Camber between the feet is what Shaun credits for the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 carving back to the T-bar with confidence, and its rockered nose planed over heavy afternoon slush, the closest thing to deep snow a summer glacier offers. It scores 90 out of 100 and ranks #2 in our best powder snowboards guide as our best powder snowboard for all-mountain riding.
What is the best powder snowboard for all-mountain riding?
Jones Mind Expander 2.0 takes our best powder snowboard for all-mountain riding award, which scored 90, with 9.5 for float, and planed over heavy afternoon slush with almost no effort before carving back to the T-bar with real grip.
Jones Mind Expander 2.0
- Length tested: 154 cm
- Weight: 2,890 g
- Profile: Directional camber / rocker
- Flex: 6/10 (maker)
Bottom Line : Float and carving in one board, from the mid-price tier, with no score below 8.5. The nose feels loose until you roll it onto an edge.
Pros
- Float 9.5: the long, rockered nose glided over heavy slush with zero effort
- Agility 9.0 through tight slush berms and narrow chutes
- Carving 9.0: camber between the feet gave real hold on the morning run
- No score below 8.5, so there's no weak spot
Cons
- The nose feels loose and wandering when flat-basing on slick snow
- Crust 8.5 is its lowest score
- Not as hard-charging on firm snow as the Excavator
On the Mountain
Two testers, one stretch of T-bar apron: Shaun led and Amy co-tested the 154 cm through June and July 2026 at Whistler Blackcomb. Float was measured in heavy, rutted afternoon slush and pushed-up berms, the only snow behind the float score.
The long, rockered nose planed over the slush with zero effort and the forebody kept gliding. The 9.5 for float is joint-second, behind the Fish 3D's 10.0. The maker lists a high 3D contour base.
It carved too. The camber between the feet gave this 2.0 carve hold and rebound on the firm morning run back to the T-bar, and it scored 9.0 for carving.
Adding camber between the feet for the 2.0 redesign completely transformed this deck. … this version actually bites, stores energy, and carves back to the T-bar with genuine confidence.
Shaun
Tight spots were easy as well. A short turning radius and a blunted tail made it quick and playful through slush berms and narrow chutes (agility 9.0), and the edge bumps sliced through rough crust while the core damped chatter (8.5).
Where It Asks Something of You
The nose is the catch. Amy found that flat-basing on slick morning snow gave a loose, wandering sensation until she engaged an edge deliberately.
… it planes through slush piles like magic, but flat-basing on slick morning flats gives you that loose, wandering sensation until you deliberately engage an edge.
Amy
Rough snow was its lowest score at 8.5, and it doesn't hold a line over refrozen ruts quite like the Excavator. The topsheet took faint cosmetic scuffs and the base stayed pristine.
Spec Sheet vs Our Test
Directional camber and rocker. Camber under the feet and rocker in the nose is how the maker describes the profile, and it's the whole story of the 2.0: Shaun's camber-between-the-feet finding explains the carve hold, and the rocker explains the loose feel before you roll onto an edge. For you, that means you get both in that order, a floaty nose first and grip second.
High 3D contour base. The maker lists a high 3D contour base, and in our test the nose planed over slush piles with almost no effort, so the base shaping and the rockered nose worked together for float. We can't separate how much comes from the base and how much from the nose shape, and we only rode slush. Treat it as proof of slush float and a promising sign for deeper snow, not as a powder result.
Carving, park, powder and backcountry. The maker sells the 2.0 as an all-mountain board for carving, park, powder and backcountry riding. Carving held up at 9.0 and slush float came in at 9.5, so two of the four claims have our evidence behind them; park and backcountry are untested here, and powder is our judgment from slush rather than a test. Read it as a strong carver with a floaty nose.
Should You Buy the Jones Mind Expander 2.0?
The Mind Expander 2.0 is the board to buy if you don't want a second board for firm days. It scored 90 in the mid-price tier, tied with the Excavator, and no score drops below 8.5. Surf-style riders who want a rockered nose's float and real camber grip get the most from it.
Choose the Excavator instead if you want more grip and rough-snow control and don't mind a stiffer ride, or the Fish 3D if float is the only thing you care about.
The 9.5 for slush float is a good sign for deeper snow, but that's our judgment, not a test.
Compare With
- K2 Excavator: our best overall powder snowboard.
- Lib Tech T.Rice Orca: our best volume-shifted snowboard.
- Salomon Dancehaul: our best powder snowboard for freestyle.
- Ride Warpig: our best powder snowboard for big boots.
- Arbor Single: our best budget powder snowboard.
- Burton Fish 3D: our best surf-style powder snowboard.
- Rome Service Dog: our best powder snowboard for slash laps.
- Bataleon Party Wave: our best powder snowboard for casual riding.
- CAPiTA Slush Slasher 2.0: our best lightweight powder snowboard.
See all ten, and how we tested them, in our best powder snowboards guide.
Ranked in our Best Powder Snowboards guide. All our tested picks, guides and reviews are in our Best Snowboards hub.
Editor's Note, 12 November 2026: New review. Shaun led and Amy co-tested the Jones Mind Expander 2.0 at 154 cm, and we weighed it at 2,890 g, in June and July 2026 on Horstman Glacier at Whistler Blackcomb.
Our Testers
This review was edited by Sean Williams and tested by Shaun Taylor and Amy Carter on Horstman Glacier at Whistler Blackcomb.
- Sean Williams, Editor-in-Chief. A former commercial outdoor copywriter and gear journalist who runs Top-Notch Outdoor as an independent publisher, with no brand-funded trips and no supplied ad copy.
- Shaun Taylor, Freeride Snowboard Tester. Raced banked slalom and halfpipe in the late 1980s and 1990s before turning to backcountry freeriding, and a finish carpenter by trade. Shaun led the Jones Mind Expander 2.0.
- Amy Carter, Freestyle Snowboard Tester. An action sports videographer and terrain park builder, and our strongest snowboarder. Amy co-tested the Jones Mind Expander 2.0.
