I rode a lib skate banana last spring at a demo, and was interested. So this fall i bought a k2 Turbo dream, the thing rocks!! its got rocker from bindings out. It rides groomers, junk, park, and pow. The only thing it doesn’t do well is in ollieing. but thats kinda a given. I also ride the new ltd fish, thanks burton!!! The is my 5th fish, and this one has rocker from the front binding forward. it is unbelievable in pow and low angle snowfields, at the bottom of steep stuff!!
Does anyone else feel that camber is like straight skis, something that worked well then, but is something that will not be seen on anything in the future?
Depends on your conditions, on East coast ice, you need it. want rebound out of your turns, you need it. want to carve on hardpack and put energy into your next turn, need it. want to slosh through tight trees, don’t need it. pow, dont need it, corn, not really, super steep - nope. different tools for different days.
I think the banana is an experiment, the real future is double camber, with the benefits of reverse camber in the center, and all the pop and spring you want comin’ from the tip and tail with the centers of the camber under the bindings. I think you would get similar pop through the length of the board as well, though at a different point of flex. Anyway, that’s what I wanna play with.
I feel like camber will stay. I was riding with a level one group the other day and I started the day on my reverse camber hero, but the group was charging hard and I felt the need to switch back to my standard equipment. Reverse camber is a good time and I won’t knock it, but if I want to rock on east coast “packed powder” then I’m going to stick with camber.
Some would say that the wavy edge that comes along with most reverse camber boards puts all fears to rest on hard pack. The reverse camber cuts down on effective edge, so the only reason one needs the wavy edge is because of the reverse camber.
Having a board in the quiver with reverse camber is fun, just like having a fish in the quiver is a good time. The bottom line is: boards with camber are easy to use, easy to tune, and the most versatile so I’m pretty sure they are going to stick around.
I was talked into a Lib Tech Banana after hours of discussion on camber. As an examiner/clinician, I have had numerous questions about the performance when I’m riding it.
I bring a traditional camber board with me clinics and encourage participants to take a few laps with the Lib Tech.
The consensus is that it is a joy to ride bumps,trees,powder,crud and freestyle. Where it lacks specifically is carving on firm conditions as well as any kind of pop when going for air.
The serpentine edge in my opinion does not make up for the lack of a positive feel edge set due to the lack of decambering.
One possible solution may be the double camber that I have heard about.
My guess is that it will be popular in the west and even then,used primarily when we have some fresh snow.
Not oo many years back some companies believed in and promoted 3 dtyles of riding, which lead to 3 types of boards: Freestyle, freeride (all-mountain / big mountain) and freecarving (alpine hardboot etc). Then some companies said there’s only 2 types of riding / 2 tpye of snowboards, one where people use the regular snowboard, and the other racing style that nobody does anymore (hardboot). Every company known to the general snowboarding public, only made one type of board - this ushers in “one type of snowboarding” thought process.
I think we are starting to go back again. The rocker craze is starting to again divide different types of riding.. but it is not really tailored to different types of riding, but tailored for different conditions. It is interesting to watch it all change. Possibly just another excuse to buy another board, to over stuff your quiver.
The history comes to mind when I wonder how much rocker we will be doing in 5 yrs from now.
I am suprised actually the magnetraction style edge are still being experimented with.
what would be next?
I’m definitely happy to see the variety of options increasing. I got to play on the NeverSummer with reverse camber between the bindings and camber outside to the tips. It was definitely fun to play on, and popped out of April crud with a playful explosion. I’m super interested to try some new things this winter since many companies will release these advances on their boards for us bigfooted freaks.
To see camber leave is highly doubtful. It’s just so useful at high speeds and delivering umph to the pop! However the v rocker, reverse camber, banana traction action has some lasting power that I enjoy. It brings me closer to skateboarding on snow.
my board of choice for all around east coast riding is a K2 WWW without “rocke"r (K2’s version of reverse camber)....I believe that reverse camber is here to stay, and so is camber….i also cannot wait until more companies join in on the progressive double cambers starting to come about….here are my thoughts on my experiences with riding reverse cambered boards (i have ridden both the skate banana and the box scratcher): I enjoyed the free flowing feel of edges that are not grabby for butters and messing around, but for the same puporse, i felt that I actually had to work harder to get my edges to hook up and respond when riding aggressively….I beleive that like anything, with enough time I would get used to the feel and no longer notice it…however i personally don’t want to have to “get used to” working harder to have my board work for me….call it lazy…but i like the response from my camber….my final thought on reverse camber is this….when i would spin over jumps, upon landing back on solid ground, the board wanted to continue spinning flat land, and was actually very dificult to stop from doing this…i attribute this to the fact that the method used to stop from continuing to spin flat on landings is usually edge grab and control to stop the spinning, but on a reverse camber, with the upturned ends, i found the amount of edge grab to be minimal, and therefore i felt very out of control of my board when landing spins on jumps….has anyone else experienced this or have ideas on this aspect?
... Then some companies said there’s only 2 types of riding / 2 types of snowboards, one where people use the regular snowboard, and the other racing style that nobody does anymore (hardboot).
FYI James, There are plenty of people still riding Alpine snowboards with hard boots! You can’t see them since they travel much faster!
I had a Lib Tech with that Magnetraction edge- it held ok in short radius turns, but couldn’t carve a large radius turn - so I sold it.
I will have to get on a reverse camber board this season… as soon as someone I know gets one!
I am so stoked to ride!! What is with this 50f weather!!!!
Does anybody remember Aztec? They made double camber boards in the 90’s. Basically reverse camber between the bindings and regular camber at the ends. People made fun of them and they didn’t last. How come nobody is giving them props… or royalties for that matter?
Ahhh Aztec…. I remember them! I had a demo alpine board from them. It was a fan tail and it looked cool.
It just did not have the stiffness it really needed. Interesting ride, but I sent it back. I never rode the other boards though -
Did you ride them?
The Aztec was an unbelievable bad idea. I rode one for a day (unfortunately I did not have another board in the car!). They were double camber, one “camber” under each foot. Maybe they thought teleboarding was going to take off…
Camber is good; rocker is good; flat is good ~ snowboarding is good…
Well, I finally rode some reverse camber boards! First was a Burton Joystick and the second was a Bataleon Fun kick or something like that…
it was green. They both were soft and fun to play with, easy buttering and both had some energy.
I was able to carve easily and they held up well in the steeps. Since they were soft boards, the faster I went, the more unstable they became.
I had to back off from driving the reverse camber boards as hard as I drive my Custom in aggressive turns. Linked toes and heels were much easier to do, but I kinda felt like I was cheating.
But different equipment for different riding or conditions will always prevail. I believe Reverse Camber is here to stay due to the fact that so many riders (general public) love to have fun and play around on their boards as opposed to cranking out hot n fast turns run after run.
I could count on one hand how many guests make turns that really demand full performance from their boards!
I have a rome artifact 1985 and the thing is a super noodle with reverse camber. The board is great, and while I do get the whole lack of pop thing, I think that reverse camber is going to just lead to quiver expansion and some changes in board tech.
When I’m riding trees or moguls and want to pop out of something I think a Carbon I beam from the bindings to the tip and tail would add the snap I am looking for in a reverse camber board, same would go for some carbon fiber placed near the edges at the ends of the board for people looking for some more carving abilities but this is just a thought and I am not in board R&D.
Has anyone ridden the K2 WWW with rocker from this year? They added carbon fiber forks in the tip and tail and I think it would make for an interesting ride and would potentially provide some of that pop that everyone is looking for/used to from regular camber board.
Big fan of the combination of camber and rocker. Rossignol’s 10-11 line has 3 different versions and a softer middle of the board. 5 mm of camber with rocker from just outside the inserts to the tip/tail, 1.5 mm camber with rocker from the bindings out, stiffer middle of the board, and 0.5 mm camber with rocker from just inside the bindings out. All fun. Many with magne traction.
My personal experience, the Angus, is stiff, with the 1.5mm camber. It was the most stable board I have ever been on, but like Isko said, I had to ride it differently and not hammer so hard on the tail/nose at the end of turns.
