Jones MTN Surf Recycled Snowboard Jacket Review

Overview of the MTN SURF JACKET’S Specs

Who is the MTN Surf Jacket Most Suited To?

The MTN Surf is best suited to someone who:

• Needs good waterproofing;
• doesn't need a lot of extra warmth or prefers to layer for warmth;
• has a higher budget;
• likes to have freedom of movement;
• prefers a shell they can layer underneath of; 
• likes to have plenty of functionality; and
• appreciates the eco-friendly nature of the recycled materials

MTN SURF jacket TESTING DetailS & RESULTS

WATERPROOFING

Waterproofing rating: 20,000mm

Seam Taping: Fully Taped

Zipper Waterproofing: YKK VISLON® AquaGuard® zippers

The Mtn Surf Anorak served me well in the rain and wet snow conditions I had in the earlier part of the season. Some days were quite heavy with rain and the jacket kept me dry. 

In our in-house, shower waterproofing test (will provide more details on this soon), it also performed really well. Yes, there are jackets with better waterproofing out there, but this performed really well in real world situations and is all I need. 

It will at some stage require a DWR re-fresh, as all jackets do, but that's not too hard to do. 

Keeping the Snow Out

Powder Skirt

It has a powder skirt. You can remove, so if you don't like having one in, you are stuck with it. However, you can unclip it - and you can make a little tighter or looser, depending on your preference/physical specs. 

Jacket to Pants Connections

There are jackets-to-pants connections, but there is only 1 attachment. But it's enough to stop the jacket from riding up too much. Would be better to have at least one attachment on the front though. 

Cuffs and Wrist Gaiters

The adjustable cuffs function really well and opened up nicely to fit my gloves under - then tightened up nicely over top, to reduce chances of snow making it up the sleeves. 

It doesn't have wrist gaiters though. 

Hood 

see hood function section below

BREATHABILITY

Fabric Breathability: 20,000g

I've felt like I've always been able to keep cool enough and dry (as in sweat evaporation) in this jacket. Likely a joint effort of the breathability of the fabric and the venting, when needed. It's not the most breathable I've worn, but it's still really good. 

Venting

Practically the entire left hand side of the jacket opens up - from the bottom all the way past the armpit and all the way to around the elbow. So you can really open it up on a warm day to let the air flow. 

On the right hand side, there is a more typical pit vent - which opens up from around the bottom of the ribcage to the elbow. 

There is no mesh lining like some jackets have, but I don't find this as important as having it on pants, as you'd typically always have some kind of base layer underneath. Whereas not always on your lower half.  

Insulation

While it doesn't have any insulation as such it does have a liner which is nice and comfortable, but does add to warmth, which is good when you need a bit of extra warmth, but not so good for breathability. 

WARMTH

As mentioned above, there is a liner in this jacket, which does add to its warmth. But there's no insulation, so it's not the jacket you want if you want your jacket to do all your insulating or if ride in particularly cold conditions often and want it to add extra insulation. 

But it's great for layering underneath and there's plenty of room to do that. And then on warmer days, it doesn't get too hot. 

FIT/MOBILITY

I found the freedom of movement in this jacket to be really good, which is something I really appreciate. This also added to its overall comfort. 

Waist Cincher

You can adjust the waist on the jacket, which is nice to have, so you can loosen it out when you're layering more or just if you wanted that looser feel/look and you can tighten it up when you're not having to layer too much, if you prefer to more lean look/feel. 

Freedom of Movement

I feel like I am completely unrestricted movement-wise in this jacket. Now I probably am between M and L size-wise, so it is roomy on me, but I still felt it allowed more freedom of movement than other large jackets I've ridden in - and I typically go Large. 

Stretch Fabric?: 

The Mtn Surf Anorak has 4 way stretch fabric. And you can feel it. This, undoubtedly helps with that range of motion when riding. 

Hood Fit: 

see hood function section below

COMFORT

I found the MTN Surf Anorak really comfortable. The lining felt good, the fit was great and it felt light. 

For how light it felt, I was surprised that it was even 800g, even though that is certainly lighter than the average (average weight of 928g, from a small sample size, with the heaviest at 1,155g and the lightest at 656g. The MTN Surf was the third lightest I had weighed. Note that I don't test anything over the value of USD$500). 

Weight: 800g (Large - my measurement) | 740g (Medium - from Jones' website).

HOOD FUNCTION

The hood on this jacket functioned really well. On a lot of jackets it's hard to adjust them to a point that I could actually ride with the hood on, without trying to artificially stuff some of the hood into my helmet, or the likes, which always ultimately came out and was never comfortable. 

The hood on the Mtn Surf Anorak is contoured and it didn't obstruct my field of vision in the slightest, which was great. So, on those rainy days I mentioned earlier, I didn't have to take the hood off to ride and then put it back on for the chairlift. Which was so good that I can't imagine going back to not being able to do it, particularly as I often get rain. 

POCKETS

Total Pockets: 5

Sleeve Pass Pocket: 1 (zip opening 4" (10cm) | dimensions roughly 4" (10cm) x 4" (10cm).  

This is bigger than most pass pockets I've seen. But the downside of this one, is that it pushes your card onto the inside of your forearm/wrist, which makes it a little awkward to scan going through RFID gates.  But still rather this than not have one at all. And I like that it's zippered. Not a fan of Velcro pass pockets.

Internal Media Pocket: 1 (zip opening 6.5" (16cm) | dimensions roughly 6.5" (16cm) x 5" (13cm).

The only thing this pocket is missing is a way to channel through earphone cord. Personally I use helmet speakers, so this isn't an issue for me, but I do often need to plug my GoPro into a power bank. It's pretty easy just to leave the zip a little bit open for the cord to go through, but ideally there'd be a dedicated slot. 

Hand warmer pockets: 2 (zip opening 9" (23cm) | dimensions approximately 6.5" (16cm) x 7" (18cm).

These are nice and big and they don't overlap with the front pouch/dump pocket, at least not by much, which is nice. Some anoraks, I find do that - or they have front pouch as one big pocket that open like handwarmers, but ends up just being one big pouch. It's good to have the separate actual hand warmer pockets. 

Goggle/Dump Pocket: 1 (zip opening 9" (23cm) | dimensions roughly 9" (23cm) x 56.5" (16cm).

This isn't your traditional goggle/dump pocket as it's actually an external pocket and it's in the front pouch area. 

While it's not as big as a typical goggle/dump pocket, there are a couple of things I prefer with this to typical ones. Firstly, it's zippered, so items in it are more secure. Secondly, it's easier to access stuff in it. I keep my goggles on my helmet, but it does fit goggles in it, if that's what you want to use it for. 

But personally I use it for my phone, for quicker access. Unless it's puking snow or raining, I take notes on the chairlift, when I'm testing gear, so its good to have that easy access to my phone. 

Key Ring: There are two places in the MTN Surf Anorak where you can hook your keys onto (I use a small carabiner to make it easier to clip and unclip. The first is located in the right hand warmer pocket and the 2nd is in the front pouch/goggle/dump pocket. 

OTHER

The MTN Surf Anorak has a few other things to mention: 

1. Recco Rescue Tech in the hood.
2. 5 Red Flags for chances of avalanche on the sleeve near the pass pocket.
3. Avalanche rescue tips on the inside on the inside right chest.

TOTAL Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

This jacket immediately became my go-to. It's comfortable, feels light and has plenty of pockets and functionally they work well for me.

And the hood functions exactly how I'd want it to. Being able to adjust it over my helmet so that it a. doesn't restrict movement and b. doesn't affect my field of vision. If I don't notice I've got the hood up, then it's performing how it should. 

And most importantly it provides good waterproofing, breathability performance with great mobility. 

Previously I wasn't a fan of Anoraks, but for this one it's worth the extra effort of having to get it over my head.