Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

Camber, Rocker, or Hybrid???

9K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  jdang307 
#1 ·
So I am looking into buying a new board, I have a DC PBJ 2009 so it's getting a little old and I am looking for something with a little more flex. I do a little bit of everything on the mountain. Basically I am looking for something with good stability for speed and forgiveness with ramps and some good flex for some playfulness and jibs. I am looking at the Forum Youngblood DoubleDog because it is a hybrid with edge control and some playfulness. Has anyone ridden a hybrid that has any insight? or should I stay with camber or change to rocker? Any advice at all is awesome
 
#2 ·
Snowolf -do you ever feel the rocker between the bindings makes the NS board feel "squirrely" at all?

I used a Salomon board with rocker profile last year and it was a pain in the ass getting washed out, flat basing, even skating around and getting on/off the lift. Haven't tried a hybrid but wondering if the same at all?
 
#3 ·
I haven't been on a hybrid that felt overly squirly. The camber zones do a lot to prevent that.

I don't have a favorite. My favorite is whatever my current favorite board has. Right now that's flat. Soon it may be camber like on the Flow Shifty. Later it might be RC. We'll see how the season goes.
 
#4 ·
Coming from traditional camber, the NS rocker camber profile WILL fill a little squirrelly at first until you get used to it. Once you get used to it and trust it, you find that the harder you lay into it, the harder the cambered sections dig in the better it grips. It's just different.

I only have one traditional cambered board left and there's a good chance I'll sell it leading up to this season.
 
#5 ·
Everybody has their own personal preference with regard to this of course. My personal preference after extensive riding of all profiles, is a hybrid. Of the hybrids, I have settled on the camber-rocker-camber profile. Neversummer boards employ this. The Gnu-Libtech also use this profile on many of their boards called C2 BTX.

Here is why I tend to like this profile so much. When the board is flat based, the rocker between the feet makes the board very pivoty and playful. It floats in powder very well and the pivoty nature makes it super responsive even in a carved turn and skidded turns are ridiculously responsive. When tired or just lazy, the rocker keeps the contact points up off of the snow making edge catches less frequently (even good riders get sloppy and catch edges now and then).

The camber under the bindings make this profile behave much like a traditional camber board when you get it up on edge and carving. While you don't get rebound like a traditional camber, the rocker shape actually enhances the short radius carved turn because it's overall shape is like a cambered deck loaded. The result is some really cool feeling tight carved turns. The only disappointment to some people is you don't get get that rebound in between turns like a true camber. There are some riding tricks you can use to create a kind of "synthetic rebound" with rocker though.

Another advantage of this profile is that you still maintain a fair degree of pop as a result of having the camber under foot. Again, not quite as pronounced as a traditional camber. One of the biggest complaints people have about full rocker is the lack of pop. The hybrids really have become a great compromise that give the rider the best of both.

For me personally, I really don't see myself going to any other profile. I can do everything on a hybrid I did on conventional camber and more. Yeah, I will still keep a traditional camber deck in my quiver, but they get pretty dusty now.
Awesome, that actually helped a lot with my decision

So I have been lookingfor awhile now at the Forum Youngblood DoubleDog. It has good flex, good price, and seems like an all-around good board. It is also a camber-rocker-camber so I think it will be a good buy. Any thoughts?

On Sale Forum Youngblood Doubledog Snowboard 154 Mens 2012 - Snowboards, Snowboarding Gear, Equipment 9854foydd12
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top