Freeride/All Mountain (Directional)
It doesn't matter if you are tree riding, cruising the groomers or dabbling in the
park, freeride boards are for riding the whole mountain and usually have a medium to stiff flex. This means how much the board bends under pressure from the rider. A stiff flex will mean not much bend so you should find it easier to hold an edge and feel more stable at speed.  A soft flex will give you lots of bend and be more forgiving when landing tricks.

Freestyle (Twin)
Most freestyle boards are twin shaped which means both the tip and tail are exactly the same, this helps when riding the board switch or fakie. Most park riders have a board with a soft to medium flex in order to help the rider during tricks on the snow or rails.


Snowboard Length
A general rule of thumb when choosing the length of a snowboard is that when stood upright the board should come up between your chin and nose. Your individual riding style and weight will help determine if you should go for a longer or shorter board. Every board has a weight range on it that lets you know the maximum weight that it supports. 


Snowboard Width
If your foot is above a size 10 you might want to make sure you get a wide board so your feet don't hang over the edge of the snowboard. This can cause toe and heel drag and have a degrading effect on your riding style. In the same respect if you have a size 8 foot make sure you don't get a wide board because your edge to edge turning will be more difficult and slower. If you are a female and have size 9 feet or larger you may want to choose a men’s specific snowboard so you don't get any toe and heel drag either.

Bindings
It is important to have a ratchet style of binding for the SnowSkool course. Other types of binding like Flow where the high back comes down for easy access or the older 'clicker' step-in bindings will not perform as well.

Boots
We recommend that you get your boots looked at by a professional boot fitter. They will make sure that they are the right size and shape for your feet. This is important, as you will be spending a lot of time in your boots. They have to be comfortable and perform well.

SnowSkool Tip– As long as you get a board which is the correct length and width you won’t go far wrong. The flex of the board is not going to make or break your riding but a medium flex would be the most suitable for the course. If you are interested in spending some time in the park trying out freestyle then I would recommend a twin if not then go for an all mountain ride.