Gear

Understanding Camber & Rocker

NEH FLeet

Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up when discussing ski and snowboard profiles.

To make it a little easier we have created a simple breakdown of the three most popular profiles to help you in understanding camber & rocker.

 

 

Diagram showing the cambered profile of a snowboard

Camber

Camber refers to the profile of an unweighted snowboard or ski. Traditional camber is designed so that, when the nose and tail are resting on the snow, the center of the snowboard or ski is raised off the ground. When weighted this area is compressed allowing the weight to be distributed onto the nose and tail, creating a greater surface area of the edges to make contact with the snow.

 

diagram showing the rocker profile of a snowboardRocker

Rocker (aka reverse camber) refers to a design where the nose and tail of a snowboard or skis actually rise above the center. It was developed in order to improve float on soft snow but can lead to limited control in variable conditions.

 

diagram showing the hybrid camber profile of a snowboardHybrid Camber

Hybrid Rocker (The best of both worlds) refers to a snowboard or skis that uses traditional camberunderfoot combined with rocker at the nose and tail. This creates a more versatile piece of equipment that handles well in a variety of different snow conditions.
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