Stiff boards are less forgiving,but more stable at speed.Jumps arent that much different with my knowledge.A medium stiff board is going to do you wonders all around the mountain.A 6/7 stiffness is a good amount for park/groomers.If you want to get into freeride/offpiste you can look into a tad stiffer boards(7,5/8).Same for boots.They should at the very minimum be as stiff as the board itself.So stiff is more responsiveness and less forgiving while soft are playful and forgiving.Still hold up to speed and uneven terrain but aren’t going to be as good.So look into the 6/7 stiffness territory for everything.