Patent ID: 7396036

Claim:
A snowboard comprising: a running length having opposite ends, two sides and having an area for mounting a first snowboard binding and a second snowboard binding, the running length including a core including opposite top and bottom surfaces; top and bottom reinforcement layers overlying the top and bottom surfaces of the core, the top reinforcement layer being planar in a side-to-side direction across the width of the running length; a top layer overlying the top reinforcement layer; a base layer with a gliding surface overlying the bottom reinforcement layer; and first and second sidewalls that extend along lateral sides of the core, each of the first and second sidewalls extending along a substantial height of the core and along the running length; a nose located at one end of the running length; and a tail located at the other end of the running length, the nose and tail each having a transition end and a tip opposite the transition end, at least one of the nose or tail having an increasing flexibility along a substantial length of the at least one of the nose or tail from the transition end toward the tip, wherein the increasing flexibility is not exclusively the result of a change in width of the at least one of the nose and tail, and wherein the entire running length, nose and tail have a sidewall-type construction.