Archetype 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.

Swallow Tail splits the board's tail into two sections with a gap between them. This gap helps sink the tail of the board in deep snow by releasing the pressure of the snow so it has little float, allowing the nose to rise. It can also whip out the back of the turn, as the forks deflect more than a traditional tail shape.

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.

A Radial Sidecut is a section taken from a circle. So, the longer the radius of the circle, the longer the turn; the shorter the circle, the shorter the turn. Radial sidecuts are predictable and follow a stable arc for the length of the turn.