Rockered Snowboards are the latest trend that are taking the snowboarding community by storm. Stop by any snowboard shop and ask an employee what's the most popular type of snowboard, and you might hear things like 'Skate Bananas' or 'Gyrators'. To long time snowboarders, these sound more like dance moves than a style of snowboard, but these names are becoming increasingly known because they are Rocker-style models from brands Lib Technologies and K2 Snowboards respectively. http://www.porterstahoe.com [Burton Snowboards__title__ Burton Snowboard just released their version called The Hero, and Rome's Artifact 1985 will be hitting shelves soon as well.To a non-surfer or snow skier, the term "reverse camber" might make the light bulb go off a little more. The result of camber in a snowboard or ski is the slight arch running lengthwise from tip to tail that you can see. When you put one on a perfectly flat surface, it rests on two spots; near the tip and near the tail, with a very small gap between the ground and the middle of the snowboard or ski. Obviously then reverse camber, like the name says, would be where the contact occurs in the middle and the same contact points in a traditional shape are slightly off the ground.
In the medium of water there are several items using rocker technology including surfboards, wakeboards, water skis, and kayaks. In fact, for many of the early pioneers of snowboarding, who came from the surfing world, this is the sensation that made them snowboard junkies in the first place. Finally they could surf the snow! It's no coincidence that when you have bottomless powder turns on a snowboard that it's extremely close to how it feels to make the same turns on a surfboard. The sensations can be felt similarly in wakeboarding or even some water skiing too. It's the sensation of pushing into the snow/water and sinking but then rebounding back to the surface as the snow/water feels like it is pushing back.
Rocker also has a very unique application for terrain park snowboards. Again with the tip and tail rising off the snow or rail feature, it makes initiating moves like a nose press or spinning onto firm surface actually easier. For example, this is why K2 Snowboards has three different versions of rocker technology. One board is intended primarily for the powder days, one that is more terrain park specific, and a blended rocker for an all mountain feel. John Chapman from http://www.PortersTahoe.com [Porters Tahoe Sports__title__ snowboards explains, "Without an ACL in either knee, my park days are long behind me. After being on the K2 Gyrator only twice last year, though, I fell in love with rocker construction - especially for deep Tahoe / Utah / AK style powder."
The forgiving nature of rocker boards are making them this seasons must have. "They allow all levels of snowboarders more forgiveness in certain situations such as riding on rails and making a turns in powder" says Chapman. "We can't keep them on the shelves long enough, and we've enjoyed a lot of traffic to our online store, PortersTahoe.com, from people searching for these types of boards. If you're looking to purchase one, we recommend doing so before the holiday shopping season."
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