Hello and welcome to my Jones Ultra Mountain Twin review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Ultra Mountain Twin (UMT) as an aggressive all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the UMT a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other aggressive all-mountain snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Jones Ultra Mountain Twin 2019
Price: $599 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Aggressive All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Stiff (9/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Stiff (8/10)
Rating Score: 84.8/100
Compared to other Men’s Aggressive All-Mountain Boards
Out of the 14 men’s aggressive all-mountain snowboards that I rated:
- The average price was $577 (USD)
- The average score was 82.5/100
- The highest score was 92.7/100
- The lowest score was 75.3/100
- The UMT ranked 4th out of 14*
Note that ratings for all boards hadn’t been updated for 2019 at time of writing so this is based on 2018 ratings – and I hadn’t ridden the UMT in 2018 so it wasn’t considered for the Top 6 list – but this is where it would have ended up based on the 2018 ratings.
Overview of the UMT’s Specs
Check out the tables for the UMT’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style | Aggressive All-Mountain |
| Price | $599 (USD) |
| Ability Level: | 
|
| Flex: | 
|
| Feel: |  |
| Edge-hold up to: |  |
| Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast (3.5/5) |
| Weight | On the lighter side of normal |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber |
| Shape | Directional Twin |
| Stance Setback | Setback 20mm (3/4") |
| Base | Sintered 9900 |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 154 | 157 | 158W | 160 | 161W | 162 | 164W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 253 | 258 | 256 | 260 | 256 | 262 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 120-170 | 130-180 | 140-190 | 150-200 | 150-200 | 160-210 | 170-220+ |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 54-77 | 59-82 | 64-86 | 67-91 | 67-91 | 73-95 | 77-100+ |
Who is the Ultra Mountain Twin Most Suited to?
The Ultra Mountain Twin is best suited to those that want to bomb the mountain most of the time. It’s not really one for slowing down and playing around with, from my experience – it prefers things at speed. And whilst it certainly doesn’t have a super-aggressive camber profile – it is rather stiff, which is where it gets most of its aggressiveness from.
But that extra rocker in the camber profile does help this to be a pretty good board for powder, where some aggressive all-mountain boards can be not as good in that area.
Definitely too stiff for a beginner and even too stiff for intermediate riders, unless you’re very athletic – and too stiff if you want a board to ride slow and play around with a lot.
Some will like it in the park but for me it was good on big straight airs, but not as good down the jib line or for spins.
The UMT in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the UMT is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Jones Ultra Mountain Twin 2019, 157 (253mm waist)
Date: March 13, 2018
Conditions: Overcast plus a little rain, getting a bit heavier around 2:30 in the afternoon but not too bad. Wet snow higher up the mountain. Visibility all good though. Slushy snow in patches.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22”) – reference is 600mm (23.5”) and whilst I would usually ride reference, I felt like riding narrower than 600mm that day.
Stance Setback: 20mm (3/4”)
Width at Inserts: 265mm at the tail, 268mm at the nose (quite wide in comparison to the 253mm waist)
Weight: 2740grams (6lb, 0.65oz)
Weight per cm: 17.45grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.20grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of 24 boards that I weighed
Powder
Didn’t have any real powder to test on but, based on the slush, the specs, and how the Mountain Twin (non-Ultra) rides in powder, this thing is pretty good in the deep stuff – it’s not Flagship good, but pretty good none-the-less.
Carving & Turning
This was a great board to carve on and especially liked to carve at speed. You could really lock an edge in and keep it there.
Skidded turns not as easy. You could get away with them to an extent (the camber profile isn’t overly aggressive – it’s like the Mountain Twin) but that stiffness makes it a little trickier.
Edge-to-edge it’s not lightning fast, but pretty fast – I’d say 3.5/5.
Not the ultimate tree board but definitely something you can take in the trees.
Speed
This thing can bomb! – it feels super stable when riding fast. It definitely feels at its best when putting some speed on it. Great glide on flats too.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
It felt ok on uneven terrain. It’s about middle of the road there, IMO.
Jumps
When it comes to jumps on this thing, bigger is better. Really good for big straight airs – stable on approach and stable on landing and has good pop.
Takes a little to extract that pop – for ollies and the like – but once you put in the effort it will give back spring.
I didn’t find it as nice for smaller jumps/small side hits or for doing spins – but I personally prefer something a little softer flexing for that sort of thing. You can definitely spin it, but not as easy to spin as the Mountain Twin, IMO.
Switch
Good riding switch. It’s not setback that far and the tail is the same width as the nose. In terms of length, the tail is shorter by 2cm compared with the nose, but still felt fine riding switch – as long as your switch game is reasonably dialled.
Jibs/Butters
Some might be ok jibbing/buttering/pressing with this board, but I personally found it quite difficult – not impossible but not easy either, IMO.
Changes from the 2018 Model
It got stiffer.
The 2019 model is the first chance I’ve had to get on the Ultra Mountain Twin so I can’t say how much stiffer it feels compared to the 2018 model but Jones rated the 2018 model 7/10 for flex and rate the 2019 model 9/10 for flex.
In 2018 they rated the Mountain Twin (non-ultra) 7/10 and still rate it 7/10. From what I heard about the 2018 model is that it was stiffer than the regular Mountain Twin. So, some of that increase in their flex rating might be just to better reflect the difference between the Mountain Twin and the Ultra Mountain Twin. Either way the UMT is a good bit stiffer, in my experience than the MT.
It also has Traction Tech 2.0 in place of the “Mellow Magnetration” that the 2018 model had but I suspect this is just a change in terms.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Carving: | 4.0 | 20/25 |
| Speed: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Jumps: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Powder: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Pipe: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Switch: | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 84.8/100 |
Overall, this board is really fun and great for those that like their board stiff and fast but still want to hit jumps and ride switch. It can ride anywhere on the mountain but for my tastes favors the groomers and the backcountry/sidecountry over the park – though it is mean (in a good way!) on big jumps.
The Camber profile isn’t overly aggressive but the stiffness makes this board one that, I felt, liked to ride fast much more than it did slow.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Ultra Mountain Twin, are ready to buy or want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Ultra Mountain Twin compares to other men’s aggressive all-mountain snowboards or want to check out some other options in that category, check out the next link.
>>My Top 6 Men’s Aggressive All-Mountain Snowboards
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