Camber
An advocate of powerful turns and poppy precision, camber speaks to the core values of board design. Acting like a suspension, camber creates a lively ride capable of slicing and stomping the entire mountain.

Springloaded

 FLYING V

Take flight with V-Rocker’s next evolution. A premium blend of camber and rocker performance, Flying V™ offers the best of both worlds. Rocker overall, including between and outside your feet, enhances playfulness and float through pow. Underneath your feet, subtle camber zones combine with Frostbite Edges, EGD, and The Channel to focus edge-control for crisp snap, adding pop and power through turns

S-Rocker

Speed and float are your friends, and that’s what S-Rocker is all about. Entry rocker extends from the nose to under your front foot, then transitions to camber between your feet. Compressing the camber under your back foot causes the entry rocker to naturally lift the nose, thus improving float while maintaining momentum and stability through deep-driving pow turns and variable conditions.

 V-Rocker

Rocker between your feet and in front of your feet towards the tip and tail creates catch-free playfulness and improved float from peak to park. Frostbite Edges enhance power and grip, balancing the board’s overall loose and forgiving feel.

EZ V

Get right to the good times with our NEW EZ V. Catch-free and forgiving, rocker combines with the effortless edge control of a slightly tapered shape for more float, fun and all-around easiness regardless of terrain or condition.

This debate will most likely never completely be resolved, it actually begin back in 1985 when the snowboard industry followed the ski engineers use of camber. For the next 20 years rocker snowboards were only seen in museums. Then Mervin Manufacturing in 2005 offered one board with rocker. Since then most all manufactures offer a variety of different rocker snowboards.
The average snowboarder is confused about this new choice, they’ll have to make when buying a snowboard, so I will try to explain the differences based on the characteristics you will feel while riding in different terrains.

POWDER

Camber boards have had a great 20 year track record of ripping up powder. To improve your ride, many riders will set back their bindings back so that nose will increase will rise to the top easier. While your shorter tail will sink. This will give you a disadvantage if you want to ride switch, but most riders will compensate for this by leaning back.

Reverse camber boards will not have to be adjusted back to improve their buoyancy. they will hold high speed buttering, and can be ridden switch no matter how deep the powder is.

PARK RIDING

Most all tricks to date were made up while riding Cambered boards. In bigger parks the camber stability will allow you to hit the big booters with a stronger sense of calm. Camber boards give you a more consistence , crisp, pop off of jumps and allies.

Rocker boards can make many of the stylish tricks easier to do in between charging towards a rail or jump. Buttering your way towards a rail then turbo pressing the rail will be easier with rocker.

GROOMERS

Many riders will agree that on the groomers camber will delivery stability at high speeds due to the additional edge contact. The way side cut and camber work together, a properly executed turn will deliver an additional g-force feeling as you excellerate through your turn.

Rocker boards initiate turns very easily, and tend to want to finish the turn just as quick. Due to its design you end with a lot less edge on the snow. This is no problem on days where the runs are soft, but on hard pact or icy days you will fell less edge bite, that will will make you want to ride a bit slower. Note* Mervin manufacturing’s “magnetraction” and Burton’s “pressure distribution edges” will give back the bit to your edges. Both these features to a greater and lesser degree can be under stood by looking at a steak knife.

It’s sometimes hard to buy the right snowboard. Even for people who have been riding for more then 10 years sometimes have trouble Choosing the right snowboard. It’s even harder when you are a beginner and you are wondering what the best board for a beginner would be. So That’s why we wrote this article.

CAMBER PROFILE:
Selecting a snowboard can be a complex process. A rider looking to purchase a board needed to decide according to the shape – freestyle, freeride, all mountain, stiffness, length, waist size – important for big feet, and graphics of course. Now brands are adding a new dimension: camber profiles!
Some brands offer up to 5 different profiles: classical positive camber, camber for powder, reverse camber only in between the feet, reverse with flat base under the feet, and some hybrid camber to round it up. It’s sometime summarized as S, V, U W camber shapes. How do I choose a board now? The simple rule with reverse camber / rocker snowboards is that they make all areas of your riding easier because the boards are more forgiving. Powder floats higher, Park less edge contact and Freestyle disengage the edges quicker. When it comes to Freeride, camber / rocker can be less stable at high speeds due to its reduced edge contact.

In 1985 boards were all rocker, but classical positive camber became the standard simply because it just works better, then the original rocker designs.
Lib and Gnu call it Banana Technology. Their boards bow from the middle to the tip (there are variations between models). One feature that Lib Tech and Gnu also offer on all their Banana Technology designs, Magnetraction which is like a serrated edge to increase its edge ability to cut though hard pack and ice.
Burton, K2 and Ride call their version Rocker, the difference being that their boards are flat between the bindings and rise from the binding to the tip (there are variations between models).

LENGTH:
A quick starting point for board length is to have it reach somewhere between the tip of your chin and the top of your hairline when standing the board in front of you. The board you most enjoy riding, however, may not fall within that range. Typically, a jib board for rails and flatground tricks will be a little shorter. A board intended purely for powder riding or for high speed carving down groomed runs will be a little longer. Reverse camber boards in powder are easier to keep on top of the powder, so you can get away with a smaller board in powder. A heavier set person will often be better off with a little longer board, whereas a small framed person may end up happier on a shorter board.

FLEX:
Personal preference is a huge factor in the flex of the board you select. Stiffer boards are typically used for higher speeds, carving, or pipe riding. Softer boards are preferred for beginners. It is easier to initiate a turn with a softer board, while stiffer boards will hold an edge at a higher speed.

WAIST WIDTH:
The width of the board should be fit to your boot size and stance angles. Typically, boots size 12 (mens) and larger should be on a board designated as wide. For maximum response, a width that allows the toe and heel of the boot to sit up to an inch over the edge of the board is ideal. The combination of the curve of the boot sole and the rise from the binding baseplate will eliminate the possibility of heel or toe drag.

SHAPE:
Boards come in many shapes. This may not be obvious at a glance, but there are several possibilities. The most common shapes are twin and directional. A twin shaped board is one that is symmetrical tip and tail with sidecut that is the same at either end. Twin shaped boards are great for park and pipe riding, and are easier to ride switch (rear foot first). A directional board has a longer tail than nose and often has progressive sidecut, where the radius is not one consistent curve from tip to tail. Directional boards are more often used for freeriding.
There are also tapered, swallowtail, and other shapes.

TAPER:
Taper refers to the difference in width between tip and tail of the board. Tapered boards are ideal for powder because the narrower tail will sink more easily, allowing to nose of the board to stay at or above the surface. Tapered boards also work well for carving on groomed runs, but don’t work as well for riding switch.

STANCE OPTIONS:
If you like to ride with a really wide stance or a really narrow stance, then you will want to check the stance options on the board. All boards have inserts to attach the bindings to the board, and there will be a range of widths possible using those inserts. Besides width, there is also setback to consider. Many boards come with the inserts set back 1? or more from a centered stance, but the bindings can still be mounted on center. Conversely, for boards with the inserts centered on a board, bindings can still be mounted off center.

Burton’s NEW P-Rocker, is all about stacking new tricks. Zero Camber between your feet focuses control and creates a “loose-trucks” feel. Subtle rockers lift the tip and tail, giving you the power to press with He-Man strength while reducing your risk of rag-dolling.

The S-Rocker shape, Whether it’s an epic dump or late day crud, the NEW S-Rocker™ design equals effortless float that will accelerate you out of even the deepest driving turn.

Burton remixed the master with the game-changing feel and effortless control of V-Rocker. Add souped up edges, a softer flex, and slightly wider waist width to the mix and you get a stick that’s precisely engineered to crank unbelievable turns, land more tricks, and add amplitude to your ollies. From jumpers to jibbers, pow slashers to cruisers- this is without a doubt one board that everyone will have a blast on.

There are two major snowboard companies selling reverse camber snowboards with most all the other companies jumping on the band wagon. The 2008/2009 season we’ll see Burton offer the hero and Rome will be releasing the Postermania 1985 and Anthem Superlight Series (SS). Others soon will be joining the ranks of K2 & Mervin Manufacturing. Mervin Manufacturing, which includes Gnu, Lib Tech, and Roxy uses “Banana Technology” (patent pending). Their reverse camber snowboards have the rocker between the bindings, and the board is straight from the bindings to the nose and tail. Mervin also incorporates their patented magna traction serrated edge into all their reverse camber snowboards. Mervin Manufacturing’s reverse camber snowboards (Banana Technology) with magna traction include the following 2009 boards: Lib Tech Skate Banana, Lib Tech Box Scratcher, Lib Tech TRS Travis Rice Pro Model, Lib Tech Dark Series Lib Tech Jamie Lynn Lib Tech McKink, Lib Tech Skunk Ape and Lib Tech Snow Mullet. From their Gnu label the following boards come with the Banana Traction Technology, Riders Choice, Danny Kass, Billy Goat Banana-Traction Snowboard, and Gnu Youth Danny Kass Mini Banana-Traction Snowboard. Gnu offers woman’s reverse camber snowboards too, the following designs all come with banana traction Gnu Women’s B-Pro Banana-Traction Snowboard and Gnu Women’s B-Street Banana-Technology Snowboard. Lib Tech says that the reverse camber on their boards makes the board ride more like a skateboard than previous snowboards. Most snowboards have camber, which means the board has an arch that lifts up off the ground between the nose and tail. This is a shaping that was based off skis, when a ski or snowboard is turned on it’s side the camber kind of increases the side cut to make the ski or snowboard feel like it accelerate through the turn. Reverse camber allows the snowboard to disengage its edge easily so it feels more surfing. Additionally, reverse camber snowboards float easier in powder.

K2 Snowboards made their 2008 20th Anniversary Gyrator model with reverse camber. This reverse camber is different from Mervin Manufacturing’s. K2′s reverse camber they named “Rocker”. The board is flat between the bindings so there would be an area to assert pressure on to the snow so you can control the board, if a board were to have to much rocker it would be like standing on a saucer. The nose and tail of the K2 Gyrater swoops up passed the binding. This board design is made for riding powder.

It’s sometimes hard to pick out the right snowboard. Even for people who have been riding for more then 10 years sometimes have trouble picking out the right snowboard. It’s even harder when you are a beginner and you are wondering what the best board for a beginner would be. So That’s why we wrote this article.

Selecting a snowboard can be a complex process. There are many factors to consider, including length, flex, waist width, shape, taper, stance options, and others.
Here is a breakdown of some of the factors and how YOU can choose.

Length:
A quick starting point for board length is to have it reach somewhere between the tip of your chin and the top of your hairline when standing the board in front of you. The board you most enjoy riding, however, may not fall within that range. Typically, a jib board for rails and flatground tricks will be a little shorter. A board intended purely for powder riding or for high speed carving down groomed runs will be a little longer. A heavier set person will often be better off with a little longer board, whereas a small framed person may end up happier on a shorter board.

Flex:
Personal preference is a huge factor in the flex of the board you select. Stiffer boards are typically used for higher speeds, carving, or pipe riding. Softer boards are preferred for beginners. It is easier to initiate a turn with a softer board, while stiffer boards will hold an edge at a higher speed.

Waist width:
The width of the board should be fit to your boot size and stance angles. Typically, boots size 12 (mens) and larger should be on a board designated as wide. For maximum response, a width that allows the toe and heel of the boot to sit up to an inch over the edge of the board is ideal. The combination of the curve of the boot sole and the rise from the binding baseplate will eliminate the possibility of heel or toe drag.

Shape:
Boards come in many shapes. This may not be obvious at a glance, but there are several possibilities. The most common shapes are twin and directional. A twin shaped board is one that is symmetrical tip and tail with sidecut that is the same at either end. Twin shaped boards are great for park and pipe riding, and are easier to ride switch (rear foot first). A directional board has a longer tail than nose and often has progressive sidecut, where the radius is not one consistent curve from tip to tail. Directional boards are more often used for freeriding.
There are also tapered, swallowtail, and other shapes.

Taper:
Taper refers to the difference in width between tip and tail of the board. Tapered boards are ideal for powder because the narrower tail will sink more easily, allowing to nose of the board to stay at or above the surface. Tapered boards also work well for carving on groomed runs, but don’t work as well for riding switch.

Stance options:
If you like to ride with a really wide stance or a really narrow stance, then you will want to check the stance options on the board. All boards have inserts to attach the bindings to the board, and there will be a range of widths possible using those inserts. Besides width, there is also setback to consider. Many boards come with the inserts set back 1″ or more from a centered stance, but the bindings can still be mounted on center. Conversely, for boards with the inserts centered on a board, bindings can still be mounted off center.