A Guide’s Review of the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones Boot
Not everyone needs a super stiff and gnarly splitboard boot. Enter the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones boot. With a medium stiff flex, two lacing options and a walk mode that disappears when riding, the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones is an excellent snowboard boot, never mind just a splitboard boot. If they’re good enough for Jeremy they’ve got to be good enough for you.
Overview
- Lacing: Traditional to ankle height, powerstrap above
- Flex: Medium
- Liner: ThirtyTwo Performance (intuition)
- Country of Origin:
- Weight per boot:
What is the Thirty Two TM-2 Jones Boot?
Thirty Two boots have been making snowboard boots as long as I have been snowboarding. 1995 was a long time ago, and their experience shows. The TM-2 is one of Thirty Two’s most popular boots. . Every year there are various iterations of the boot to match the riding styles of their team. This season sees Scott Stevens, Bode Merrill, Haldor Helgason, and Phil Hansen all get personal iterations.
The TM-2 is the workhorse boot in ThirtyTwo’s line-up. It’s why there are so many pro models of it, everyone loves it but backcountry booters and rail Gardens are its typical domicile. So when it came time to equip Jeremy Jones feet, some adjustments needed to be made. This man rides spines in Nepal and spends days on approaches so you know just upgrading the colorway was not going to work. These boots needed to be able to shred the gnar, the groomers and be able to stand up to a lot of rough use.
Durability for the Long Haul
There are a grip of features on the Thirtytwo TM-2 Jones boot that ensure it should last beyond just one season, potentially becoming a family heirloom.
The molded toe cap is big and burly. I’ve kicked rock steps as well as hung plenty of snowboard edges onto them while on a lift and they show very little wear. Next up is the zipper gaiter. It extends up past the laces to the ankle and prevents sharp edges from slicing them. My laces show no wear and neither does the gaiter.
On the bottom of the boot we find a grippy Vibram outsole. This not only provides traction on the ground and stiffness on foot, but also relies on Vibrams tried and true compounds to ensure you’d have to start running parking lot marathons in order to wear them out.
Along the heel of the boot is ThirtyTwo’s Performance Heelstay. This is a long rubberized heel guard that runs from the heel welt to the Walk Mode collar. It grips highbacks well and will ensure that another high wear point will last a long time.
Hook, Loop and Flex
Noticeably missing from the outside of the boot are lace eyelets on the upper. If you look inside the articulating cuff there are two sets of hidden “emergency” eyelets. The emergency lace eyelets on the upper leave a little to be desired. They’re very tight and hard to thread the lace through. That said, I used them once and found it made the boots almost feel too stiff. Instead, I solely relied on the power strap. Nevertheless, they are there for those that want to use them from time to time.
At first I was skeptical that using only a power strap would be sufficient, but in practice, it was. With the power strap snug, not firm, the boot has a medium/stiff flex and responds quickly to input. It took a while to get used to the stiff-loose feel and I only missed the dialed in tight fit when the going got real rough. Think chopped up man made snow at the end of the day.
What’s on the Inside of the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones boot?
One of the advantages of ThirtyTwo boots is that almost all models come with an Intuition Liner. Easily heat molded and are the replacement liner of choice to go into ski boots. The liners included with the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones boot is a dual density affair and are easily heat molded if you wish to do so. I rode the boots for the first half of the season without heat molding them. I find with snowboard boots that my foot warmth is usually enough to give them shape to where they are comfortable and this was true with the Performance liner.
There are opposing velcro tabs on the inside of the liner and tongue. These help keep the tongue from moving around while doing up the rest of the boot.
There is no lacing attached to the liner. Heel hold is handled by the Performance Heel Harness. Despite its fancy name, it is a seemingly regular heel harness. It holds your heel down on your toeside turns and does its job adequately. What else could you want?
How does the TM-2 Jones tour?
The ThirtyTwo TM-2 tours well. It is laterally supportive and handles side hilling as well as one can expect from soft splitboard boots. If you are spending a lot of time on hard icy side hills it’s time to move over to the Jones MTB, the much stiffer and more aggressive Jones offering from ThirtyTwo, or consider hard boots.
The Walk Mode Collar allows for a decent range of movement. Again, it is not the same as the Jones MTB but it is ample. As a side note, it also makes regular walking in the boots much more comfortable.
What is noticeable is the stiffness of the mid and out soles. Power is transferred into the bindings with ease and crampons no doubt hold well. I did not test the boots with crampons. Even while boot packing the stiffness of the outsole is noticed. There is no flexing, grip is good, and power is transferred into the snow.
How do the TM-2 Jones boots ride?
The best way to describe the ThirtyTwo Tm-2 Jones boot is as a pow surfing splitboard boot. I’ve taken them on splitboard tours, heli-boarded them, and even hit the lower level parks with this boot. They’ve been comfortable in almost all the terrain I could throw at them.
The midsole is very firm, an advantage on the skin track, but the lack of padding means that when the snow gets rough the chatter and impact are transferred right back to your knees. Response time is fast when transferring from heel to toe and back and thanks to the stiff sole as all pressure is placed directly on the edges.
As the upper cuff is unlaced there is a certain amount of flex that comes from the power strap. It’s easily adjusted, both pre and during tours and so tuning is good, but not as well as a laced boot. I became a fan of the power strap thanks to its speed and supportive feeling while riding.
If I were to step into big icy lines I would want a stiffer boot with cuff lacing but for 95% of the riding I do, these boots have served me well. In powder, they are fantastic.
Overall Impressions of the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones Boot?
ThirtyTwo touts the TM-2 Jones as its most versatile boot and it would be hard to disagree. It’s home is in the backcountry but it’s comfortable everywhere on the mountain. From powder laps heli-boarding to teaching Snow Safety courses, these boots have been my go to softboots.
My feet have been warm, and well locked in. Only at the end of long days did my feet feel uncomfortable, and then it was my toes that were sore. I was too lazy to tighten the boots mid day and so they had loosened slightly. The laces included with the boot are a thick affair and are wont to come loose. Keep an eye on this and your toes should be happy.
It’s still unusual for me to not lace the boots to the top of the cuff, but there really isn’t a need. These Pow surfing splitboard boots do just fine without them.
They are a little hefty, but that’s the price of durability. Anything ultralight is not built to last long and these boots are going to be around for awhile.
Who is the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones Boot for?
The ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones boot is for the split curious snowboarder who isn’t ready for a quiver of boots. You want something to take from digging trenches on the groomer to chill tours in the backcountry.
If you are interested in checking out a pair of the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones Boots, head on over to Evo and pick up a pair.
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Black Sheep Adventure sports was provided with a free pair of the ThirtyTwo TM-2 Jones Boots to review. This in no way affected our opinion or the review.
