Expert Review: Jones Solution Splitboard · 2022

About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the split board, which I purchased with my own money in December 2022.

My take

The Jones Solution is a fantastic splitboard choice for a high intermediate or advanced rider looking for a pretty stiff freeride board. It carves and plows through chunder like a champ and rides powder with ease.

About the gear

• Model: Jones Solution Splitboard 2022
• Size: 146

About me

• Height: 5’7”
• Weight: 130 lb
• Experience: 23+ years

Test conditions

• When I bought these: December 2022
• Days tested: 3
• Mount position: +15 / -12
• Boots: 2022 Salomon Ivy
• Boot Size: 8.5
• Bindings: 2022 Union Explorer Splitboard Bindings - Small
• Where I’ve used it: Washington & Oregon
• Terrain: Semi-icy conditions, uneven terrain, a few inches of powder

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was hunting a hard-core freeride board for the backcountry. I wanted a board that could go fast, carve hard, turn quick in trees, float through powder, and plow through uneven terrain and chunder. I was looking at pretty aggressive boards.

Why I chose this gear

Jones gets consistently great reviews, and the owner of the company is really into splitboarding. So I definitely was narrowing my choices down to companies that really specialized in splitboarding, and weren’t just turning their snowboards into splits. The Solution was consistently winning awards and getting high reviews, and it also stood out because of the Traction Tech used.

The Weston Riva was a high contender in the list of boards that I looked at, as well as the Cardiff Crane. The Solution was the most well-known brand out of those and also got the best reviews.

What I love about it

• Speed: The Solution is really easy to go fast on and carve on. It’s very stable underfoot so I felt very confident riding it fast. It is a stiff board and it is made for speed!
• Edge hold: Edge hold is fantastic both on the ups and the downs with this board. Jones uses their Traction Tech 3.0 technology which places three little sidecut bumps on each side of the bindings to really dig in and provide a lot of edge hold. Even if the skin track is icy, this technology helps to lock in and feel secure and it holds a very stable edge on the way down. It is not quite at the level of Magne-Traction, but very close.
• Turns: This board loves medium and large turns, but also can hold its own in tight turns as well. The 3D Contour base has a 7mm spoon bevel in the nose that really makes turning and carving on this stiff of a board a breeze compared to older models of the Flagship before the 3D Contour base was introduced.
• Groomers: Due to its easy turning capabilities, this board makes carving on groomers really fun. It is very stable and I think the progressive sidecut on it helps provide a really smooth turn initiation.
• Powder: This board shines in powder. It is not a straight-up powder board, but the blunt nose is set to be longer than the tail and helps to float through powder without plowing through it so I can keep my speed. Despite not having the ‘slamback’ feature that some boards have, I think it’s possible to set the bindings back enough on this board to love riding powder.
• Trees: The 3D Contour base is a lifesaver in the trees. While it does like bigger carves as I mentioned, it totally holds its own in the trees as long as I muscle into it a little bit.
• Backcountry: This is an awesome design for backcountry riding. When riding off-piste I find that any type of conditions might pop up, and this board handles them all. Crusty snow, icy terrain, powder, and melting chunder in the spring can all be handled with the Solution.
• Durability: The core feels very durable, and the hardware that comes with the splitboard seems very durable as well. My only complaint is that the topsheet seems to chip very easily. I have noticed this with other Jones boards as well. This does not affect the performance of the board in any way, but the edges definitely make it look like a ‘used board’ after just a few times riding.
• Weight: The Solution feels very lightweight for a splitboard, which is great because in the backcountry every ounce counts. The back of the board is also slightly weighted to help with skinning uphill and making turns on steep terrain which is an awesome feature.
• Stability: This board really reduces underfoot chatter and is quite damp feeling. It feels very stable over just about any condition, which I love in a splitboard! It has a little bit of pop due to its camber underfoot, but I really have to muscle into it to tap into that pop due to its stiffness. It is pretty hard to butter on.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Moguls: Moguls demand even tighter turns than trees, so it is not my favorite through moguls. The Jones Stratos turns much faster and is more nimble on moguls than this board.
• Park: The Solution is pretty stiff, Jones rates it as an 8/10, so it is not the best in the park. I don’t think generally a splitboard is what I would take into the park anyways so that is to be expected! It is fine to hit little side hits in the backcountry, but I wouldn’t say it is playful.
• Switch riding: This is one of the harder boards to ride switch. I wouldn’t recommend it. The nose is fatter and the stance is set back, to begin with, but because of that slightly weighted design in the tail (which is awesome for skinning up), when I tried to ride switch it constantly tried to turn me around and was very unsteady.

Favorite moment with this gear

It is hard to pick a favorite, but I was shocked at how well this board did over chunder and stayed stable in so many variable conditions. We have ridden a lot of backcountry routes this year, from Crater Lake, OR to peaks in Utah and California, and this board keeps up! The 146 ended up being too small for me, so I no longer ride this board and purchased a longer splitboard, but my friend owns it and it is still going strong! For my size, this board would be better suited to me in the 149 or 152!

Value for the money vs. other options

I think this board is at a great price point. It comes in MSRP at $899, which is exactly the same as the Weston Riva, and cheaper than the Cardiff Crane or the Pallas Epiphany. The Solution has a lot of great technology and comes in mid-range in price but the top of the line in performance.

Final verdict

For a high-intermediate or advanced rider with a passion for speed who is looking for a versatile board with tons of stability in the backcountry, this board is perfect. It is packed with technology special to Jones that enhances its performance like the Traction Tech and the 3D Contour Base and is durable enough to take on any terrain.