Review: Jones women's Flagship 152 2015/16
Setup/stats: +18/-6 angles; stance 58.5cm/23in (reference would be 55cm, I've shifted the hind bindings to the last inserts); 115lb (boards range is 110-160lbs)
Ride Cadence mondo size 25 boots; Burton Lexa bindings -> combination of boot, binding n board fit awesomely. Had ridden her initially with the way stiffer Deeluxe XV boots which I need to master the men's Flag; but this sweet lady rides well also with not sooo very stiff boots.
Terrain: Alps; groomers from cold hardpack to soft snow to spring slush; BC so far in mid steep alpine terrain with wide open bowls and tight gullies; from thigh deep fresh, cold n light to warmer heavier snow.
General impression: Replaced my Mothership 156 from 14 (review: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/women-s-boards/138905-review-jones-mothership-156-14-a-5.html) by the this years 152 model, now called women's Flagship. Reason to size down was the wish to go more narrow to gain leverage. The initially feared potential loss of stability/float/edgehold by sizing down didn't take place. Seems as if not only the name has changed. I already liked the '14 a lot, but this lady now? Pure love. Each day I take her out I annoy the SO with my constant "I sooooo love this board!" raves
.
Even tho she's maller than my former MS, she's similarly or even more stable at speed, be it on groomers or straightlining pow. With the MS, I sometimes I had the impression that she got a tad squirrely when riding at speed in pow (one of the reasons I preferred the men's Flag over the MS for fast lines in open terrain). But the new women's Flag was totally predictable and stable even when riding pow lines at speed. Guess, I'll sell my men's Flag now...
Other than that, the take is pretty similar like from the '14 MS:
- Carves awesomely
- nimble n agile be it in moguled groomers or in tight gullies in pow
- Base is very fast - still riding with factory wax - and remarkably resistant.
- She eats crud, bumps, chop. One can just point her and plow over rutted pow as well as afternoon groomers.
- Big turns are as fun as tight quick turns, the gained leverage from going more narrow was a big gain for me.
- Float is effortless in 50cm fresh cold light-ish Alps pow as well as in heavy warmer deep. The big rocker nose still does an awesome job delivering float even on this smaller size, no need at all to size up.
- Edge hold on icy groomer patches also still is prime.
So yeah: hands down, best board I ever had.
This board would be a great option for light n small footed freeride guys.
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Terrain
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Disclaimer: I've discussed with some other women I met on demo days recently. Some didn't like neither the women's Flag nor the split version. Said that they were way too stiff for their taste, that they had troubles to ride them. So when I say this board is "nimble n agile", keep in mind that I've mainly ridden stiff big wide men's boards for a long time, so take it with a pinch of salt.
Setup/stats: +18/-6 angles; stance 58.5cm/23in (reference would be 55cm, I've shifted the hind bindings to the last inserts); 115lb (boards range is 110-160lbs)
Ride Cadence mondo size 25 boots; Burton Lexa bindings -> combination of boot, binding n board fit awesomely. Had ridden her initially with the way stiffer Deeluxe XV boots which I need to master the men's Flag; but this sweet lady rides well also with not sooo very stiff boots.
Terrain: Alps; groomers from cold hardpack to soft snow to spring slush; BC so far in mid steep alpine terrain with wide open bowls and tight gullies; from thigh deep fresh, cold n light to warmer heavier snow.
General impression: Replaced my Mothership 156 from 14 (review: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/women-s-boards/138905-review-jones-mothership-156-14-a-5.html) by the this years 152 model, now called women's Flagship. Reason to size down was the wish to go more narrow to gain leverage. The initially feared potential loss of stability/float/edgehold by sizing down didn't take place. Seems as if not only the name has changed. I already liked the '14 a lot, but this lady now? Pure love. Each day I take her out I annoy the SO with my constant "I sooooo love this board!" raves
. Even tho she's maller than my former MS, she's similarly or even more stable at speed, be it on groomers or straightlining pow. With the MS, I sometimes I had the impression that she got a tad squirrely when riding at speed in pow (one of the reasons I preferred the men's Flag over the MS for fast lines in open terrain). But the new women's Flag was totally predictable and stable even when riding pow lines at speed. Guess, I'll sell my men's Flag now...
Other than that, the take is pretty similar like from the '14 MS:
- Carves awesomely
- nimble n agile be it in moguled groomers or in tight gullies in pow
- Base is very fast - still riding with factory wax
- and remarkably resistant.- She eats crud, bumps, chop. One can just point her and plow over rutted pow as well as afternoon groomers.
- Big turns are as fun as tight quick turns, the gained leverage from going more narrow was a big gain for me.
- Float is effortless in 50cm fresh cold light-ish Alps pow as well as in heavy warmer deep. The big rocker nose still does an awesome job delivering float even on this smaller size, no need at all to size up.
- Edge hold on icy groomer patches also still is prime.
So yeah: hands down, best board I ever had.
This board would be a great option for light n small footed freeride guys.
Terrain
Disclaimer: I've discussed with some other women I met on demo days recently. Some didn't like neither the women's Flag nor the split version. Said that they were way too stiff for their taste, that they had troubles to ride them. So when I say this board is "nimble n agile", keep in mind that I've mainly ridden stiff big wide men's boards for a long time, so take it with a pinch of salt
.
