Jones Freecarver 9000 vs. Stranda Cheater // A Carving Board Review 

Thank you so much 😊🙏🙏

Thank you so much for participating!! 😊🙌 This was great!! Take care!!

The run on the Cheater I simply rode faster, more open turns. The run was two hours after my run on the Freecarver earlier in the video. Despite being much bumpier and riding much faster, I felt more secure and planted on the Cheater. The stiff centre section really keeps the feet calm! The Jones actually has a larger sidecut radius. Freecarver 9000 156: 9.2m / Cheater 170: 8.5m.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel I’ll just keep searching for an improvement on carving this old body!

Great to hear!

There's so much more to say about both boards.... Didn't want to make it too long and too complicated. This is a simple takeaway from about five runs coming from two very different rider levels. Would be cool to maybe make another video where I just talk about the boards or their general designs... :-) Thanks for watching and the kind words!

Ha! Awesome! Yeah, we had a great day. I'm so grateful that he let me ride that board. I was quite curious about it.

Small world. Mount St. Louis Moonstone represent 🙌🏻🏂. Catch you on the hill next season Gorb🤙🏻!

@@scottharrald6050 it can't come soon enough, big time missing our beautiful short and very wide groomers

Not much.... A surf skate is great training!! I ride mountain bikes otherwise and hike a lot...

Thank you very much! What does your terrain look like? Steep, narrow?? Or mellow, open groomers??

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel open groomers

@@muratkantar3779 I think both boards are a good choice. The Korua tends to finish turns more openly, less back up the hill, carrying more speed down the fall line. The Jones needs less input to come back up the hill (less taper!). The Korua is clearly the better pow board out of the two, if that matters at all.... The different flexes create two very different boards, and I can't make that decision for you... I would like the Korua better for its flex and the Jones better for its turn shape.... Tough one!

Yeah, probably around 1.25°... Just that bit more than 1°. Makes total sense what you say about the torsional flex.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel perfect, thanks for the fast response. I have an adjustable base bevel tool in .25degrees increments, so that'll do. Keep your enthusiasm up!

You're throwing lots of things into one bucket, and they might not all fit in there. If you want a playful feel, you don't want length or torsional stiffness. If you want to carve at a higher level you want both. Edge grip is something the rider creates - and of course a sharp edge helps! But I can carve on just about any snowboard..., because it's about learning how to stack yourself above the edge at any given point throughout your turn. That is a long journey, and as you improve, you will find the limits of certain boards. You might also find that you want to build a small quiver and instead of aiming for one board that does everything ok but nothing really well, you might invest into a second one. That will make things much more efficient, and there are great options that bridge the gap between powder and carving, for example.

Cafe Racer is fun. If you ride steeper groomers and want to bring the board around in S-turns, fully finished across the slope, the Koruas are a little harder to do that with. The ample amounts of taper and the regressive sidecuts (larger radius in the tail) make for a board that is happier finishing turns more at speed, diagonally down the hill. This is awesome when you have the space and when the pitch of the run doesn't force you to constantly slow down. On steeper runs all Strandas are more functional. Totally a personal preference thing! One other thing to bear in mind is overall board ingredients. As much as Korua rides really well, it is a pretty simple wood core and overall construction (from what I can see on their homepage), just poplar... doesn't hold the flex as long as the Strandas with ash wood. If you buy a Korua, don't put a Burton binding on it!! It will destroy the top sheet and leave deep indentations at the corners of the bindings.... Their top sheets are a little weak and the Burton bindings aren't padded.... (That being said, they aren't very good for Stranda's high gloss wood top sheets either....). Hope that helps. Make it depend on your terrain!

Thanks for the kind words! Sorry, never tried a Donek. Would love to, though.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel I'd love to see a review when you do. 😉

I agree with every single thing you just wrote!! ❤️

Hi, so the Shorty is fairly soft torsionally and longitudinally but still damp? Sounds amazing

@@bimfred Stranda is generally torsionally on the stiffer side - because torsional stiffness contributes massively to edge grip. The Shorty is powerful! The centre and tail are fairly solid, but the very nose is soft to help with vibration absorption and float in powder. It's overall softer than the Cheater. It's much stiffer than the Freecarver! I find it an easy to ride board, but I'm learning over and over again that I perceive things a little differently from the masses... I'm used to stiffer boards and I can ride them despite my low weight, because I can commit more an Everything Stranda is damp. That is due to the construction with high ash content. The Freecarver was pretty damp, too, but due to the stiffer nose a little more 'stubborn' in that area.

The Shorty has some longitudinal flex, without a lot of camber to work against, but there is some torsional rigidity. My 164 Shorty feels like a lot more board than my 165 Korua Trenchdigger, but in a good way. It does like some speed though… and will handle a lot of speed.

I should note that the Shorty was my first ‘carving’ board. When I got it I thought I’d use it equally as much as a powder gun, but I actually spend way more time on fresh groomers. It got me hooked on carving.

I could bend both boards into any desired turn shape with my 136 lbs…. Not a big noticeable difference.

Not sure I understand what conclusions you're drawing from what I said in the video?! Can you clarify? The board has great grip and needs the base bevel it has. The flex pattern however is not necessarily the best for ice from my experience. Stiff tips don't help with ice. Mervin boards offer mechanical grip through magnetraction, which is unnecessary if other design aspects have been considered. Edge grip is achieved when the pressure from the rider and the occurring forces are being distributed along the entire edge evenly! A board that is soft in the centre and stiff in the tips can't possibly do that at a certain level. My best boards for hard conditions have nothing but a flex pattern that has been designed with the sidecut and a sharp edge.... Base bevel has little to do with grip/sharpness, but has everything to do with how early or late the edge engages. On firm snow/ice you need early engagement - hence less base bevel on race boards/skis. Mervin's factory tune - sorry Mervin!!! - is one of the most inconsistent and flat out one of the worst in the industry. The bases are often furry and the edges are mostly unfinished - as in: no polishing after setting random angles with a belt grinder. Running your fingertips over brand new Mervin edges you will likely find a coarse finish. I've been having the impression that they simply don't care too much about that, because they bank on Magnetraction. Personally, Magnetraction slows me down and digs too deep. It is also a pain to tune. So for me please none or only very little of that stuff. Stranda Descender and Biru have one super mellow bump under each binding, which is barely visible. I don't even think the boards need it, but it's really only noticeable when it's super firm. That's the most I'd ever want and pay for on a snowboard. Jones imo is on the cusp of feeling too much. Definitely grips, though, of course.....

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel I appreciate the detailed response!

With my samples, both the 6000s and 9000s have clearly better edge grip on icy snow than my Mervin boards. With all of these, including the Jones having Magne Traction, I do attribute that to pronounced camber and long effective edge for the Freecarvers vs. C32BTX and only on the shortest C3 for the Mervins.

It's soft the first 12cm from the contact point inwards then stiffens up gradually. Right in front of the bindings it's solid, and even more so in the centre. That, imo, is the way to go.... The tip flex together with the tighter sidecut in the tip creates good turn initiation, the centre stays planted and free of torsional wobble through the turn. I have a friend who is riding this board full front foot with 190 lbs, 6'2".

I'd say the nose of the Biru is softer, while the centre is stiffer than the Freecarver. The tails are similar. Very different boards. The Freecarver is a good carver. The 6000 wouldn't be my jam at all, because I ride steep terrain at speed. I'd overpower the sidecut in every turn. The 9000 is much better for where I am and how I ride. I just didn't get used to that soft centre.... Stiffness between and under the feet gives me great confidence and creates a calm board on edge - at least that's how that feels to me. So the Biru is closer to the 6000 in the way it turns, and closer to the Cheater in the way it flexes. If I had to pick between the 6000 and the Biru, I'd go Biru for the flex. But really, I don't ride the Biru much either.... Just not quite the right board for me here in Fernie. 9000 and Biru simply don't compare. And as Scott says in the video, the Jones flex has its advantages when you want more versatility. But imo the Cheater outcarves the board by a fair bit with a calmer, more planted, more confidence inspiring nature.

Never ridden any Amplid. Sorry.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel The Pentaquark is Amplid’s carving board and only comes in one size (and mine is honestly a little narrow for my size 12s) but the anti-vibration tech in the board is better than any other brand I’ve tried. I plan to be in Fernie next week for the final days of the season. Hit me up if you want to try it…

@@shadycanuck3723 awesome!! Would love to. Maybe you can text me on Instagram?!?

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel Will do.

Yeah, would be interesting to hear about the Pentaquark.

Just tried a Coiler Contra from James. I liked it. Very, very damp... A bit too damp for my liking. Felt almost 'dead', therefore incredibly planted and smooth. Also too wide for me. 29.6cm waist is just nuts. I simply don't need that - although I have 1 to 1.5 sizes bigger feet than James. Good board, however. Just not quite the feel I prefer. A little more 'snap' would be great.

I tried James Contra as well and didn’t like the total lack of any feedback underfoot. I can see why a racer might want that, but it was foreign to me. I tried a couple of the JJA prototypes and they’re still more damp than anything else I’ve tried but felt more familiar. I want one!

No. Would love to!

Lars, Im sure you’d like it! Come to England in the summer and film at our indoor slopes!

100% Shorty 164W!!! Not even a question! In case you get that through Mats at Stranda, tell him you come from me. please. Always good to bring that across... :-) Thank you!!

Thank you Lars ! I totally trust your opinion since you know these boards so well !

@@martinbailly573 ....which is still MY opinion and may not work for you! Hahaha... ;-)

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel Would you care to elaborate on that Lars? Whats the big difference between those two boards in terms of riding style? For a guy wanting to really learn how to carve correctly is Biru not the board to go with?

@@johanoster9801 sorry... which two boards? Biru/Shorty/Freecarver/Cheater... I think anyone can learn to carve on almost any snowboard. They're all designed to turn on edge - some have more grip and higher performance than others. Aiming for special carving performance when starting out may even backfire, depending on the board... E.g. I find the most amazing carving board I own is my Stranda Pipeliner 185. It's simply incredible. Can you learn on that? HELL NO!!! Hahahaha.... How do you want to carve?? Clean S-Turns linked up all the way down a slope? For that the Biru with under 7m radius turns too tightly. It's meant to be a sidehits all mountain board with a powerful but playful nature, and it simply came out with wild amounts of edge grip du to the inter play of sidecut, flex and core profile. Then, what else do you want to do on that board and where is your riding level at right now, and where do you ride? Steep or mellow groomers, wide or narrow? Lots of variable and even with that info I might recommend a board you won't like.... It's so subjective, but I'm happy to try!

Sidecut tuning tool from Whistler. The orange one.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel thanks!!

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel is the digital version worth the extra cost?

@@ChrisZ901 no idea. I prefer it. But for home use….. maybe not worth it.

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel got it. Thanks again

Oh, yeah, of course they do!! Not a question!! But I’m the very bottom of the jones 156 weight range… so really, it should have felt stiffer for someone like me. Shows how much it’s all about what you’re used to. Would love to try the bigger one!! So far Stranda is the only company I’ve tried that makes long boards with a good flex. Most manufacturers assume that a 164 is only being ridden by riders over 200 lbs… which is robbing people off experiencing length…..

As I say in this video, this is not supposed to become a review channel.... :-) However: TBT base shape is - IMO - terrible for carving! Why giving the board such delayed edge engagement? TBT is supposed to help with making a board catch free.... Carving is not supposed to be that. You want that grip, and you want it early in the turn. Also: all those 3-D shaped bases make it more difficult to deal with and control the board's longitudinal flex. Imagine a sheet of metal that is pliable. Now a press presses it into a table spoon: flex gone!! To counter that you have to mess with material thickness... No boardercross board or race board is 3-D... And for powder: Gentemstick might be making the finest powder boards in the world for the deepest powder: no 3-D bases, no TBT, no spooning.... Maybe it is after all a marketing gimmick that contributes to giving every snowboard tuner a headache when waxing and scraping a board. :-)

Thanks that’s what I was looking for was your thoughts on the bataleon. I picked one up this season for a good deal and I got to say i love how it carves compared to other boards I’ve been on. I know all the 3bt and spoon make no sense but it seems to work. love how it rides but I’m still new to the carving the game. There is always next season to get a new board 😂 Thanks for the input and all the tips from your channel.

@@GaddMX44 I don't think you need a new board, if you're already feeling really confident with this. Keep riding it! Find its limits. Then move on. Carving is so much more about the rider than about the gear - in particular when you're starting out. Save that money for a riding day ;-)

Well, the dynamic of Carver is a bit different than what you described as slow engaging. The key benefit is 3BT actually helps to initiate turn faster and this lets you get on the edge quickly. Basically, it lays effortlessly and holds edge when you need it to. Only gripe is it is not wide enough 😂

@@junglimhuh5216 interesting. I wonder how that works.... I'm not talking about getting onto the edge easily. I'm talking about getting onto the edge early! That's two different things. You can't bevel up a base and have the edge engaged as early as on a board with a flat base - considering both are straight up camber. The last TBT board I tried gave me this 'leap of faith' sensation at the edge change... Yes, the board 'rolls' onto the edge and requires less leverage, hence feel easy to get on edge - but at the cost of a late edge engagement combined with a feeling of insecurity.

I'm genuinely open to surprises!

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel oh I know. just being playful. love your channel!

Hahaha, that’s ok! 😊

@@Justaride-Snowboard-Channel It is! I’ve got a Ride Berzerker 156 on the way for next season. I need to come to Fernie next season and ride with you man. How far are you from Castle Mountain?