How To Understand Snowboard Width, Waist Width, Flex And Sidecut

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The dimensions of a snowboard define how that board performs on snow. The dimension specs of all our models are fine tuned for specific styles of riding. Understand how waist width, flex and sidecut and stance dimensions effect board performance to find the best board for you.

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Photo – Andrew Miller

Know your snowboard waist width

The waist width of a snowboard is a critical performance dimension. If your board is too wide, it will feel slow moving edge to edge. If your board is too narrow, you will drag the toe cap or heel cup of your binding in the snow when you turn sharply. Riding a board with the ideal waist width is most critical for riders with big feet, as “heel cupping” can be dangerous on steep terrain.

Note that ideal waist width may vary based on board design. Both the Storm Chaser and Hovercraft/Ultracraft are designed to be ridden wider than normal.

Ideal waist width by men's boot size
24-25 cmUS men's 5-7
24.8-26 cmUS men's 7.5-9.5
25.2-26.3 cmUS men's 10-11
26.3-27.5 cmUS men's 11.5-14
Ideal waist width by women's boot size
23.7-24.5 cmUS women's 5-7
23.9-24.9 cmUS women's 7.5-9.5
24.1-25.3 cmUS women's 9.5-11

Know your waist width snowboard - by Jeremy Jones

Jeremy breaks down how a snowboard’s waist width affects board performance and details the waist width specs of several foundation board models of the Jones line.

Big Horn Series

If you wear US men's 11.5 or bigger, look for our Big Horn Series boards
with minimum waist width of 26.3 cm.

Explore the collection

Know your snowboard flex

Your riding level and riding style decide if you need a Medium or Stiff Flex board. Relative to the rest of the snowboard market, we don’t make soft flex boards. Medium flex boards offer good stability at speed and are easy to turn and maneuver. Stiff flex boards are really stable at high speed and in rough snow conditions, but they require solid strength and technique to ride smoothly. If you are a beginner, intermediate or freestyle focused rider, a medium flex board is your best choice. If you are an expert rider, or are looking to increase your confidence riding in steep, rough terrain, look at our stiffer models. Note that many expert riders like medium flex boards especially when riding pow.

Several Jones models feature V-CORES that affect the flex of a board from tip to tail. Boards with V-CORES are slightly softer in the very center of the board for improved maneuverability and stiffer from the inserts through the tip and tail for stability and pop.

Medium flex models
(6/10 - 7/10)

Men's Ultralight Stratos Split

Men's Ultralight Project X

Women's Stratos + Split

Men's Stratos + Split

Women's Dream Weaver + Split

Men's Frontier + Split

Freecarver 6000s

Hovercraft 2.0 + Split

Men's Mountain Twin + Split

Men's Tweaker

Mind Expander Split

Men's Mind Expander

Women's Mind Expander

Mind Expander Twin

Storm Chaser + Split

Stiff flex models
(8/10 - 10/10)

Ultralight Butterfly Split

Men's Ultralight Solution

Women's Solution

Men's Solution

Men's Ultra Flagship

Women's Flagship

Men's Flagship

Freecarver 9000s

Ultralight Hovercraft Split 2.0

Men's Ultra Mountain Twin

Women's Airheart 2.0

Men's Aviator 2.0

Men's Ultra Mind Expander

Storm Wolf

Models with
V-cores

All women's and youth models

Mind Expander Twin

Storm Wolf

Men's Aviator 2.0

Men's Flagship

Men's Mountain Twin

Hovercraft 2.0

Men's Frontier

Men's Ultralight Project X

Men's Stratos

Men's Tweaker

Know your flex snowboard - by Jeremy Jones

Jeremy breaks down how board flex affects performance and details the flex specs of several key boards in the Jones line.

Know your snowboard sidecut

Snowboard edges do not follow a straight line from tip to tail. The edges follow the shape of an arc. The size of this arc is called the Sidecut radius. Sidecut effects turn performance. A board with a long sidecut will excel at making big, fast turns. A board with a short sidecut will excel at making tighter turns at slower speeds. A board with a medium sidecut will excel at making turns of any size at medium speeds.

You can still make slow, tight turns on a board with a long sidecut, and you can make big, fast turns on a board with a short sidecut, but you will need to put more energy and muscle into the turn.

Short sidecut
(6-7 m)

Freecarver 6000s

Mind Expander Twin

Storm Chaser + Split

Women's Airheart 2.0

Women's Stratos + Split

Women's Mind Expander

Men's Mind Expander

Men's Ultra Mind Expander

Mini Mind Expander

Medium sidecut
(7-8.4 m)

Men's Mountain Twin + Split

Men's Ultra Mountain Twin

Men's Frontier + Split

Men's Stratos + Split

Men's Aviator 2.0

Men's Ultralight Project X

Women's Twin Sister

Women's Dream Weaver + Split

Tweaker

Long sidecut
(8.5-10 m)

Hovercraft 2.0 + Split

Ultralight Hovercraft Split 2.0

Men's Flagship

Men's Ultra Flagship

Storm Wolf

Men's Solution

Men's Ultralight Solution

Women's Flagship

Women's Solution

Freecarver 9000s

Know your snowboard sidecut - by Jeremy Jones

Jeremy breaks down how sidecut affects board performance and details the sidecut specs of a few foundation board models in the Jones line.

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