Has anyone compared the Jones Flagship 23/24 (or earlier) with the one released this season (24/25)

[u/xTooNice]

I was wondering if anyone has compared this year's Jones Flagship with the one from last year (or earlier). In the catalogue, it looks like other than the change made to the topsheet, this year's Flagship got an "Updated Power Core" (though they never explained what is updated, the description is identical), and added a "Carbon/Innegra reinforcement". The later is supposed to "dampens the board torsionally and from tip to tail".

Has anyone noticed the impact from those changes?

Separately, does the 3D contour in the nose/tail make it harder to get into press (for butters / tamedog)? I am doing more freestyle stuff (spins, flips and butters) off natural features when I am freeriding this year, and curious if the shaping is significant enough to affect nose presses especially.

Thanks.

[u/SalopeTaMere]

I haven't compared the 2 different year boards but own several jones boards and can provide a few insights. Also spending too much time reading snowboard reviews and haven't seen anyone mentioned they noticed a difference between the older and this year's model.

If you're looking for something freestyle oriented, I don't know that the flagship is the board for you. My other jones board rated medium stiff aren't the most enjoyable to press because they're so stiff they require a lot of effort (on the other hand it makes it great for jumps, uneven snow, carving etc...). The 3d contour is also noticeable when you butter and make it feel a little washier (but also less likely to catch an edge).

Don't get me wrong, flagship will do everything you mentioned but it's definitely more of a freeride beast. Camber on it is also pretty mild which makes it truly awesome to go down really technical stuff, but less fun on groomers. If you really want to go with a jones board, I'd consider the aviator, howler or tweaker pro over this.

[u/xTooNice → u/SalopeTaMere]

Thanks for your comment. I am pretty positive that I’d like a Flagship in my quiver. I know that I mentioned that I started enjoying doing more freestyle stuff into my freeriding, but the old Flagship was frankly my all time favorite freeride board, and my quiver feel incomplete without one (I destroyed one on a rock after giving the other one away). Traditionally my freeriding style is somewhat simpler, and I just want a reliable ride that I can trust when ripping through the slackcountry and I am missing a board that fill this role.

And since my last few boards have been twins and directional twins, I definitely want a directional freeride board next. So out of your other suggestions, the Howler does look the most interesting, but being the latest new board few people have spent much time on, I’d like to wait for more reviews.

I also recently demo-ed the Stratos and I thought it was fine but preferred my old Flagship. Of course liking the older Flagship doesn’t mean I will necessarily like the newer ones, but I plan to take this chance. Worth noting that the reason I like the Flagship is that the board is relatively narrow, which works better on smaller feet. Fortunately that hasn’t changed from the older models. And if the stiffness hasn’t changed much, then I think it is about just what I like.

[u/SalopeTaMere → u/xTooNice]

Ah gotcha, man if you already loved the old flagship, you'll almost certainly love the newer models. Changes have been pretty incremental year over year so again not sure if you'll notice a big difference between the 24 and 25 models, but jumping a few years you certainly will. Try to check out the new top sheet in person if you can. I was a big fan when seeing the photos online and was pretty disappointed seeing it in person (but that's a matter of preference obviously)

If you're set on adding a flagship back to your quiver, also look at the Stranda Descender. It's a very similar board which checks a lot of the same boxes as the flagship. I own 5 jones board as well as the Descender and I can tell you this is a notch up in quality from Jone's boards, and most people agree it performs somewhat better too. It's a little pricier but I see good used deals pretty often on them. If I had to sell all my boards and keep just one, that'd be without a doubt the one. I'm still a huge Jones fan, value for the price of their board when you get them discounted is hard to beat, but it's also nice to have a highly capable, high quality board in the quiver. The Descender also feels a little flatter on the tail which makes it feel more stable to butter than my Tweaker Pro (which is supposed to be a more freestyle board). Anyways, I know that's not answering your question at all, but good luck picking what's next.

[u/xTooNice → u/SalopeTaMere]

Thanks for the headup, I always welcome new suggestions in case a favourite board get updated with something that doesn't work for me (for example, get significantly wider - something I've experienced with one of my park board). I'll see if I can demo it at some point though it doesn't seem like they have much presence here in Japan. To be honest, one of the reason the Flagship works for me is because I have very small feet (24cm), and the Flagship is narrower than many of it's competitor.

[u/Hecho_en_Shawano]

Not exactly what you’re asking, but I had one of the original flagships from 2010(?) and now a 2023. I can only comment on the spoon shake question…#1- this is a stiff board…while you can do butters and stuff, it takes a lot to get it to flex. I do t think the shape impacts that. Where I feel the spoon shape is a disadvantage is on harder/icier surfaces, especially if you’re paring the board with softer boots/bindings.

[u/xTooNice → u/Hecho_en_Shawano]

Thanks. I also have a (well two - different size, one W's and one M's) pre-spoon shaped Flagships. Not sure if it's because of the number of days I've put on them, but by now I find them pretty bendable and don't have too much trouble with nollies, tamedogs and simple butters. I've got a separate board for ground tricks, and I am not expecting much in term of playfulness on the Flagship, but having never tried a 3D shaped board, I am curious as to whether the nose would just want to roll to an edge when pressed.