Jones MTN Surf Snowboard Bib Review

Overview of the MTN SURF’S Specs

Who are the MTN Surf Most Suited To?

The MTN Surf are best suited to someone who:

• Likes the idea of bibs over pants
• Needs great waterproofing
• Wants something that's warm but not too warm, that they can wear on warmer days without a jacket, but can also layer underneath for colder days
• Likes a more relaxed fit with complete freedom of movement

MTN Surf BIBS TESTING DetailS & RESULTS

WATERPROOFING

Waterproofing rating: 20,000mm

Seam Taping: Fully Taped

Zipper Waterproofing: Covered zips

I've had these in some really wet conditions. Have had plenty of rainy days this season (unfortunately - though it does make for good outerwear testing. Gotta try to see the silver lining!) and these have held up really well - keeping me dry underneath. 

Keeping the Snow Out

Being bibs, they have a natural advantage. The height where snow has to get in is, of course, much higher than with pants and on most days you'll have a jacket, or something over top, so very little chance of snow getting down them from the top. 

Gaiters

From the bottom there's also very little chance of snow getting in. They have gaiters that also have hooks and loops on them, so you can tie them down. I've never used them as I find the gaiters are tight enough (and stretchy of course) that they hold in place well as is. 

Jacket to Pants Connections

You could hook up to a loop at the back and there are belt loops you could hook to as well. But it's really not needed with them being bib pants. I haven't hooked them in and I've never had snow down them. 

BREATHABILITY

Fabric Breathability: 20,000g

Overall nice and breathable, with the one bug bear being that it's missing mesh on the zipper vents. 

Venting

Good amount of zippered venting that runs down the outside of the thighs.  Down one side (right) you can unzip right from knee height to the top and down the other side (left) it opens from around the knee to just under the waist.

So plenty of space to open up to keep you cooler on those warm days, but the one issue is that they're not meshed lined. So on a hotter day (when you'd want to be opening the vents but probably don't want to be wearing long thermal underwear), you can be showing a lot of leg. And ain't no one want to see my hairy legs!

Liner

It does have a liner and this adds some good warmth to it when needed, but does prevent some breathability, but overall nice and breathable, I found, so I think the warmth advantage outweighs how it affects breathability. 

WARMTH

With the liner they offer a decent amount of warmth, but for colder days you'll want to layer underneath with a base layer. Because they're bibs you get that extra material around your torso too - which can add to warmth. 

Also being bibs, they give you that option of wearing them without a jacket on warmer days. 

FIT

I loved the fit of these pants. They offered great mobility/freedom of movement and for me that's the main thing I look for in my outerwear. The main question I ask is "does it restrict my riding in any way?". And I was able to give that question a clear, definitive answer in this case. 

The looser fit and stretch fabric really helped with that mobility. 

Waist Cincher

It has a waist cincher, and the best part is that, when it's not at all cinched, it's really loose around the waist. So if you want them to sit completely off the waist and be totally held up via the shoulder straps you can.

But if you want the waist cinched, either to carry some weight on your waist or just for the aesthetics of it, then you can. 

Some bib pants I've tried have built in cinch that forces you to have some pressure on your waist whether you want it or not. 

COMFORT

The Mtn Surf bibs are the most comfortable pants/bibs I've worn. Mostly down to their relaxed fit and the fact I hardly even notice them on. They felt almost weightless to me. 

I found the fabric feels nice and light and airy too. 

Weight: 

While they are still heavier than most snowboard pants (there are some I've weighed that aren't this light though), they are light for bibs. And because that weight is focused on the shoulders and not the waist, you don't feel the weight in the same weight. For some they may not want that extra weight on their shoulders (though to be honest I didn't notice anything shoulder-wise) but for me they felt really light, like they almost weren't there, which made them very comfortable for me. 

I don't like anything too tight around the waist and with some bibs I've tried, they still have pressure on the waist. While the Mtn Surf bibs do have a waist cincher, so that you can pull that waist area in tighter, you can also leave it loose and have it not touch your waist at all essentially. So you could distribute some of that weight to your waist - or maybe you prefer it simply for aesthetics - by tightening that waist cincher to a point that the waist holds some of the weight. But you don't have to, and it's great to have that option. 

It's even got belt buckles, so if the waist cincher doesn't bring it in tight enough for your liking, you could add a belt to it. 

Other comfort factors

A lot of bibs have a zipper that opens from the top down to the crotch. This can make them easier to get on, but when you need to empty your bladder, they can be a real pain. 

The Mtn Surf bibs zipper is placed just like a zipper as they would be on pants. The big advantage of this - for those of us who pee standing up - is that you can easily access the zipper without having to reach under your jacket to get to it. 

And it's not like it makes them super difficult to get no or anything. A lot more bibs are doing it this way now and it's certainly a preference for me. 

PREDICTED DURABILITY

The one downside of that material feeling light and airy is that it also feels like it's not super durable. That said, it does have reinforcement in all the typical areas that are most likely to wear out first. Just not sure how well it would hold up to a tree branch outside of those reinforced areas. 

POCKETS

Total Pockets: 4

Hand warmer pockets: 0

Back Pockets: 0   

Cargo Pockets: 2 (zip opening 6.5" (17cm) | dimensions roughly 7" (18cm) x 7" (18cm). 

Chest pockets: 2

The first chest pocket is at front of bibs (zip opening 7" (18cm) | dimensions roughly 9.5" (24cm) x 7" (18cm).

The second chest pocket is on the side of the first one. (zip opening 5" (12cm) | dimensions roughly 6" (15cm) x 3" (8cm).

Amount of pocket space

Most days I've been happy with the pockets. As supplementary pockets to my jacket pockets, they are more than sufficient. The only complaint I have is that everything is a tight fit when it's a warm day and I want to just wear the bibs. 

But not everyone will carry as much as I do. I always carry an emergency screw driver (very compact one), selfie stick, phone, small wallet, power bank and cable for re-charging go pro and phone when needed, ski-key and car keys. Things were a bit crammed! But just got away with it. 

The side chest pocket is a great place for your RFID pass, but the only thing was that with all the stuff in the front chest pocket, which overlaps with the side pocket, it was getting in the way of it sometimes, which was a little annoying at times. 

Functionality of pockets

There are key loops in not 1, but 3 of the 4 pockets, which is great.

3 of the pockets also have separate mesh compartments. 

TOTAL Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

I fell in love with these bibs the moment I put them on. They felt lighter than any other bib I've worn and lighter than any pants - I barely noticed them on. I don't like anything too tight around my waist and these pants allow for a loose waist - or tighter if you want to - and overall just felt super comfortable. 

More importantly (IMO) they also have great waterproofing and really good breathability and functionality. 

They have been my go-to bibs since I first tried them on.