Rocker is everywhere this year. You can't swing a cat past a snowboard catalog without hitting multiple mentions of this mysterious thing they call rocker. So what is it, and how can it help your riding?
Simply put, rocker is a ski and snowboard design that results in better floatation due to the positive camber of the snowboard. In plain english, the tip and tail of the board are turned up radically, putting more edge pressure between your feet (where it's most needed), and lessening the chance of the board diving below the surface in deep snow.
But it's not just in deep powder where these new rockered designs are excelling. Park riders are loving the design, too, as it allows the board to be longitudinally soft, which encourages lots of pop and buttering around the park, while still maintaining torsional stiffness for edge hold on firm surfaces. It's almost as if this new technology provides riders with the best of both worlds!
Different companies have different names for their rocker technology, and are marketing different levels of rocker for different applications. A rockered board definitely "feels" a little different at first, so it's important to get out and demo a few before making your purchases this season. That being said, if you frequently ride deep snow or love to play in the park, be sure to check out a rockered board this season!
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