flex. Freestyle snowboards have a mirror shovel at each end of the board. Freestyle snowboards usually have low-backed bindings. Incorporates a deep sidecut for quick/tight turning. Used in the pipe and in the park on various jumps and terrain features including boxes, rails, and urban features. Park/Jib (rails): Flexible and short to medium length, twin-tip shape with a twin flex and an outward stance to allow easy switch riding, and easy spinning, a wider stance, with the edges filed dull is used for skateboard-park like snowboard parks. Freeride: Longer than freestyle and park boards. Moderate to stiff in flex and typically directional (versus twin-tip). Used from all-mountain to off-piste and backcountry riding, to 'extreme' big-mountain descents - in various types of snow from groomed hard-packed snow to soft powdery snow. Powder: Highly directional boards that typically have a rockered nose and tapered shape (wider tip than tail). All-Mountain: Most common. A mix between freeride and freestyle boards. The 'jack of all trades, master of none.' Commonly directional or directional twin in shape (twin-tip and centered stance but with more flex on the front) Racing/Alpine: Long, narrow, rigid, and directional shape. Used for slalom and giant slalom races, these boards are designed to excel on groomed slopes. Most often ridden with a "hard" plastic snowboard boot (similar to a ski boot), but also ridden recreationally with soft boots, particularly by riders in Europe. Splitboard: A snowboard which splits in half lengthwise, and allows the bindings to be quickly connected to hinges aligning them longitudinally on the board, allowing the halves of the boards to function as cross country skis. Used with removable skins on the base of the board, which easily slide forward on snow but not backwards, they allow a snowboard to easily travel into the backcountry. Once the rider is ready to descend, the board halves can simply be joined back together. Snowboards are generally constructed of a hardwood core which is sandwiched between multiple layers of fibreglass. Some snowboards incorporate the use of more exotic materials such as carbon fiber, Kevlar, aluminium (as a honeycomb core structure), and have incorporated piezo dampers. The front (or "nose") of the board is upturned to help the board glide over uneven snow. The back (or "tail") of the board is also upturned to enable backwards (or "switch") riding. The base (the side of the board which contacts the ground) is made