Hello and welcome to my Jones Mind Expander Twin review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Mind Expander Twin as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Mind Expander Twin a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Jones Mind Expander Twin
Price: $569
Style: All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5.5/10)
Rating Score: 84.9/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Of the 30 current model all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Mind Expander Twin ranked 12th out of 30
Overview of the Mind Expander Twin’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Mind Expander Twin’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain |
Price: | $569 - BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: | |
Flex: | |
Feel: | |
Smooth/Snappy: | |
Dampness: | |
Playful/Aggressive: | |
Edge-hold: | |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered (Jones' Sintered 8000) |
Weight: | Felt normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
---|---|---|---|
146 | 252 | 110-160 | 49-73 |
150 | 256 | 120-170 | 54-77 |
154 | 260 | 130-180 | 59-82 |
158 | 264 | 150-200 | 67-91 |
162 | 268 | 170-220 | 77-100 |
* the 146 is a new size for the 2024 model
Who is the Mind Expander Twin Most Suited To?
The Mind Expander Twin is best suited to someone looking for that one board to do it all on. It's a really versatile board that can take you into powder, into the park, rip the groomers and do whatever you feel like when you're there.
It's also pretty mellow without being super playful, so it's got that nice in between feel that allows you to get a little playful when you want but doesn't fold when you require stability.
Being good in powder and harder snow, it's also ready for any conditions.
Not what I'd recommend for beginners, but it's not an overly demanding ride, so intermediate riders should be good riding this board.
The Mind Expander Twin in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Mind Expander Twin is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Jones Mind Expander Twin 2023, 154cm (260mm waist width)
Date: February 23, 2022
Conditions
Sunny with cloudy periods. 100% visibility.
Temperature was pretty cold, ranging from -10°C (14°F) to -12°C (10°F) through the day. -13°C (9°F) with wind. Wind pretty much non existent though.
24 hour snow: 0cm (0")
48 hour snow: 0cm (0")
7 day snow: 8cm (3")
On groomer: Hard pack with icy patches for the most part. But mostly hard pack until we got lower down the mountain and then it was really icy.
Off groomer: Crunchy and icy for the most part. But still doable higher up the mountain.
Set up
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 540mm (21.3″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Front Insert: 273mm (10.75")
Width at Back Insert: 273mm (10.75")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2980grams (6lbs 9oz)
Weight per cm: 19.35 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.59 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 200 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models. On the scales the Mind Expander Twin was heavier than normal but on snow it felt pretty normal. The grams/cm number in this case is a little misleading as it's a wider board - so grams/surface area would be about average I would imagine.
Powder
We didn't have any to test in on the day but based on specs and feel it should be decent in powder.
It's got a bit of a directional flex and the nose is a little longer than the tail. Despite the twin name, it's not completely twin. It also has Jones' 3D Contour base, which should also help with float.
Carving
Not a carving machine. You can lay a carve over, but it's not something that's epic in it's high speed, big carves or anything.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: Nice and easy to initiate turns and feels good on a slash.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: It's pretty nimble at slower speeds. Being wider you get that little bit of a delay (with my size feet anyway) but it's not something you have to muscle to get it going edge-to-edge - it doesn't require a lot of effort, but there's just that slight delay in there.
Skidded Turns: Not easy to catch an edge on this board, making it good for skidded turns and slashes.
Speed
Can take on a bit of speed and still feel stable. It's not an out and out bomber, but can feels stable at moderately fast speeds.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: It's not immune to being bucked around a little in crud, but it's not bucked around super easily either. And it's pretty easy to correct your line without too much risk of catching an edge.
Bumps: It's fairly nimble, without being lightning quick edge to edge. Overall enjoyable in trees.
Jumps
Overall good for jumps, without being amazing.
Pop: Fairly easy to access but not oodles of it, when you wind it up.
Approach: A nice mix of being stable but also something you can speed check and make adjustments with, when necessary.
Landing: Not what I would call a stomper, but pretty solid and it's forgiving of bad landings too.
Side-hits: Good for sidehits, but not quite as fun as I had with the Tweaker or the YES Standard Uninc, which I also rode on the same day. But still fun.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Medium is the sweet spot for this board, IMO.
Switch
Felt good riding switch and transitioning to/from switch. Which is no surprise. It didn't feel perfect, which is also no surprise, given it's a little directional in its flex.
Spins
All round pretty good. It's a little harder to get the spin around vs something like the Tweaker - but setting up/landing switch is good. Nothing super amazing, but better than average.
Jibbing
Not too bad for jibbing. Not ideal, but something I felt fairly confident hitting jibs with.
Butters
Pretty easy to initiate presses on and you can lock them in well, once you get there too. All round good for buttering.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
---|---|---|
Powder | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
Turns | 4 | 8/10 |
Speed | 3.5 | 7/10 |
Crud | 3.5 | 7/10 |
Trees | 3.5 | 7/10 |
Switch | 4 | 8/10 |
Jumps | 3.5 | 7/10 |
Spins | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
Butters | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
Rails | 3 | 3/5 |
TOTAL (after normalizing): | 84.9/100 |
Overall, the Mind Expander Twin is a the kind of board that feels comfortable doing everything. Certainly a one-board quiver kind of board, if you need the one board to do a bit of everything.
Doesn't have any obvious weaknesses and overall was really fun to ride.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Mind Expander Twin, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other all-mountain snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Mind Expander Twin compares to other all-mountain snowboards, then check out the next link.
Omer says
Hey Nate,
I would much appreciate if you can help me eliminate\narrow down and focus:
I`m looking at 6+ boards now: Bataleon Goliath*\super and Crusieur*, YES Standard, Jones Mind Expander Twin* (I don’t have access to the non-twin version where I live) and Mountain Twin*. I also looked briefly on the Jones Frontier and AviatorV2. (The * boards are also available to me in the 2025 version so if they are better I can get them pre-order).
I`m Intermediate (maybe Intermediate+) with many years of snowboarding but never actually owned a board myself (I go for the top of the line board at the rental in the resort, I do own boots size 8-8.5).
I`m 5′7 163 lbs in good shape and want a board that will allow me to advance as much as I can, but won’t break me in the process as I`m not that young anymore…
My preference lean to the powder side of the mountain, off-piste both close and far from the resort run. I find myself climbing by foot that 30 min uphill just for the perfect, untouched, terrain. I also love going between trees, side bumps and other neutral features to tackle but I don’t get near cliffs. I will do it all day long if the conditions allow, but life as they are don`t allow it (bad off-piste condition) so I guess on average 50% of my boarding is on-pist and close to them. Very much love fast blue and red slopes. I do blacks but unless they are in good fresh groomed condition I tend to skip them.
I barely spend time in the park and if so it`s for some small-medium jumps so I`ll say that about 5%.
I do want to be able to try out curves and butters. My experience with them is very limited so far so I’m quite a beginner in that section so I guess a board that is good at them is more of a bonus than a requirement but it will be a great bonus.
P.s
Your knowledge and dedication to share it with others is awesome! Your site holds a massive amount of very useful data. Thank you very much!
Nate says
Hi Omer, thanks for your message.
All good options for what you’re looking to do, IMO. The Cruiser is the most directional and powder oriented, by a good bit, versus your other options. If you were looking for something that was more optimal in powder, but wasn’t going to as good for sidehits, butters, jumps, switch etc, then it would be the best option for powder.
The Standard, in my experience is the best in icy conditions, so if you get those a lot, then that would be a really good option. The Mountain Twin and Mind Expander Twin are also good in icy conditions, with the Cruiser and Goliath’s being a bit down from there. You’d sacrifice in terms of powder for one of those versus the Cruiser, but you’d have something that you can butter easier on and if you wanted to ride switch sometimes, then a lot more suited for that too. The Goliath’s don’t give you any powder advantage over the Standard/MT/MET, so would be lower in my list for the way you describe your riding. If you were more groomer/park dominant, then they would be very good options, but in this case, I’d be more inclined to go for (especially if you get icy conditions fairly regularly) one of Standard/MT/MET if you want to go for a more do-it-all kind of board rather than a more powder focused board, like the Cruiser.
The Aviator 2.0 is stiffer than all your other options and isn’t as good in powder. For what you’re describing, I think others would be more suitable.
The Frontier could be a really good choice though. It’s a little more directional/powder oriented than the Standard/MT/MET but not as much as the Cruiser. It’s kind of in-between – a do it all that leans a little more towards powder. The Bataleon Thunderstorm is also a similar kind of thing (but not sure if you have access to that).
Size-wise, I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 156. But depending on which board you went with, you may want to size down a little from that with 8-8.5 boots. I would be happy to give sizes for what I’d choose with your specs and how you want to ride for specific boards, if you can narrow it down to 2-3 choices.
Hope this helps narrow them down a bit.
Omer says
Thanks for the focus 🙂
So I now narrow it down to Standard/MT/MET.
I guess all of them will give me about the same good pow experience, but who do your think do it best? in pow I just want to surf and interact with natural features here and there where good manuverabilaty is the most importent (no ground stunts). From what I read the MET will be on top along with the Standard.
Second most important thing is on-piste behavior in various conditions, so in this regard I tend more to the Standard/MT (is it right so say that?). I`m avoding ice as much as I can but occasionally might see hard snow in the mornings.
Another thing is that i`m quite fixt on the Supermatic bindings for their ease of entrance feature, but I`ll guess all 3 boards are sutiable with them, right?
Final thing, do you know about any coming changes (except graffiti) for the MET\ MT in the 2025 version?
Nate says
Hi Omer
Yeah, all pretty similar in terms of powder performance. All pretty similar in terms of maneuverability as well. I would say the MET is the easiest to change edges on, but it has this slight delay that I felt – so easy to initiate, but then a bit of a delay, which meant it wasn’t, in my experience, quicker to change edges on or anything. It’s easy to maneuver still, but just that little bit of delay. This is comparing the 154 MET, 156 Standard and 157 MT.
Size-wise for you, I would be looking at the following:
Standard: 153
MT: 154
MET: 154
I would size down from the 156 at least to those. But if you wanted to increase maneuverability, at the expense of some float in powder and some stability at speed, the 151 Standard, 151 MT and 150 MET are all in range as well.
The MET 2025 has no changes. The 2025 Mountain Twin gets new power basalt stringers, but otherwise looks the same, so a minor change, but nothing drastic.
Omer says
Thanke you so much!
I`ll go with the Standard I think, It`s Ice handeling might be the decicing factor though I also really like the Jones ‘approach and philosophy’ for snowboarding.
Maybe someday I`ll get the Flagship…
Nate says
You’re very welcome Omer. Hope whatever you go with treats you well!
Ryan says
Hey Nate,
Thanks for this review. I’m an intermediate rider about 70% on blue groomers and 30% in the park, 6’3 tall and 205 lbs. My first ever board was a K2 Access (wasn’t able to find anything about it online), but that board was too small, any suggestions for sizing? Also looking for something that will be good for an intermediate, not too stiff/aggressive but not super soft either.
Thanks!
Nate says
Hi Ryan
Thanks for your message.
The Mind Expander would work well in terms of being good for groomers and for your level. But given that your 30% in the park, I would look for something more freestyle focused, less directional. If you’re thinking Jones, I think the Mountain Twin would be a good bet for what you’re describing. Plenty of other options too. I would be looking at something directional twin. Some good options in the following:
>>My Top 10 All Mountain Snowboards
>>My Top All-Mountain-Freestyle Snowboards
Size-wise, if you could also let me know your boot size. And if you were able to narrow down to 2-3 boards, I would be happy to give specific sizing for each board option.
Hope this helps