Scope: Skis & Snowboards — alpine/all-mountain/powder/park/racing skis, backcountry/touring skis, and snowboards (incl. splitboards as a snowboard style value), with each type routed to its own facet set. Excludes boots/bindings sold as separate products (catalog: snow-boots-bindings), avalanche safety gear (catalog: avalanche-safety), sleds/snowshoes (catalog: sleds), and hiking/camping poles (catalog: poles).

Seed: skis/snowboard equivalent of treadwear grade = flex rating (1-10 scale) — not standardized across brands (Jones and Never Summer scale it slightly differently), so it's reliable within one brand's line but loose across brands. An allergist-type buyer would check the hidden "ingredients" first — core material and structural laminate (wood/foam core, fiberglass/Titanal/carbon laminate) buried inside the plank — before the topsheet graphic, the way they'd read a label before the packaging.

Sources:
[wagner_shape] wagner skis ski-buyers-guide-part-3 — sidecut radius concept, camber/rocker tip-tail effects — fetched excerpt
[wagner_length] wagner skis ski-buyers-guide-part-1 — sidecut radius 14-18m short / 25-32m+ long, length-height-weight relationship, bearing surface = length x width — fetched excerpt
[wagner_materials] wagner skis ski-buyers-guide-part-4 — wood/foam core, fiberglass/Titanal/carbon laminate, sandwich/cap/semi-sidewall construction — fetched excerpt
[jones_sb] jonessnowboards.com snowboard shapes/profiles guide — waist width purpose, flex 1-10 scale, sidecut 5-7/7-8.4/8.5-10m bands, shape/profile glossary, biax/triax torsional flex — fetched excerpt
[goodride_shapes] thegoodride.com snowboard-shapes — true twin / directional twin / directional / tapered directional definitions — fetched excerpt
[mteverest_profile] mteverest.com snowboard profile guide — camber/rocker/flat/hybrid profile definitions — fetched excerpt
[switchback_binding] switchbacktravel.com ski boot-binding compatibility — ISO 5355 alpine, ISO 23223 GripWalk sole standards, tech-binding compatibility — fetched excerpt
[snowandrock_din] snowandrock.com ski binding & DIN chart guide — binding types (alpine/GripWalk/AT/tech/telemark/system), skier type I/II/III, DIN governed by ISO 11088, brake-width rule — fetched excerpt
[switchback_allmtn] switchbacktravel.com all-mountain ski guide — waist width bands 75-110mm by sub-category — fetched excerpt
[evo_sb_size] evo.com snowboard size chart guide — waist width 225-260mm+ mapped to boot size — fetched excerpt
[ptoski_guide] ptoski.com ski buying guide — waist width bands <80/80-89/90-99/100-109/110+mm, ability-level width/flex/construction progression, sandwich vs cap construction — fetched excerpt
[evo_binding_compat] evo.com ski boot sole & binding compatibility guide — ISO 5355/9523/23223 cross-check — fetched excerpt
[switchback_techframe] switchbacktravel.com tech vs frame backcountry bindings — tech/pin lighter & uphill-efficient vs frame more secure downhill, ISO 13992 tech DIN cert — fetched excerpt
[snowbrains_guide] snowbrains.com step-by-step ski buying guide — turn radius bands <17m carving / 17-22m all-mountain / >22m big-mountain-powder — fetched excerpt
[neversummer_flex] neversummer.com snowboard shapes-and-flex — flex 0-10 scale with style mapping (freestyle soft, freeride/carve stiff) — fetched excerpt
[getboards_size] getboards.com snowboard size chart — wide board widths 259-278mm, upper-bound cross-check — fetched excerpt
[dopesnow_length] dopesnow.com ski-length guide — chin/nose/forehead height rule by ability, absolute chart 140-190+cm, camber/rocker effect on sizing — fetched excerpt
[theskimonster_length] theskimonster.com ski length guide — beginner=chin, intermediate/advanced=nose-eyes, expert=nose+ height rule cross-check — fetched excerpt
[corbetts_size] corbetts.com snowboard buying/sizing guide — height/weight to length chart, adult range ~125-166cm — fetched excerpt
[snowchasers_size] thesnowchasers.com snowboard size chart — length chart cross-check 138-166cm — fetched excerpt
[neversummer_sidecut] neversummer.com snowboard sidecut radius explainer — "standard radiuses of snowboards are 6-10 meters" cross-check — fetched excerpt
[burton_channel] burton.com Channel system article — Burton's proprietary two-slot Channel mounting interface — fetched excerpt
[snowboardrobot_compat] snowboardrobot.com binding compatibility — confirms 4x4/4x2 is the universal pattern every brand but Burton/Endeavor uses — fetched excerpt
[evo_qst98] evo.com Salomon QST 98 spec sheet — individual ski weight 1740-2100g by length, Tail Type: Partial Twin Tip — fetched excerpt
[evo_bd_helio] evo.com Black Diamond Helio Carbon 95 spec sheet — individual ski weight 1130-1444g (touring), Tail Type: Flat — fetched excerpt
[evo_arv96] evo.com Armada ARV 96 spec sheet — Tail Type: Full Twin Tip — fetched excerpt

Branches:
equipment_type: ski vs snowboard — distinct geometry/vocabulary throughout every source above; no shared facet set works for both.
ski_discipline -> backcountry_touring routes to ski_binding_type + ski_boot_sole_standard: switchback_techframe + snowandrock_din describe tech/pin vs frame/alpine as a discipline-driven choice, not asked otherwise.
snowboard_style -> carving routes to snowboard_camber_profile + snowboard_flex_rating: jones_sb's carving-specific-shape section states these boards "feature a longer effective edge, high camber profiles and stiffer torsional flex."
ability_level -> beginner makes ski_structural_laminate irrelevant: ptoski_guide's beginner tier skips metal/carbon laminate detail.

Noise (spec-sheet rows seen, left out):
- Ski/snowboard brand, graphics/topsheet art, price — generic test fails (reads unchanged for any category).
- Ski pole length, boot fit/last width — belong to the poles and boots/bindings sibling leaves, not this one.
- Exact numeric DIN release-value range — snowandrock_din states the real chart is governed by ISO 11088 and varies by manufacturer; reproducing a specific number would be invented, so only binding type and the standard are facets, not a DIN range.
- Snowboard stance width/angle and ski mount position (forward/centered/setback) — real specs but adjustable at mounting, not a fixed property of the ski/board model; folded into snowboard_shape's why_experts_care (board stance) for snowboards and ski_discipline's why_experts_care (park skis' centre mount) for skis, instead of separate facets.
- Splitboard-specific hardware (skin clips, puck interface) — kept as one snowboard_style value (backcountry_splitboard) rather than a full facet set, given lean-mode budget.
- Binding brake-width-vs-waist-width compatibility rule (brake width should be no more than ~15mm wider than waist width) — mechanically derived from waist width, same reasoning as the excluded stance width/angle; not worth a separate facet.

Corrections:
- reference `kind` values fixed to the enum (primer/specialist_review/spec_sheet/enthusiast_community), derived_metrics given depends_on+why instead of plain, visual_grammars given name/shape/encodes, ski_camber_profile cold_start_question reworded to drop a "do you want" preamble.

Corrections (2026-10-26):
- snowboard_style->carving branch re-cited from goodride_shapes (no carving/camber/flex content) to jones_sb (verbatim "high camber profiles and stiffer torsional flex" in its carving-specific-shape section).
- Added ski_weight_grams facet (1100-2100g range), evidenced by evo_qst98 and evo_bd_helio spec-sheet weight rows.
- Added ski_tail_type facet (full_twin_tip/partial_twin_tip/flat_tail), evidenced by evo_qst98, evo_arv96, evo_bd_helio Tail Type spec rows.
- ski_length_cm range max tightened from 195 to 190cm — dopesnow_length's chart tops at "190+" and theskimonster_length has no cm figures, so 195 was uncited.
- Noise line on ski/snowboard mount position corrected: ski's justification is ski_discipline's why_experts_care (park skis' centre mount), not snowboard_shape's (which only covers board stance).
- ability_level->beginner's snowboard_binding_mount_pattern leg dropped — no snowboard source supports mount pattern varying by ability level; only ski_structural_laminate remains in that branch's makes_irrelevant.
- Added binding brake-width-vs-waist-width compatibility rule to Noise with a rationale (mechanically derived from waist width, same as the already-excluded stance width/angle).
- Added "Skinning / climbing skins" to vocabulary, linked to ski_binding_type.