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Rocker, Camber, and everything in between

275K views 448 replies 130 participants last post by  16gkid 
#1 · (Edited)
Looking around at all of the current board designs at the SIA show in Denver a couple of weeks ago was cool as always, but also dizzying. Board profiles (camber, rocker, etc.) were still the top story, with every booth showing off their favorite flavor (or in most cases flavors). It made me think how confusing it would be for a newer rider to make a board choice in the current market and how hard it would be to feel confident in their selection. There are now so many varieties out there that it is hard to stay on top of them all.

I thought it might be helpful to start a thread here that showed the basic profile types all in one place without the marketing spin. There are definately many sub categories of each, but these are the broad strokes.




Traditional Camber

Pros - Tried and true performance. Great rebound which helps transition from edge to edge and also adds to pop for ollies etc. Longer running surface means good speed and edge bite in carves. Boards can be ridden shorter than some other designs without sacrificing running surface.

Cons - The contact points of the effective edge (roughly the boards wide points) are in constant contact with the snow. That can mean caught edges and some hard take downs.

Rocker

Pros - Easy turn initiation. Lifted wide points even when weighted means less caught edges. There are many varieties of this design which include various degrees of rocker, asymmetrical rocker (nose lifted more than tail, rocker center point shifted more towards tail, etc.) and multi-stage rocker.

Cons - Lost running surface, lost rebound, lost edge grip (many rocker designs get around this by using other design elements to add grip back in).

Flat

Pros - Maximum Stability. Longer running surface. Boards can be ridden shorter.

Cons - No inherent rebound. Without additional measures these boards tend to feel less lively. The contact points of the effective edge (roughly the boards wide points) are in constant contact with the snow. That can mean caught edges and some hard take downs.

Camber-Rocker-Camber

Pros - Reestablishes much of the lost running surface inherent to camber and some of the rebound. There are many different varieties of this design which alter the placement of the camber and rocker elements as well as the dimensions of those elements.

Cons - Potential for more catchy spots due to the multi stage profile.

Rocker-Camber-Rocker

Pros - Reduces the issue mentioned above from traditional camber where the wide points create catch spots. Good rebound.

Cons - less running surface than conventional camber.

Flat with lifted contact points

Pros - Reduces the issue mentioned above from Flat where the wide points create catch spots. There are many variations of this design. Some have so long a flat spot that they are very close to flat. Others have so little flat spot that they might better be called "Rocker with a little flat spot".

Cons - less running surface than Flat.

Flat-Rocker-Flat

Pros - Reestablishes much of the lost running surface inherent to camber and some of the rebound. This design has a little smoother weighted profile than Camber-Rocker-Camber...

Cons - ...but a bit less rebound and pop.
 
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#218 ·
Hi thanks for all your info on this thread. I have a question cuz im not sure which to get lol

I want the new gnu street. I'm thinking I want the 152, but possibly 154. leaning towards the 152 because I ride an old gnu 150-252 hasshaulff camber board. IT has 114 effective edge. It feels good to me but i want to get a playfull fun board. I am riding with my two boys this year teaching them to ride. 9 and and 8 year old I just want to play on smaller jumps fun boxes butters and stuff. Do you think the 152 street is going to be too small for me since its a rocker board. iT has 116 effective edge which is two more cm then the camber board i ride now. or should I go 154 with 118 effective edge? i am between 180 185 pounds with a size 11 shoe.

thanks for your time
 
#219 ·
Hi,

There would be no advantage to the 152 at your specs. As always, we highly suggest that you take tip to tip board length out of your buying decision and focus only on the intended rider for the model you are considering. You are either right at or over the max rider weight for the 152 (the board will best perform as intended when you are centered in the range). You are best centered on the 157 cm size in this model.
 
#221 ·
Can 2 Burton Flying V's have different camber style?

I just got a new 2012 Burton Sherlock in the mail. I lie it on the floor and its definitely Camber-Rocker-Camber, according to the diagram on the first page of this post.

My friend's Custom Flying V is R-C-R.

They both say Flying-V.

Is my new sherlock defective?
 
#224 ·
setback?

Hi, I'm from belgium and as we have no mountains at all in our little country me and my friends went indoor for a couple of times to learn how to snowboard and fell in love instantly. :D
The first 2 times were on a flat burton rental but after that I started to experiment with rocker, camber, crc,... but i hate the loose, wobbely feel of rocker and after the 4th time I just bought a board!
This would be the 2011 imperium parabellum... 158, slightly tapered, 2cm setback and camber profile (flex 6), as I'm not the park oriented guy,and wanted to go freeride-ish.
At first I was scared that it would be too difficult to ride but goddamn, this baby rocks! It's really light, precise as hell, holds it's edge and in pow, floats like a surfboard! And surprisingly, I don't catch edges as much as expected...:yahoo:

2 disadv.: - on bumpy slopes, the 158 is a little to long for me bc i'm only 5ft9 and weigh 154 lbs size 8, it's not agile enough to go around 3ft diameter bumps, so i have to jump some of them
- because of the setback and taper, I can't ride switch

So I wanted to buy a second board, more flexible, to practice my switch riding, maybe try out some groundtricks, can you help me out?
Like I said before, just hate the loose feeling of rocker, I want to have control over my board, catching edge is me not being smooth enough :D with that in mind, came up with only 2 possible board types: flat or tbt, what do you think? I'm scared that the tbt won't hold the edge as good when I wanna try and carve?

Jeng
 
#234 · (Edited)
Hi, I'm from belgium and as we have no mountains at all in our little country me and my friends went indoor for a couple of times to learn how to snowboard and fell in love instantly. :D
The first 2 times were on a flat burton rental but after that I started to experiment with rocker, camber, crc,... but i hate the loose, wobbely feel of rocker and after the 4th time I just bought a board!
This would be the 2011 imperium parabellum... 158, slightly tapered, 2cm setback and camber profile (flex 6), as I'm not the park oriented guy,and wanted to go freeride-ish.
At first I was scared that it would be too difficult to ride but goddamn, this baby rocks! It's really light, precise as hell, holds it's edge and in pow, floats like a surfboard! And surprisingly, I don't catch edges as much as expected...:yahoo:

2 disadv.: - on bumpy slopes, the 158 is a little to long for me bc i'm only 5ft9 and weigh 154 lbs size 8, it's not agile enough to go around 3ft diameter bumps, so i have to jump some of them
- because of the setback and taper, I can't ride switch

So I wanted to buy a second board, more flexible, to practice my switch riding, maybe try out some groundtricks, can you help me out?
Like I said before, just hate the loose feeling of rocker, I want to have control over my board, catching edge is me not being smooth enough :D with that in mind, came up with only 2 possible board types: flat or tbt, what do you think? I'm scared that the tbt won't hold the edge as good when I wanna try and carve?

Jeng
After reading through your post I feel like you need to do one thing, it's crucial.

Develop your balance...with a balance ball, walking a couple 2x4's nailed together laying on edge, sitting on a large ball, squats and compression jumping...

Here's why, you're not into park style and want to free ride, but you are leaning away from the CRC profile that really suits all mountain free riding and carving.

I feel like a CRC profile lends itself nicely to carving and linking turns, and steep hard pack corners, it sounds like you don't like how the board transitions and that feeling usually stems from a balance standpoint, but everyone's different and you really may just prefer a different profile board, however no board shape, profile type or construction method will give you better balance and that's the key, balance and strength to to maintain balance

You couldn't pay me to ride another type of board profile for all mountain riding, I just finished going through the board buying process myself and found more education of product in 3 days than I ever learned in 10 years before, gotta love the net:thumbsup: and I basically got the newest version of the board I had a few years ago, but it's funny that it took me several years dozens of boards and a bunch of money to figure out what I did in three days on the net, and I came to the same conclusion:

After years of trying to find my soul board I found the GNU Altered gen

Fast fwd a decade

After three days of internet searching, and ultimately one gentlemans answer to my request on this forum, I concluded that the GNU Eco Genetics best suited my needs

Pretty much the same board, just came to the end result of getting my new "soul board" in a much shorter and less expensive manner

I looked at dozens, tried to talk myself out of a Mervin product, and couldn't, then thought why would I, they're the shit and have always been good since their inception to the industry, and they're practically my neighbors so I gotta support the locals when at all possible:D

On that note, take a peek at the C3 BTX construction found on Mervin boards, you might like;)
 
#226 ·
Bataleon are cambered decks, so some of them hold an edge and can rail carves, like the Enemy, and the Jam. I used to own both about five years back and they were great. But last year I bought an Evil Twin and it rode nothing like an earlier version I had owned when Bataleon first launched. It sucked, I don't know if they have made design changes you should ask some TBSt fans here. Im not crazy about flat decks especially for free riding. I like a board with some camber for that.
 
#227 ·
Thanks Tonic! That's what I thought about those curled up edges...
And for freeriding I have my parabellum, it's perfect! The flat would be for learning how to ride switch and buttering here and there... but I want to be able to ride it on whatever slope I run in to... I tried a crc, but even that kind of deck, imo is too sloppy, I want precision :D
 
#228 ·
Can someone show me what the profile for the lib tech darker series looks like, and also the gnu Eco genetics....

I'm totally lost when it comes to this banana box, c2 reverse floater, beaned beams and Maximus traction and all:D

Srsly though, what's the best profile/rocker combo for straight shredding, like all mountain ripping and steep hard laid out turns????

Thanks
 
#229 · (Edited)
Can someone show me what the profile for the lib tech darker series looks like, and also the gnu Eco genetics....
Thanks
The Darker series is C3 and the Eco is C2. Both are variants of Camber Rocker Camber.



 
#231 ·
Actually, after looking at a direct comparison of the two, I know for a fact I want the C2 BTX design :thumbsup:

:yahoo:

Thanks again for the picture comparison :bowdown:

You single handedly helped me decide on which board I'm getting


Even though I think the new one has an ugly design....(the lib darker series is sooo sik) I'm gettin the new GNU Eco Gen, 158cm and maybe some flow bindings, that's another can of worms in itself :dizzy:

Thanks again, I'm gonna go make a phone call now :D
 
#238 ·
Rossignol's design for Amptek is, "The original rocker infused with camber between the feet".

That puts the rocker in a place where it does not really have access to the energy benefit of traditional camber which allows the camber to act like a powerful spring under body weight. The major benefit of RCR is that energy combined with slightly lifted contact points to reduce snags and hard take downs.

Consider an RCR deck like the Flow Quantum if you are after that energetic feel.
 
#241 · (Edited)
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Some of you may have seen our early season release of the Ripsaw CR. I just wanted to post this comparison of our CR to C3.
Seems a lot of companies are going backwards with camber. I personally would rather have fuel injection in my car rather than a carburetor... CR falls under the RC umbrella and is the perfect hybrid of RC Tech and Camber without losing the playful shape.
 
#243 ·
Yeah I hear you- I switched from learning on a Camber where I got the technique down and wasn't catching too much, and after two seasons I switched to a rocker for the playfulness. It was so much fun, but I want something that gives the energy of the Camber board and that you have to initiate carves with the right way.

I'm looking at this and thinking of pulling the trigger-thoughts?

Rome Agent Rocker Snowboard 2013 | evo outlet

Rome Agent
 
#245 ·
Hey WS let me first say that you are the reason why I signed up onto this forum, I'm 28 been snowboarding since the 90's. Even though I'm considered advanced/expert, I have no knowledge of terminology and the new technology that is out. Iv'e used my trusty airwalk snowboard from the 90's LOL and finally its time to retire it and get in the loop with all the hype.

My Airwalk board is I believe flat camber and was wondering if I would have a lot of trouble with CRC? As I'm learning I feel that CRC is what I'm after. I'm in the East so very rarely do I see powder, mostly groomers/hard/ice. My style of riding is aggressive all mountain, love to hit the long sweeping carves after charging straight down the mt(reminds me of dragging a knee on a motorcycle). My downfall is at the end of the day the humpy, choppy, uneven terrain. This type of terrain just does not work well with my style of riding. Do I need a more stable board, or do I just need to navigate around it? My airwalk is a 155, if I decide on a CRC do I stay at the same length?

Few boards I'm eyeing: Lib Tec Lando Phoenix- Never summer SL- Rome Anthem- Burton Antler. I came up with these on thegoodride.com and just narrowing down with features/styles/etc. Would be great if you could suggest a few.

Thanks WS!
 
#246 ·
Stoked to assist Bro.

I do not see you having any problem transitioning to CRC. Lets dial it in though and figure out what you already have. My gusess is conventional Camber due to the age (but it well could be flat by now :) ). Please upload a pic of the profile of your Airwalk when you have a chance.
 
#264 ·
Trying to change boards....

Right now i ride the, ride crush 155cm 2012/2013...i like to hit the whole mountain from blue's to double black and hit jumps inbetween. Im from the east and go from the pocono's to vermont every snowboard season. I want a powder board being that im going out to jackson hole in march but also dont want to give up the forgivingness of my board. Pretty much i want a board thats great for the east and great for the west on occasion since i want to try out the glades. My ride crush was great but want something for the all around boarder that likes everything about the mountains. 5'9 160lbs i need a little advice.... I was looking at the lib tech and gnu boards and like the btx models.... But i will take other suggestions
 
#265 ·
Hi,

When you wrote that you want a powder board do you mean that you are looking for a powder specific board or something that will do well in the pow but will also rip at your local East coast spots.?
 
#266 ·
Hi,

looking to buy my daughter her first board, she is 7 and growing.
size 2.5 foot 57 lbs.
She is a beginner. I took her to local board shop and she saw a 2010-2011 k2 Kandi snowboard she liked and it is really reasonably priced less than $90. She is young and will not ride what she does not like so it limits me on choice. the size on it was 129. the k2 sizing chart was all over the map so it is hard for me to discern if this board will be good for her. I also like that it will probably be usable for more than a year or 2 while she grows. Before I pull the trigger on this, I want to ensure that this is not too much board for her. also looking for other sugesstions

thanks
 
#267 ·
Hey guys I'm new to the forum looking to upgrade my board and wanted some advice on what camber or rocker/camber boards are good for a budget of around £400. I do mainly all mountain/free ride, I tested out the ride buckup board last week and thought it was good but just wanted to see what other boards there are for my price rage. Also is the buckup classed as as all out camber or a rocker/camber/rocker board any help would be great, foot size 9 weight 16st

Cheers shane
 
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