union Force bindings. for reference, I’ve been riding for decades, live in New England, mostly avoid the park except for dorking around with my kids. I’m on a Lib Dynamo and wear Kitas. Odd combo I know, but these are the bindings I have access to.
So my questions/thoughts: I like the adjustability of the Unions, hate the toe strap, but am otherwise fine with them. I’m trying the Meteorites this weekend (with medium bushings) and am excited to see the differences with skate tech. Jones straps feel better as well. But I’m apprehensive about the lack of adjustability (mostly heel cup length and high back rotation for +21/+3). So, in your opinion- is skate tech worth the lack of adjustability? And any thoughts on durability? Lastly, I know the Kita/Dynamo/Force or Meteorite combo is odd on paper, but what would you choose if these were your binding options?
Thanks!
Hi Tom, thanks for your message and for re-posting.
On paper I would be leaning Force, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I feel they’re a better match for the rest of your setup. Not too much in it, but Force a slightly better match in my opinion.
And while the Meteorite I felt were better for slow speed response, the Force have a better balance between higher speed/carving support and slow speed response. That said, if you’re not someone who bombs it or not often, that might not be a major thing for you.
Given you’re going to get a chance to ride the Meteorite on the weekend, you have the benefit of trying them out for yourself, you’ll get a better idea, but on paper, I’d be leaning Force, in this particular case.
I haven’t had any issues with long term durability with Union bindings but I haven’t had Jones (or YES/NOW) bindings for long enough to really tell by experience. But I haven’t heard any reports of them having issues, and they seem well built to me.
Hope this helps with your decision