# Jones mountain twin, good choice?



## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

Hi, im new here!

I’m Dutch, and as you probably know Holland is flat. That means to go snowboarding I can go indoors (sucks) or I can go to the Alps. I’ve been doing the last for about 18 years now. Been on a snowboard for about 14 years. However, time is usually limited to 1 week a year, sometimes 2 but no more than that 

The last 5 years I’ve been riding on a K2 Titan 159 (2007 model) I had burton mission bindings but broke a highback, no spare parts where we were so had to buy a new set… I ended up buying burton triads (2009 I think). Because they were 50% off and I didn’t have a ton of money at the time. Not the best combination but ok….

I like freeriding, bit of an all mountain boarder and like to try everything (except rails, not a fan of them, they hurt!) jumps are cool but really need to practice more on them. I'm pretty good at charging down the mountain at 85+km/h but it's time for something new!

Because the K2 titan is a real stiff board and more of a ‘charge down the mountain / endless grip and pressure’ kind of board I’m looking in to getting something that is more playful. That’ll be good fun to do some jumps with and has some more pop.

Did some research and read a bunch of reviews and It seems like the Jones Mountain Twin is a good board for me, good at a lot of stuff, can still go fast and do powder and groomers without a problem but more fun to be on than my titan. All the reviews I found keep saying ‘best all mountain board of this season’.

Info about me:
Age: 28 years old
Length 1.93 meters (that’s 6ft 5”)
Weight 86kg’s (thats just under 190 lbs)
Boots Salomon pledge 45 2/3 (US size 11-11.5)
Budget doesn’t really bother me too much.

So a few questions:
-What do you think about my choice, the jones mountain twin, does it sound good for me? If not, what would you pick for me?
-Boardlength; I’m on a titan 159 (titan is a wide board). Do I need a wide board? At the moment my bindings are at 15 degrees forward and 12 degrees back (duck stance). Go for the 160? Or the 161XL? What’s your opinion? Read somewhere that the mountain twin is a ‘mid / wide board’ so that I probably won’t need a wide version??
-New bindings? Burton triads are more of a freestyle binding, switch to something like Cartels? I keep having issues with the screws of the highback coming lose on burton bindings, so I’m thinking about a different brand… all tips are welcome.

Bit of an offtopic question: I have always had my bindings on the reference stance on my board. I’m pretty tall so would you guys advise me to increase the distance between the bindings a bit? Probably just try and see how it feels but is there a sort of reference chart for how far apart to put the bindings?

Sorry for the wall of text, hope you guys can help me with some advice!
Thnx!


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## Supra (Jan 11, 2012)

the mountain twin is a good board. you won't need new bindings.


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

thnx for the response, got to start somewhere...

still the question stands, do I need a wide board with size 11-11.5 boots?
and what length? :icon_scratch:

Age: 28 years old
Length 1.93 meters (that’s 6ft 5”)
Weight 86kg’s (thats just under 190 lbs)
Boots Salomon pledge 45 2/3 (US size 11-11.5)
Budget doesn’t really bother me too much.

Also still have no idea how to chose what bindings go well with a jones MT? :huh:


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## Supra (Jan 11, 2012)

Burton cartel reflex will make you happy.

What's the waist widths on the regular mtwin vs the wide? But I would guess you'd want the wide


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

10.1 inches on the 160 and 10.2 inches on the 161W, 10.3 on the 164W
see the above image...

I'm leaning towards the 161W with probably burton cartel reflex, sounds like a good como to me. I'll do some more reasearch on the bindings but thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

161W should be good with my weight right ?
go for normal stance width (reference) or maybe go for 2 cm wider (im pretty tall)?


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

Wabs said:


> 10.1 inches on the 160 and 10.2 inches on the 161W, 10.3 on the 164W
> see the above image...
> 
> I'm leaning towards the 161W with probably burton cartel reflex, sounds like a good como to me. I'll do some more reasearch on the bindings but thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
> ...


If you are keeping the Titan, then I would say the 158W. Plenty big for you and will just be a bit more playful, i.e., a better complement for a quiver approach.

If you are looking at this as your only board, the 160 might be wide enough already - try with your bare feet to confirm.


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

hktrdr said:


> If you are keeping the Titan, then I would say the 158W. Plenty big for you and will just be a bit more playful, i.e., a better complement for a quiver approach.
> 
> If you are looking at this as your only board, the 160 might be wide enough already - try with your bare feet to confirm.


how do you test that without actually testing the board in the snow? bare feet?
pls explain how


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## Supra (Jan 11, 2012)

I think size 11's should fit on a 25.6 waist. I have 10's and I have gone down to 249 before.

For stance width, it's just personal preference. I'm 189cm and I have a 60 or 60.5 stance


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

Supra said:


> I think size 11's should fit on a 25.6 waist. I have 10's and I have gone down to 249 before.
> 
> For stance width, it's just personal preference. I'm 189cm and I have a 60 or 60.5 stance


good good, ill go and have a look at the shop before I buy the board but I'll see if I can get it all to fit on a normal 160.

stance will just try reference first and then up the width a bit and see if that still feels good... I'll let you guys know 

thnx for the tips!


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

Wabs said:


> how do you test that without actually testing the board in the snow? bare feet?
> pls explain how


Read wired's excellent explanation (e.g., here).

Standing on the board with bare feet in the usual riding positions, the toes/heel should just be at the edge of the board or have slight overhang. This is because foot size is the primary determinant for proper board width, as it determines to what extent the rider can have proper edge control. 
Size/dimensions of the boot will then determine toe and heel overhang/drag, but that is a secondary concern.


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

hktrdr said:


> Read wired's excellent explanation (e.g., here).
> 
> Standing on the board with bare feet in the usual riding positions, the toes/heel should just be at the edge of the board or have slight overhang. This is because foot size is the primary determinant for proper board width, as it determines to what extent the rider can have proper edge control.
> Size/dimensions of the boot will then determine toe and heel overhang/drag, but that is a secondary concern.


sweet, thanks for the link 

edit: foot length 27.5cm
my titan is 27.3cm at the reference inserts

now to figure out how wide the MT is at the inserts...
Anybody have one that he can measure?
158W 160 161W and 164W id like to see... but the first two are most important


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

Wabs said:


> sweet, thanks for the link
> 
> edit: foot length 27.5cm
> my titan is 27.3cm at the reference inserts
> ...


I do not have the answer to that question - hopefully somebody else will.

However, one 'quick & dirty' trick is to take the mean of the waist and the nose/tail width to get an approximate width at the inserts (of course, in reality it depends on the sidecut of the board and the stance width). Using that approach yields 27.9cm for the 158W and 27.8cm for the 160 - even if it is a little less in reality, both boards look plenty wide enough.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that the 160 is a good size for you.


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

hktrdr said:


> I do not have the answer to that question - hopefully somebody else will.
> 
> However, one 'quick & dirty' trick is to take the mean of the waist and the nose/tail width to get an approximate width at the inserts (of course, in reality it depends on the sidecut of the board and the stance width). Using that approach yields 27.9cm for the 158W and 27.8cm for the 160 - even if it is a little less in reality, both boards look plenty wide enough.
> The more I think about it, the more I believe that the 160 is a good size for you.


I was thinking of 'drawing' the boards in inventor. I know the width at the waist and at the ends, I know the place of the inserts and I know the radius of the sidecut. Can calculate the rest... easy! (inventor is downloading  ) have it at work but not at home yet...

But yeah the more we discuss it I bet I'll end up buying a 160  hehe


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## suburbanlegend8 (Nov 14, 2012)

Wabs said:


> thnx for the response, got to start somewhere...
> 
> still the question stands, do I need a wide board with size 11-11.5 boots?
> and what length? :icon_scratch:
> ...


You start needing a wide board with size 12 boots. I wear a size 11 boot and I was fine on the 159 Mountain Twin, which I think is a 25.3 width. I'm not sure if that changes with an 11.5 boot, but I'm guessing you'd still be alright.

Bindings I'd go with a mid-stiff freestyle binding. Malavitas might be a good choice. I rode a mountain twin on saturday. It's a fun board, playful in the tips and really fast. I wasn't crazy about the way it engaged an edge as you went edge to edge, it was responsive but it seemed like you had to consciously work to make sure the edge was locked in. Once you were in it was stable and wasn't going to wash out. What you get in return is a board that is really playful in the tips and really fun to butter around on while still having stability at speed. It's one of the fastest boards I've ever ridden. I'd describe it as an all mountain freestyle board. I wouldn't get this board as an all mountain charger but it sounds like you already have that covered.


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

suburbanlegend8 said:


> You start needing a wide board with size 12 boots. I wear a size 11 boot and I was fine on the 159 Mountain Twin, which I think is a 25.3 width. I'm not sure if that changes with an 11.5 boot, but I'm guessing you'd still be alright.
> 
> Bindings I'd go with a mid-stiff freestyle binding. Malavitas might be a good choice. I rode a mountain twin on saturday. It's a fun board, playful in the tips and really fast. I wasn't crazy about the way it engaged an edge as you went edge to edge, it was responsive but it seemed like you had to consciously work to make sure the edge was locked in. Once you were in it was stable and wasn't going to wash out. What you get in return is a board that is really playful in the tips and really fun to butter around on while still having stability at speed. It's one of the fastest boards I've ever ridden. I'd describe it as an all mountain freestyle board. I wouldn't get this board as an all mountain charger but it sounds like you already have that covered.


thnx for your opinion. nice! Sounds like a lot of fun but I'm going to keep the Titan on the side for the first few weeks and not sell it until I've had some good rides on the MT to make sure I like it. but sounds like just the thing I'm looking for... :yahoo:

BTW, I sketched the 160 in inventor, with a sidecut of 8 meters and the waist width set at 25.6cm. And i went for the middel of maximum and minimum stance (thats 580mm) the width of the board at the inserts (580 apart) is 27.7cm, Very close to what Hktrdr estimated. so that sounds like more than enough for my hooves! (since my titan is a far bit slimmer at those points)


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## Wabs (Feb 4, 2013)

Finnaly got the board, Jones MT 160.
Loads of shops were sold out so was lucky to find one, 20% discount too 

board is a bit less wide than calculated, its 26,8cm at the inserts but still looks fine for my boots.

Bindings should arrive tomorrow. Burton Cartel Regional Love (Austrian version, bright red.)

Ill post a picture of the set when they are delivered, Im a happy man! :yahoo:


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