Highpath Snowboard

Directional boards are designed to travel forward. The Shape differs from front to rear, whilst the flex, sidecut and stance are setback from the centre. Directional boards have a longer nose and shorter tail; this increases lift and float. The setback stance and flex enhance carving performance.

Taper is where the nose of the board is wider than the tail. Taper has two main benefits. Firstly, it allows the tail to sink in deep snow, making powder riding easy. Secondly, it smooths turn exit as the sidecut fades out at the narrow tail.

Volume shift boards swap length for width to give the same overall surface area but in a shorter, more manoeuvrable shape. Delivering a floaty ride, they tend to be more suited to boards designed to give a surfier feel. Volume shift boards generally use tight sidecuts to offset the slow edge-to-edge.

Four separate geometries combine to create a sidecut arc specific to the board's flex and performance. Quadratic sidecuts respond better to more demanding riders; the more you push the board, the more the sidecut engages, giving a more aggressive turning performance.