Today, we’re facing off the Jones Tweaker and the CAPiTA Defenders of Awesome at Powder Mountain in Utah. Which board will dominate the leaderboard?

Check out the video below or read on to see what happens.

And before we jump in, a quick note that we aren’t sponsored by any brands to create this review. These are our own personal opinions on these boards. Now let’s get to it!

A bit about us

Everett Pelkey

• Height: 5’7"
• Weight: 180 lbs
• Years Snowboarding: 19
• Favorite Terrain: Anywhere you can bring freestyle fun and turn the mountain into a playground

Mike Leighton

• Height: 6’2”
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Years Snowboarding: 23
• Favorite Terrain: Steeps or trees if the snow is soft. Ripping groomers or the park if it's sunny

CAPiTA Defenders of Awesome (DOA)

• True Twin
• Medium Flex (5/10)
• Rocker / Camber / Rocker

The CAPiTA the Defenders of Awesome is a true twin freestyle deck that features the RESORT V1 Profile—which is predominantly camber—but has some pockets of flat camber and reverse into CAPiTA’s Wapow technology in the tip and the tail. It is designed to take freestyle all over the mountain—no matter the conditions.

Jones Tweaker

• True Twin
• Medium / Stiff Flex (6/10)
• Camber

As a brand, Jones is synonymous with all-mountain. But with the Tweaker, they're finally entering into the freestyle world. This board features one of the softest sides Jones has in the range—jumping heavily into freestyle without totally using their all-mountain rideability.

First up…

[Everett] The overall carvability on both of these boards is surprisingly much more fun than I expected. But, that's where the all-mountain piece comes into play on a freestyle board. You normally get the edge control where you need it for approaching a feature, but it also translated into a lot more of the mountain than I expected.

That's where I thought the Jones really shined through. The all-mountain knowledge that they have in the rest of their lineup shines through this board without losing playfulness.

[Mike] I was definitely able to feel that bit of V-softness in the middle of the Tweaker. I was able to create more torsional twist, and it was easier to get it up on edge—though I wasn't as confident doing so. However, when the DOA got up on edge, it was really nimble, it was really quick, and it held a clean edge.

[Everett] I found the extra hold on the Tweaker made a huge difference when it came to really pushing in turns harder than I would ever expect on a softer-style board. Because the CAPiTA was a little softer, it took me a while to find out that when you do less work, you get more out of it.

[Mike] My choice for carving is the DOA.

[Everett] Surprisingly, I'm gonna go with the Tweaker.

Next up…

[Everett] With the Tweaker, everything just became fun. It was a playful performance board that still had the stability to feel confident the entire time I was riding. And especially with this blunt nose on it, pressing felt super cool. It misses out on the rocker or the reverse camber like the CAPiTA has, but this board was able to get up there and stay up there, and you can really push that point pretty far into the nose or tail.

[Mike] The Tweaker is super playful, super easy to butter, and super easy to spin. With the DOA, I do think more "we're going to the park, that's what we're doing." I popped a 180 in the middle of that mogul field, rode out switch, and thought, "this thing's stable."

[Everett] Mike, you looked effortless the entire time you were riding the DOA, and it made me think, "Ooh, I gotta get my feet on that thing," because you’re a bigger rider, so normally you put more energy into a board to make something happen. But it looked like you weren't even trying, and things were just coming around on this.

[Mike] I really liked the Jones in terms of what you can do with it: play with the pressure points and change them; you can really press the board and spin around. Whereas I think the DOA doesn't matter what direction it’s going. It's gonna be fun as long as you're paying attention and you ride in the right direction.

[Everett] But watch out for that rocker. It sneaks up every once in a while.

[Everett] I really like the Jones for the freestyle aspect, but I also like the playfulness in the CAPiTA because it has those pockets where you can push into it without really trying too hard. I definitely see it as more of an all-mountain board, but you can still push it into jib sections.

[Mike] I agree with that. If you're someone that really likes playfulness and playing with where the pressure points are, or playing with that softer bit of the core, the Jones is a great board. But, overall, for my style of freestyle riding, I have to go with the DOA. I just had way too much fun on it.

[Everett] I'm gonna go with the CAPiTA, 'cause in the freestyle aspect, it nails it. It's effortless, and initiating spins felt like a breeze. No catch, no nothing on that board. I feel like you can really surprise yourself on how many tricks you can pull on it.

Last up…

[Mike] The DOA performs decently in powder, but it's not going to be a standout. The DNA of the DOA is its true twin freestyle background. It does have a little bit of a flat camber to reverse camber into the tip, which kind of kicks up. So, it will flow through some softer snow, chop, or chunder. But it's not gonna be great.

[Everett] Yeah, don't expect it to be amazing on those super deep powder days.

[Mike] You can still play around with it—I was able to spin a bit in the softer snow. It can do that, but it's not going to excel at that. Now, what do you think, Everett? Because Jones made a true twin, freestyle-focused board.

[Everett] That makes me so happy, as the mature child I am. I really want to push the limits of my freestyle riding without getting bucked in the park every day. So I wanna take that ability out into the freeride world, and that's where the Tweaker felt great—being able to just do more free riding a little bit and using that to my advantage, but then still having the playful freeride aspect. It held an edge great—I really liked that.

We were able to take these through trees at some point, and both of these surprisingly did better than expected. The dampening wasn't the greatest, but it was good enough.

[Mike] These boards are both 156cm, but the DOA is narrower than the Jones is. In the freeride world, you want more of a wider foot and a wider base. So, I really liked how the Tweaker felt. I felt that the CAPiTA is more nimble edge to edge. So, if we were in perfect conditions in some of that tighter stuff, the DOA would be awesome. But the Jones still has the ability to torsionally flex it, and independently; you can still move it around quickly. And even though it's a 156, with that blunted tip and tail, it rides a bit longer. So you have more control, but it's still nimble.

[Everett] And control was key with these boards. I felt way more control on the Tweaker. The CAPiTA felt a lot more loose, and like I was overpowering it at times. But understanding that less is more with this kind of board is what keeps it so awesome. You don't have to try too hard to achieve what you're going for.

[Mike] Overall, from a freeride perspective, I have to go with the Jones Tweaker—it just comes from freeride DNA. The CAPiTA does fine, but it’s something I would reach for if I wasn't going to be spending a ton of time in the park.

[Everett] And I'm right there with you. I would also pick the Jones.

The Verdict

[Everett] This was a tough one. It was just fun to find a good, freestyle, all-mountain board that was heavily focused on freestyle, but able to go everywhere else.

[Mike] For me and the way I ride, the CAPiTA DOA can handle everything in freeride; it doesn't excel in a true freeride train, but it can handle it. And you can land switch, you can take off switch, you can spin, and you can still play all around. The DOA is just fun. I was always grinning while riding it.

[Everett] The DOA is a solid, fun board, and it definitely has more than just roots in park riding. But, at the end of the day, my choice is the Jones Tweaker. I've never smiled so hard on a board since first step, and I kind of went buck wild on it.

[Mike] As you can see, different snowboards work differently for different riders. So either speak with myself, Everett, or another one of our Curated Snowboard Experts, and we'll help you find the perfect board for you. And, if you like what you see, hit that subscribe button to see more awesome content from Curated.