Just when we thought the revolution of shaped skis had turned into a quiet evolution, along comes something even more revolutionary. It’s been more than a decade and a half since the shapes came along, and other than ski binding systems big news has been scarce. Now comes the “Rocker.” As Kurt Hoefler, alpine division manager for Rossignol put it, “The last 15 years have seen more improvements than all of previous history.” He went on to cite shorter skis, skis and snowboards designed for teaching, shaped skis, super sidecuts and now “Rockers.”

The simple description of Rocker is reverse camber, but there are several variations. Instead of thinking of skis as being raised under foot when lying flat, think of the rails of a rocking chair. It isn’t that radical but rocker skis turn up further back from the tip and in some models at the tail. The degree of rocker varies as does the stiffness of the skis. Full rocker means the camber is reversed the entire length of the ski, best for skiing off-piste or in ungroomed snow and bumps. Tip and tail rocker leaves the part of the ski under foot with traditional camber and tip rocker has traditional camber from behind the tip back.

Without getting into all the mechanics, rocker skis are easier to ski. Even more important, skiers don’t have to do anything different. Beginner, intermediate or advanced, it doesn’t matter, carved turns, skidded turns, smear or steer, the rockers make catching edges less likely. They pivot easier, and make steering, edging and carving easier. Peter Webber, Waterville Valley ski school director said that resort is switching its entire rental fleet of skis to rockers, because, “Learning to ski is easier on rockers.”

It isn’t just learning. All skiing is easier on Rockers. This year’s offerings from the various ski companies will be mostly Rockers, the main exception being race skis. The reason is simple. The racers are very good skiers and edge hold and tracking are more important than ease of turn initiation.

Volkl is a good example. The race skis are all full camber. The RTM series (Ride the Mountain) have three full rocker models, 84, 80 and 77, the number also representing the width of the skis. The 75 is, 75 and 73 have tip rocker only. The Tiger Shark series has been replaced by a pair of tip and tail rocker models, the Code Speedwall and the Code PSi, giving the company a total of eight rocker models.

Atomic has labeled their models Powder Rocker, Adaptive Rocker and Active Camber, which simply leans full rocker for (softer) for powder, tip rocker for on and off piste and traditional camber for hard snow. There are four powder models, all wide, and seven adaptive models. The Vario series is for groomers (and my favorite Atomics other than the race models) with active camber. Here in the East the Nomad series with Adaptive Rocker is a good choice for a variety of conditions.

One of the most innovative rocker treatments comes from Elan. Their simple premise is that edge hold comes from a cambered profile and turning ease from a rockered profile. Hence the Amphibio models have a cambered inside edge and a rockered outside edge. That gives the skier the advantage of ease of turn initiation from the outside edge of the top ski and solid edge grip on the inside edge of the bottom ski.

Rossignol introduces the Auto Turn Rocker, Power Turn Camber and Powder Turn Rocker in the Experience, Avenger and S Series Freeride models. Fischer has All Mountain Rocker, Freeski Rocker and Tour Rocker. K2, Head all the other ski companies have “Rocker” models.

They come in various widths and flexes designed for different conditions. The simplest way to put it is, full rocker for soft and ungroomed snow, tip and tail rocker for groomed and ungroomed snow and tip rocker for hard pack. Unlike the trend with shaped skis to shorter lengths, rocker models should be about 5 cms longer. About the only models with no rocker are race skis so if they are your choice go with what you’re familiar with. For the rest, rockers come in a wide variety of widths, lengths and flexes. One thing they have in common is that rockers are easier to turn and more forgiving. This season when you go to demos, check out the rockers and see which ones fit your skiing best. Unlike other new technologies, the rockers won’t require any change in technique and they are fun to ski.

Copy the Story Link