Jones Storm Chaser Snowboard Review

The Jones Storm Chaser found its way into our mellow freeride category, but you could definitely argue it should be in the non-mellow freeride category. It's right on the border and beefier than you'd expect. 

In this review, I will take a look at the Storm Chaser as a mellow freeride snowboard.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Storm Chaser a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow freeride snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: Jones Storm Chaser

Price: $649

Style: Mellow Freeride

Flex Rating: Medium

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (bordering on mid-stiff) (6.5/10)

Rating Score: 87.8/100

Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards

Overview of the Storm Chaser’S Specs

Check out the tables for the Storm Chaser’s specs and available sizes.

Who is the Storm Chaser Most Suited To?

The Storm Chaser is best suited to someone looking for a volume shifted board to add to their quiver (most likely) but want something that isn't too soft or playful - they want it to still have a bit of muscle behind it. 

This board has its pretty obvious strengths and weaknesses, so would likely not make a good one-board-quiver for most - though I'm sure there are some whose style would fit with this board as a one-board-quiver. But otherwise, it would be a great compliment to a quiver to go with a soft/playful park board and/or all-mountain-freestyle board and or all-mountain to aggressive all-mountain board. 

Not for beginners - and even lower level intermediate riders aren't likely to get on well with this board, IMO. 

TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Storm Chaser

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Storm Chaser is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: Jones Storm Chaser 2025, 152cm (275mm waist width)

Date: February 20, 2024

Powder

In what powder I could get it in, it felt sick. And its specs would suggest that it would be high-end in deeper powder too. 

Carving

The Storm Chaser felt really good on a carve. With all that taper and being a 152, you wouldn't necessarily expect it to be as good as it is, particularly when riding faster, but it holds on really well. Really fun for carving and I felt I could really push it. 

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing: I rode the Storm Wolf before I rode this board and while this was definitely easier going for initiating turns and slashing, it still wasn't super easy turning or slashy or anything. It's not as torsionaly stiff as the Storm Wolf, but there's still quite a bit of torsional stiffness going on there. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Again, better than the Storm Wolf, but not super agile. That torsional stiffness, plus the huge width on it, were likely big reasons for that. Sizing down to 152 wasn't enough to negate that slightly delayed feeling on turns. It's extra-wide even for a volume shifted board. 

Catchiness: Definitely some catch-feeling in there. Nothing ultra catchy and less of that feel in there than with the Storm-Wolf, but not catch-free, in my experience.

Speed

While I wouldn't say its the board you'd get if you really want to push the speed and really bomb, it was up there for speed for a volume shifted board. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud/Chunder: Did really well in rough snow. Absorbed it all and felt stable and damp in it. It's weight helped it here. Took a lot to get this thing to lose a tight connection with the snow. 

Trees/Bumps: While I certainly didn't find it lightning in terms of edge-to-edge quickness, it was pretty good for weaving between the trees. Part of that was that it also wasn't overly sluggish edge-to-edge either, but part of that was the fact that you're riding this pretty short - and the tail is particularly short - and that really helps for sneaking tight gaps between trees. It would also be sick in powdered trees. 

Jumps

While that extra weight and damp feeling helped it with stability at speed and in rough snow, it didn't help it feel great for getting air. It just felt like it was really reluctant to leave the ground. 

Pop: Took quite a bit to get this board to pop and if there was good total pop in there somewhere, I wasn't able to find it. 

Approach: While it was quite stable on approach, it wasn't something that made me feel ready to launch when approaching jumps and side-hits.

Landing: Nail it and you have not too many problems. But anything not nailed can be sketchy. While not super unforgiving if you don't land straight, it also wasn't super forgiving. And tail heavy landings were, for obvious reasons, less than ideal. The fact the tail is quite stiff, that will help to save a tail heavy landing sometimes, but still not going to be easy. 

Side-hits: Not for me. Even straight airs. It just felt really reluctant to want to get airborne. 

Switch

You can likely just look at the image of this board and understand why this thing wasn't great riding switch. Its one saving grace however, was that the stiffness in the tail did allow you to ride switch without it being a complete trainwreck. But yeah, overall, not a natural riding tail first, for obvious reasons. 

Spins

Not great, naturally. Beyond how suss it felt taking off and landing switch, it wasn't the easiest to setup or land nose first either. And yeah, was just awkward. Definitely not what it was made for, though, of course. It's weight didn't help here either. 

Butters

Have to muscle it a bit to get the nose and tail pressing. Not as much as with the Storm Wolf, but still requires more effort than the average board. Probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway - the nose and tail felt very different to each other! The tail was awkward to press because of how small it was and the shape and the nose was awkward for how long it was and also that pointy shape didn't help, I don't think. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Storm Chaser presents a surfy mellow vibe on first appearances, but it turned out to be a beefier beast than I would have thought. While it's not ultra stiff or ultra aggressive, like it's bigger brother, the Storm Wolf, it's still something that prefers a bit more of an aggressive input and can handle a more aggressive approach than I would have thought. 

Still not overly aggressive or anything and certainly mellower than the Storm Wolf, but, let's put it this way, this is the least mellow ride that I've included in the mellow freeride category.