 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello fellow Snowheads
We get asked a lot about ski rocker, and it is still being hyped by all the brands, and we feel in most cases there is justification for the hype, and when combined with camber is a bit of a game changer for everyone, as the whole question of ski length is also effected! At the ski test this season, all of my team were making leaps of faith from beginner to expert, and all came back smiling.
So I wrote a general guide to ski rocker and camber, which some may find useful and stuck it on our blog page: http://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/blog.aspx?tag=rocker
Hope some people find this useful, it isn't a definitive answer but certainly a good starting point! Thanks to Steve the in-house scribbler for the nice diagrams. My scribbles looked more like Curly-Wirlys! (mmmmm, now I want one of those!)
Rocker is here to stay, and with it's partner in crime camber, some of the latest skis are simply incredible to ski, I hope this helps explain why!
ScottyDog
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A pretty good article but only 4+ years since the punters started talking about it:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=626642&highlight=rocker#626642  I wonder if some of us have changed our opinion about value as a daily driver since?
I think your article is pretty clear - could probably be enhanced by a discussion of sidecut and what a 5 point design is? Also I think personally that zero camber doesn't just make a jib ski.
Don't think rocker came from snowboards though - waterskis surely then McConkey? I'm sure Libtech/Burton only picked it up after that.
Very good point about ski length. IMV any salesman worth his/her salt should be able to major on contact length/effective edge on any ski to ensure you don't end up on something too short by using traditional measures.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks fatbob, we appreciate that rocker has in fact been around for 10 years or so, but for the 1-2 week a year skiers (and many more!) rocker is still a new idea, as the brands have felt the confidence to push it out there. I have added the reference to the legend that is Shane and the Spatulas, but again, rocker for the mass skiers until the last couple of seasons has been the technology of boarders. It's great to see the change! Nothing wrong with sharing technologies across sports to everyones advantage!
Point taken on jib skis and sidecut, but others can write that, we have plenty to keep us busy, and were just trying to produce a simplified 101 (And I was bored of doing Google keywords, zzZZzz). If someone comes into a Boot Camp course then I will bore the pants off of them about side profiles and base surface area manipulation such as venturi points - intentional or otherwise!
Thanks for the feedback! And you are so right on ski length, it's going to be a combination of salesman understanding the tech and customer's trusting the salesman (And a bit of the hype) and rolling with it. I am glad I did!
ScottyDog
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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fatbob, I love the old thread link fatbob, made me smile and I am sure a few others will to. I also have to agree with your comments on where rocker/camber came from i.e. waterskis and then McConkey got some credit.
scottydog, Agree as well, pretty good article, in fact well done, its a difficult issue to get down on paper, and I think you have made a really good start
As fatbob, says I do not think that zero camber does make a jib/park ski, plus the area of multiple points where its 5 point 6 point or whatever O and then of course there is DPS!!. Agree as well that sidecut and flex also makes a huge difference to rocker style and the skis ability.
I would also have to say IMHO that Full rocker skis can carve very well on piste in fact some will do this to a huge extreme much more like a slalom ski than a general piste ski.
The camber and rocker are pretty much two seperate areas of the ski, as you call it "full rocker" is reverse or negative camber or is there a point where the camber becomes full rocker  Back country freestyle skis being a case in question where some are positive under foot but with more tip and tail rocker than a full rocker ski as you call them.
The biggest thumbs up from me is on ski length, now I am sure we will hear from some of the ski makers on SH's 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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scottydog, I'm going to disagree with "on a hard piste, you had little edge engaging when turning so it made for a very difficult ride"
I smacked into a rock some years ago on cheater GS skis, deflecting the tip on one to total floppiness with a hinge point just in front of the toe binding mount. Felt a little off in heavy powder as my foot went straight in, but totally didn't notive what I'd done on piste, until someone pointed out that the front of my ski was at a bit of a jaunty angle.
My single-observation experience is that most of the turn (in easy conditions and flat, groomed pistes) is done using the ski underfoot.
Which may go a long way to explaining the popularity/acceptance of rockered skis in the skier population whose experience of powder is in the loos of the Bricklayer's Arms (Hoxton)...
I'm also curious about, "Then manufacturers widened the waists for off piste use, but that meant going longer on your skis again to get a nice side-cut on them, to allow you to turn." - I thought the going longer movement was to get more floatation? But this I know nothing about, just my perception.
Although I still see most skiers skidding, so the carving thing goes out the window. (I know, I know, I'm nit picking...) Just in the mood for a wee entertained conversation.
Otherwise, once we get into your diagrams and explanations of the marketing puff your article is immensely helpful indeed.
Heaven help me if I was a beginner!! 
Oh yes, and at Uni a friend used to race on (this is 1984 by the way) Acryglass that he'd hit a rock with abd both tips lifted about 4 cms off snow at normal contact point. He thought they were wonderful.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The 'Ski Rocker' is where Chinese skiers keep their skis. 
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fatbob, nice old thread reference!
still don't know what benefit rocker really has outside of soft snow, but my daily driver is indeed rockered 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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