Glossary

The specs in plain English

What each term on a gear spec sheet means across every sport we cover, and how it changes the way the thing rides. No jargon for its own sake.

Snow

Base material
The polyethylene running surface of a board or ski, made two ways: extruded (cheap, low-care) or sintered (fast, wax-hungry).
Binding flex
How stiff a snowboard binding's highback and baseplate are. Stiff transmits every input instantly; soft filters mistakes and allows tweak.
Camber profile
The bend built into a board or ski base along its length. It sets edge grip, float, and pop before any other spec has a say.
Effective edge
The length of edge that actually touches the snow when the board is tipped over. It sets grip and stability, not the number on the topsheet.
Goggle VLT
Visible Light Transmission: the percentage of light a goggle lens lets through. Low VLT for sun, high VLT for storms and flat light.
Mondopoint
The ski and snowboard boot sizing standard: your foot length in centimeters. One measurement, no brand-by-brand conversion drift.
Sidecut radius
The radius of the arc the edge would scribe if extended into a full circle, in meters. Short radius turns quick, long radius runs stable.
Skin material
The plush on a climbing skin: mohair glides best, nylon grips and lasts, a mix splits the difference. It sets the feel of every uphill meter.
Snowboard flex
How much a board resists bending, rated soft to stiff. It sets how forgiving the board is at low speed and how stable it stays at high speed.
Stance and setback
How far apart your bindings sit and how far behind center. Together they set your balance, your switch riding, and your float in powder.
Twin vs directional
Whether a board is symmetric nose to tail (twin) or built to go one way (directional). It decides how well the board rides switch and how it floats.
Waist width
The width of a board at its narrowest point, underfoot. It has to match your boot size or the board catches edges or turns slowly.

Fishing

Drag system
The friction clutch that lets a reel slip line to a pulling fish before the line breaks. Smoothness matters more than the max number.
Fishing line types
The three main lines: monofilament stretches and floats, fluorocarbon disappears and sinks, braid is thin and stretch-free. Each fishes differently.
Fly line weight
The numbered weight class of a fly line, 1 through 14, matched to the rod's number. In fly casting the line is the casting weight, not the fly.
Gear ratio
How many times the spool or rotor turns per handle turn, written like 6.4:1. High ratio retrieves fast, low ratio winches hard.
Leader and tippet
The tapered clear section between fly line and fly, ending in the tippet. Sized by the X system, where a bigger X number means thinner material.
Lure diving depth
How deep a crankbait runs, set mostly by its bill. Matching that depth to where the fish hold is most of what crankbait choice is.
Rod action
Where a rod bends under load: fast bends near the tip, slow bends into the handle. It decides hookset speed and how well a fish stays pinned.
Rod power
How much force it takes to bend a rod, rated ultralight to heavy. It sets the line and lure weights the rod is built to throw.

Padel

Balance point
Where a padel racket's mass concentrates along its length. Low balance swings fast and spares the arm; high balance adds smash leverage and drag.
Core material
The foam block inside a padel racket, EVA or FOAM, soft or hard. It sets whether slow balls get free depth or fast swings get maximum return.
Face material
The fiber sheet over a padel racket's core: fiberglass flexes and forgives, carbon stiffens the response and outlasts it. Price follows the fiber.
Racket shape
The outline of a padel racket head: round, teardrop, or diamond. It sets where the sweet spot sits and how big it is, which is the control-versus-power call.