Love the shape and snappy feeling of a shorter board but this 157cm still rides not quite as floaty as I hoped for my hefty weight (200 lbs + gear). Plus, with the surf shape it's not very capable. I know, it's a dedicated pow board, but I was still surprised how bad it was traversing out in variable terrain compared to my Stratos. I spent a few days switching back and forth between the two boards riding pow side country so I got a decent comparison. The SC still floats fabulously and often makes fresh tracks more efficient than following someone. It's very wide. Two very different tools but I'll be reaching for the Stratos more often than the Storm Chaser on pow days.

Side note, the top sheet is not very durable and is easily chipped. Also my precut skins weren't cut perfect and the tips of the two board halves didn't (and don't) align by about 1/8". Picky but I would expect a tight and symmetrical fit all around.

I rode the Storm Chaser for several seasons. It has a place in my heart but it only likes deep days or pow. If you have to do rodeo exists, this thing will harpon in down/ups and send you endo, not sweet buuuut.....it will also floast on 16 inch days like butter. She's a novelty and a quiver board. If you're rolling deep, put it on the shelf. If you only can get 1, see Mind Expander review.

I love my board and bindings! The board bag ripped along seem. I was wondering how to handle warranty on that item. Everything else is good.

Ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep powder , 147 split , most amazing ride , the most fun I’ve ever had in powder riding , very fast and stays on top , shreds , most fun I’ve ever had on a snowboard, so very easy to ride and control ,

Best shaped board I've ridden. Giving 5 stars despite the cons below - because the inconveniences are minor/managable and the downhill is what we hike for.

Wide - on most skintracks youre stepping off the side a bit.

Big nose - on the wiggle/traverses back to the car, any big undulations you have to hit diagonally or your big pointy nose will harpoon them and you'll tomahawk.

Short/full rocker - your skintrack looks silly and is only slightly easier for others to follow than breaking trail (sub mid shin deep). You sink in a bunch near your feet and your tip and tail stay high.

Its white? - color would be easier to spot in the event of a slide.

These same features are what make the ride down legitimately the best. Easy to turn in trees, floats like crazy, and i've dropped a cliff with almost all my weight forward and failed to drop the nose and tomahawk down. Its unreal. Buy this board.

Fast,turny and floaty. rockered like a pow board should be. bring out the 160 as a split as well for us heavy norwegian vikings!

floaty, fun, playful not so good at riding switch but meh. thanks for the fun times

Great split to have in your quiver for those not-so-safe stability days when you're riding flatter terrain after a big storm. I'm riding a 152 and I am 6"2', 175 pounds... so the board is on the small side for me. Definitely recommend getting a bigger size than 152 if you're my size. It has been a blast riding the storm chaser split this past season. I don't count on this split as my "do everything" board, but it definitely has its days.

Really nice board to ride, floats great and good manoeuvrability.
Only bad thing is too low nose!
It can get stuck easily to roots or hard pack of snow in ski mode...

I'm 190cm/80kg and riding 157 model

I ♡ Hovercraft more than my mountains (italy Alps

This is my new baby !

Out of all the boards I have ever ridden this has to be my favorite. I got the first generation hover craft many years ago for my first split-board and it is probably my most ridden to date. On powder is does its job of making you feel like you are hovering on a cloud. Even though it is a split board on powder days or days I am doing snowmobile back country and not just skinning, I will take this up as it has become my deviated powder board. It performs great not on powder to surprisingly playful and very fast. Yes I am biased as this was my first split-board and I ride a lot of jones boards but still, if I had to choose one board for the rest of my days it would be this one.

Just sits so good in powder, slashes great in slush, easy to manouver in tight spots, and lays trenches when on edge. For me its a perfect mix of a fun toy on good snow, which is what Im after, and a tool for the more demanding conditions, which is what I sometimes have to deal with.

After years of snowshoe hikes with a board strapped to my back, i finally decided to buy myself a splitboard.
Im absolutely in love with my Ultra Mountain Twin, so naturally i wanted to buy a splitboard from Jones, the best in the business when it comes to making back country boards!
After much deliberation, My very informed local Jones dealer and i decided on a 160 Hovercraft split. Im fairly new to the backcountry scene and am not doing crazy Alpine touring, i wanted Something fun but that could also hold up on those not so perfect days. I definitely wasn't disappointed!
My Hovie floats like a dream on pow days, carves and holds a beautiful line on the not so dreamy days and and is super maneuverable in between the trees. When it comes to riding down just about any kind of easy to medium level terrain, it holds its own and puts a smile on my face...
while on the up, I found the board to be easy to handle in good fluffy conditions, but iv struggled sometimes on the way up when the conditions are icy. This is most likely because im a beginner and still have pretty crappy skinning technique.
But I feel like, due to the shortness of the tail on the board, that the bindings are pushed a little too far back on the split setup and finding the right balance point, especially when kick turning, wasn't all that easy.

Apart from that, I absolutely love the way the board feels, rides and looks. I am extremely satisfied with having boat a Hovercraft as my first splitboard!

I'm a 5'10" 140lb female rider; new to splitboarding this season. I demo'd two competitors' splitboards and was pretty underwhelmed by both. So I was in a conundrum: buy one I already demo'd that would 'suffice,' or take a risk and commit to an untested Jones board?

Holy crap am I happy I went with the Jones Hovercraft. I narrowed it down to the Mindexpander, Stormchaser, and the Hovercraft. After reading all the specs etc, I decided to pull the trigger on the Hovercraft and it was love at first ride.

I got the 152 and this thing is a dream in powder, but recently I skinned up for some spring riding on my resort in egg cratey mashed potatoes type snow and it was still super fun. Not only that but the Hovercraft still glides along on flattened areas which my other powder boards would've come to a full stop on. So it was great not having to break out the poles or unstrap in flat zones.

Love this board, love Jones, and sooo happy I took the leap of faith on this one!

I have never ridden a snowboard that just feels so intuitive in the way it rides, SO playful with every feature and INSANE in the POW! Excellent on the groomers as well, amazing carving.. BUT Hard pack in tight trees is not great, board becomes harder to manuver.... as long as there is POW you will be in heaven. I am 155lbs 6'1" and ride the 160 with the Karakormas. Totally in love with this set up and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for an Epic all around POW slayer split board. Thank you JJ for making a epic board!

I bought a Hovercraft Split 160 from The Woods in Morzine in February, and rode it as a powder board to get used to it before I took it on its first touring mission in Arolla in Switzerland in late March. It blew me away, so good in the powder, and an incredible carving machine on the piste. I couldn't believe how much it felt like a solid board, if I hadn't have know it was a split I would never have guessed it was one!
The few comments I would make are:
It did get a little scratched and chipped around the edges of the top sheet when touring... my poles would inevitably hit the edge of the skis, and also the skis would sometimes overlap. I love the bamboo top sheet but it did scratch and chip quite easily. My suggestion would be to perhaps use a softer (polyurethane??) material 1/2" in around the edge of each ski on the top sheet. Whilst it wouldn't look quite as good, it would give the aesthetic a little more longevity. Bamboo does splinter and chip quite easily and after the first tour the newness of the board had definitely gone. Not the end of the world of course, but I do expect to use this board for many years to come!
Another comment would be regarding the base. The base graphic is cool, but for me I would prefer an all-black base, using the best possible (ie fastest, most hardwearing) base material. Performance for me is way more important than aesthetic, and my friend who I tour with has a hand-made swallow-tail split made by Brotherwood in France, and his base (an all-black one, not sure of the manufacturer) out-performed mine in all snow conditions we encountered in our 4000' decent. A base such as this would make the board perfect. I can only afford one splitboard, and so performance in as many snow conditions and temperatures is really important for me.
Thanks for designing and making such a sick board, I love it and can't wait to tour again with it this coming winter.. me and my buddy are planning a split boarding trip to Russia or Georgia this winter, will send you some pics for sure!
Keep up the good work!

In a slow snowy days or in a sunny powder days
Doesn't matter. It makes no difference.
My hovercraft splitboard reduces the distances between Heaven and Earth.
I'm 50 years old and when i'm with it i feel like i'm outside the time and closed to the Mother Nature at the same time.
Thank you Jones

Bought the Hovercraft Split for a "Bucket List" trip to Japan along with Karakoram Bindings. The Hovercraft rode well on all aspects... groomers, shin-deep powder, thigh-deep powder... and felt like my solid Hovercraft. While both are great, I will be keeping the split and be riding it everywhere. Buttery smooth, surfy and fast with gorilla grip edge hold! I wish I had bought this earlier and wish I had more time on the mountain. I am a split board convert! Thanks for making the Hovercraft Split!

I've been riding this split for two years now and could not be happier. The board itself is utterly amazing. The giant shovel nose floats effortlessly over power, cuts through crust like butter and even handles well on piste. The swallow tail gives it that surfy feel on the turns yet is super agile when manuvering through tight trees. The connection is flawlessly tight, I can't even tell I'm riding a split. Like the title suggests, the ride is so good I've found myself taking this board to the resort anytime they get more than 8 inches. Great design, love the look, love the feel.

My Hovercraft Split puts me in an amazing Daze of effortless float through da POW! Love this board!

I've used the Hover split for the whole 2018 season. I've been shocked at how versatile it is. It holds solid on a resort groomer and bites the snow really nicely for comfortable carving. Even more impressive is how useful it is in the backcountry. It's light enough for an easy trek up. The best part is the turns on the way down. The nose floats and the board really earns its namesake. Thanks for a great season, looking forward to more on the hover!

I love my hoovie! Such a versatile Board. It shreds pow equally as slopes. No compromise. The longish Nose makes it fly and turning goes effortless through the short tail. Exploring the Swissalps with this guy is a blast.

Can't say enough about how fun this board is in powder. Super surfy and playful while letting you float with out back leg fatigue. You barely have to lean back it just goes! I was a little concerned about how far back the binding mounts are for skinning but it works awesome. Only drawback might be on steep pitched I slide back if not concentrating on being on my heels even with risers up. Awesome deck!

My first splitboard was hard to ride. It missed the torsional flex, while the solid version of that board rides very well. So I sold it and bought a second hand Hovercraft Split. An older one, but it rides like my solid Hovercraft; like a dream. I Love the shorter ski's while skinning up, it makes the kick-turns easier. On one trip I just brought my Hovercraft Split, because it handles every (freeride) situation equally well and even a day carving groomers is big fun ;) It became a bit ragged over the years, but my new splitboard will be another Hovercraft for sure.

Last year I decided to switch for a hovercraft shape. This had multiple reasons:
First I was sick of carrying a huge bunch of weight with me so the shorter shape and therefore less weight was pretty convincing. Also: while ascending in technical difficult and steep terrain, nothing comes close to this shape.
But: the best is the feeling while riding it. Nearly effortless turns and insane agility! The best I ever had. Want to have the real surf feeling in pow? Effortless glide? Go get this shape!

Best thing that ever happened to my spiltboarding. I had a solid hovercraft and rode in all kinds conditions will great results. Not only is it beautiful its also functional. I have the 156 and @ 510" 160lb I cant sink even if I try. It skins almost as well it rips pow I love having a shorter board for setting track. I would recommend this board to almost anyone for almost any riding!

You may have heard it said time and time again that the hovercraft is a true “quiver killer". \n Believe what you hear! This board can and will do it all. \n You wanna get squirrelly in the trees? No problem. \n You wanna pin it down something steep and narrow? Done. \n You wanna huck your meat? Itll do that too. \n Seriously, once you ride a Hovercraft, youll know and once you know, thats it. Other shapes need not apply. \n Stop wondering. Believe.