OMG I’m confused.. directional twin, mountain, freestyle..

In the world of snowboarding, it's all too easy to get lost, completely lost, in the verbage spouted out, and printed. If you're confused on the meanings of a few things, have no fear! We'll discuss a few terms here today to get you caught up, and "in the know" with what you're looking at when it comes to snowboards.

Board Shape

Directional boards

Boards on which the nose and tail are designed different, and are best when rode nose facing forward.

Twin boards

Boards on which the nose and tail dimensions/shape are identical (true twin) and are commonly used for park/tricks riding

Directional Twin

A term used for boards on which the noise and tail are somewhat similar, but slight differences exist.

You may hear people refer to Twin boards are "true twin" and directional twin boards as just "twin."   I've tried to keep this as simple as possible, but feel free to discuss the differences.

Board Type

FreeRide/All Mountain

Boards designed to conquer the mountain from just about any angle.  They work well in powder, big mountain runs, and can be ridden in the terrain park.  Usually a stiffer type board, providing more stability at higher speeds.    Most, but not all boards in this category are generally directional.

Freestyle/Park

Boards designed to be lighter, more flexible.   These boards are generally designed with the terrain park or tricks in mind.  They are great for jumps, and rails, and other fun features.  They tend to turn quicker. The edges are not generally as sharp as the FreeRide/All Mountain boards, so they don't catch during tricks on rails and such.

All Mountain Freestyle

A category you may see from certain manufacturers. Similar to the Freestyle/Park board, but has some characteristics of the FreeRide/All Mountain board.  So essentially a good park board, but good everyday rider.

Powder Board

Boards designed specifically for powder conditions.  They are generally always directional, and may have a unique shape.  Designed for deep powder, they tend to float on top of the snow.

Alpine Board

Boards designed for speed and for carved turns.  These boards generally require a bit of experience with handling speed, and drawn out carves.

Side Cut

So moving onto the side cut portion of this lil chat.  The side cut on a board dictates/determines it's turning ability. A shallow or gradual side cut allows for longer drawn out turns, whereas a steeper side cut allows for quick aggressive turns.  As you may have guessed, Freestyle/Park boards generally have a steeper side cut, and Mountain/Free Ride boards generally have a shallow side cut.

The last thing I want to talk about, and especially for bigger riders is FLEX. Being a bigger rider, you really want to watch where the flex meter lands on your board.  If you're a heavier rider, the flex meter will generally be slightly more flexible for you, due to weight.  With that being said, if you're a bit on the heavier side, try to move to a stiffer board, but still  keep it flexible enough to have some pop.  If your board is too flexible, you may find during riding it, that you're riding what feels like a wet noodle.  In the park, this can be fun, but at speed on a mountain run, you may find the over flex unresponsive,  and chatty on edge.

Hopefully this provides some insight for anyone who's reading this blog, and please feel free to add to this discussion.