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The Jones Rally Cat is oriented toward riders who want to turn the whole resort into a skatepark without being confined to the terrain park rope line. Bridging freestyle agility and all-mountain capability, this board delivers a forgiving, energetic feel that excels at buttering, pressing rollers, and weaving through crowded side runs. It is tailored for intermediate to advanced riders who prioritize fun and maneuverability over brute force. The board features a friendlier, medium flex coupled with a versatile hybrid profile that softens edge catch at the contact points. This design encourages quick, intuitive turn initiation and permits low-stress switch riding, whether landing spins or practicing opposite-stance carves down green and blue cruisers. Despite its approachable flex, the board retains enough structural backbone through the center to hold an edge when you decide to pick up speed down steeper groomers. However, riders who spend their days charging high-alpine bowls or dropping into frozen, tracked-out chutes will reach the Rally Cat’s ceiling fairly quickly. In heavy, chunky snow at high velocities, the nose can deflect and chatter, requiring you to dial back the throttle. It prioritizes flex and expression over sheer dampness, making it an excellent daily cruiser rather than a big-mountain bruiser. **Highlights** - User-friendly medium flex optimized for buttering and presses - Forgiving edge profile helps minimize unexpected hangups - Balanced geometry accommodates regular and switch riding with ease - Nimble handling through trees, park jumps, and side features - High degree of board feel and underfoot articulation **Watch-outs** - Tends to deflect when plowing through heavy, frozen chunder - Lacks the high-speed dampening needed for steep, icy freeride runs - Less supportive for stomping high-consequence drops
Pros
- Forgiving medium flex excels at presses, butters, and flatground tricks
- Nimble edge-to-edge quickness makes tree navigation and side hits intuitive
- Hybrid profile reduces hang-ups without sacrificing underfoot pop
- Balanced directional twin shape supports seamless switch riding
Cons
- Nose and tail chatter noticeably at high speeds in frozen chop
- Lacks the structural damping and edge hold needed for icy big-mountain steeps
- Soft flex can fold under heavy landings on large park jumps
Best uses
- Resort Freestyle and Side Hits
- Intermediate All-Mountain Progression
- Park Rails and Medium Jumps
- Groomer Carving and Buttering
Specifications
- Flex Rating
- Medium flex
- Board Profile
- Central camber with rockered tips
- Shape
- Directional twin
- Riding Level
- Intermediate to advanced
- Primary Category
- All-mountain freestyle
- Gender Sizing
- Dedicated men's and women's models
Pricing
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Best for
Resort Freestyle and Side Hits, Intermediate All-Mountain Progression, Park Rails and Medium Jumps, Groomer Carving and Buttering
Where to buy the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s
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While Jones built its brand reputation on burly freeride planks and technical big-mountain splitboards, the Jones Rally Cat leans in a distinctly playful direction. Engineered as a crossover between a lively freestyle deck and an all-mountain resort carver, the Rally Cat approaches groomers and side hits with a loose, skate-inspired attitude. It caters to riders who view natural resort contours as launch pads rather than terrain to straight-line. The board blends a balanced, switch-friendly outline with a forgiving medium flex and an edge-friendly contour. This configuration lowers the physical effort required to initiate carves, slide rails, or execute ground-level flat-ground buttering maneuvers. Rather than demanding flawless technique, the platform provides immediate compliance and a high degree of underfoot articulation that encourages experimentation across various resort features. Riders seeking an uncompromising freeride machine to blast through frozen crud at high speeds will quickly reach this board's mechanical limits. The Rally Cat prioritizes accessible flex, butterability, and pop over vibration damping and brute-force stability, finding its home with intermediate and advanced riders who want an agile, creative daily driver across the entire resort footprint.
Target Rider and Riding Style
The Jones Rally Cat targets riders who want an agile, skate-influenced resort experience rather than a stiff, high-speed charging board. It specifically benefits intermediate snowboarders aiming to progress into park tricks, side hits, and buttering without being punished by an aggressive edge hook. Advanced riders looking for an effortless secondary board to lap the resort with friends will also appreciate its low physical tax. Because it maintains a balanced directional twin geometry, switch riding feels intuitive, making it a great pick for riders who spend significant time spinning off natural features or riding opposite-stance down packed groomers. Those who measure their days by descent speed, straight-line stability, or extreme vertical drops will quickly overwhelm this platform, but freestyle-minded all-terrain cruisers will find its responsive, friendly temperament right on the mark.
Profile and Camber Dynamics
Jones balances user-friendly engagement with sufficient pop by pairing a central camber section with subtle early-rise rocker toward the tips. This profile lifts the contact points slightly off the snow, significantly reducing catchiness during transitions, edge-to-edge rolling, and awkward landings. Despite the softer entry into turns, the underfoot camber provides reliable edge grip when tilted into clean carves on standard hardpack. The directional twin layout positions the stance centrally along the effective edge, allowing the board to behave predictably whether traveling forward or switch. Additionally, the rockered extremities make buttering, tail presses, and nose rolls feel natural, requiring far less core effort and weight transfer than traditional full-camber boards. It gives the board a fluid, loose dynamic at low and moderate speeds without feeling dead or sluggish underfoot.
Groomer and Resort Performance
On groomed corduroy and mellow resort slopes, the Rally Cat shines through its quick turn initiation and high maneuverability. The medium flex pattern allows the board to bend smoothly through short-radius carves, responding rapidly to slight toe and heel inputs. This agility translates directly to tree runs and crowded trails, where darting around obstacles requires instant line adjustments. Energy return between carves is springy and accessible, generating consistent rebound without requiring heavy, aggressive pilot input. While it grips reliably on typical winter hardpack, pure ice reveals the boundaries of its edge hold compared to stiffer, dedicated carving weapons. For everyday resort cruising where the emphasis is on linking turns, popping off rollers, and weaving between trail margins, the board feels exceptionally lively, giving the rider a tactile, communicative connection to the snow surface beneath them.
Park and Freestyle Dynamics
Freestyle performance is the foundation of the Rally Cat's personality. In the terrain park and on natural side hits, the medium flex makes pressing boxes, locking into rails, and landing slightly off-axis far less punishing. The energetic core produces crisp pop off jumps and lip transitions, giving riders ample lift without having to preload the tail with extreme force. Its low swing weight and symmetrical feel facilitate clean spins and steady switch takeoffs. While heavier riders or those sending massive pro-line kickers might find the landings a bit soft, small- to medium-sized jumps feel balanced and forgiving. The tips flex enough to absorb imperfect landings without washing out catastrophically, while the central camber stabilizes the platform through the transition. It effectively turns every undulation along the piste into an opportunity to jump, ollie, or press.
Rough Snow and Speed Limits
The trade-off for the Rally Cat's approachable flex is a noticeable lack of high-speed dampening in rough snow. When encountering frozen afternoon chunder, heavy tracked powder, or rough debris, the tips tend to chatter and deflect rather than power through the obstacles. This feedback transfers directly through the bindings, demanding increased leg tension from the rider to maintain a clean line. In steep, firm terrain where edge hold must be absolute and chatter can compromise control, the board can feel somewhat loose and jittery. Riders pushing past moderate speeds on bumpy descents will find that the board lacks the mass and structural stiffness needed to plow through uneven textures. To maximize safety and enjoyment, the board demands a calculated reduction in velocity when snow conditions turn choppy, frozen, and unforgiving.
Setup Recommendations and Alternatives
Dialing in the Rally Cat requires bindings that complement its lively, articulate nature without overpowering the deck. A medium-flex binding offering plenty of lateral ankle mobility will optimize its freestyle capabilities, preserving natural board feel for presses and short carves. Stiff, carbon-laden freeride bindings will feel mismatched, creating an abrupt transfer of power that overpowers the board's compliant core. For riders considering alternatives, decks like the Rome Ravine lean slightly more directional and powder-oriented while retaining a fun-loving feel, whereas boards like the Never Summer Proto Type 3 provide a dual-camber true twin setup with a slightly different carving signature. The Rally Cat fits squarely in the middle: a genuinely versatile, switch-capable twin hybrid that trades heavy big-mountain dampening for pure, unadulterated resort agility and freestyle fun.
How we picked
We started with a long list of all-mountain snowboards that people actually buy, cut anything that could not clear our baseline for durability and field performance, then ranked the 10 that were left against the same criteria. Rankings are editorial. No brand pays for placement, and affiliate links never move a pick up or down.
- Edge hold and stability
- Grip on firm snow and composure at speed for the intended skier level.
- Versatility across conditions
- How the ski or board handles groomers, crud and fresh snow in one day.
- Real-world durability
- How the material, stitching, or steel holds up after a season of hard use — not how it looks new.
- Performance in bad conditions
- Wind, rain, cold, and grit are the test. Anything that only works on a nice day gets marked down.
- Weight and packability
- Every ounce has to earn its place in the pack, but not at the cost of something that fails in the field.
- Ease of use
- Setup, adjustment, and maintenance with cold hands, in the dark, without the manual.
Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s — frequently asked questions
- Is the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s worth it?
- We rank it #5 in All-Mountain Snowboards. The Jones Rally Cat is oriented toward riders who want to turn the whole resort into a skatepark without being confined to the terrain park rope line. Bridging freestyle agility and all-mountain capability, this board delivers a forgiving, energetic feel that excels at buttering, pressing rollers, and weaving through…
- What is the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s best for?
- Best for resort freestyle and side hits, intermediate all-mountain progression, park rails and medium jumps and groomer carving and buttering. Standouts: forgiving medium flex excels at presses, butters, and flatground tricks and nimble edge-to-edge quickness makes tree navigation and side hits intuitive.
- What are the downsides of the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s?
- Nose and tail chatter noticeably at high speeds in frozen chop, Lacks the structural damping and edge hold needed for icy big-mountain steeps and Soft flex can fold under heavy landings on large park jumps.
- What are the key specs of the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s?
- Flex Rating: Medium flex · Board Profile: Central camber with rockered tips · Shape: Directional twin · Riding Level: Intermediate to advanced · Primary Category: All-mountain freestyle
- Target Rider and Riding Style — what should I know about the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s?
- The Jones Rally Cat targets riders who want an agile, skate-influenced resort experience rather than a stiff, high-speed charging board. It specifically benefits intermediate snowboarders aiming to progress into park tricks, side hits, and buttering without being punished by an aggressive edge hook.
- Profile and Camber Dynamics — what should I know about the Rally Cat — Men’s & Women’s?
- Jones balances user-friendly engagement with sufficient pop by pairing a central camber section with subtle early-rise rocker toward the tips. This profile lifts the contact points slightly off the snow, significantly reducing catchiness during transitions, edge-to-edge rolling, and awkward landings.
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