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Traditional Camber vs Rocker - What to expect

skiMEbike

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I've recently switched from a traditional camber ski to a ski with tip & tail rocker. For the most part, the sidecut, turn radius, & the width underfoot are almost identical or very close. I am wondering what others have experienced in terms of handling in the bumps and groomers compared to the camber style ski. What are the few things that really stood out in comparison to the camber (either positive or negative)? Did the rocker ski cause you to change your style of skiing in any way?

With only just a few days on the new skis (compared to hundreds of days on the camber style), I am still "adjusting" and formulating an opinion, but would like to hear what others have experienced.
 

snoseek

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Is there any camber at all underfoot?
 

Hawkshot99

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When skiing comparable skis with rocker or no rocker, the only main difference I see is the rocker ski will be a bit more washy when straight lining. When the Blizzard Magnum 8.0 was rockered, that is the ONLY change they made. Same width, length, radius and core. I compared them together, and they skied nearly identical. The rocker was slightly easier to get into a turn. That was about it. I have never had a opportunity to compare a ski that close in design other than rocker.

What are you experiencing for problems?
 

Edd

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When I demoed the 172 Magnum 8.0 I noticed the tip rocker very much. They handled pretty well but it felt like I couldn't get forward enough on the ski. I think this was so noticible because I often ride skis around this same length.

I'm skiing on the Brahmas now in a 180 length. I don't notice the rocker much at all, even though it appears to be more pronounced than the Magnum rocker.
 

skiMEbike

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My experience so far has been that the Brahma has been better at most everything with some of the positives being: More stable holding an edge at speed, better crud performance, and easier turn initiation. Aside from the turn initiation, I believe these positives are more attributed to the ski construction/materials vs. the rocker (I am coming off a cap ski vs sidewall construction plus I beleive the brahma has more stiffness).

The jury is still out on the edge to edge quickness....Even though the turn initiation is easier, I felt I could get my old camber skis edge to edge quicker (if that makes any sense). It feels like I am late (or not quite finishing) my turns (especially in steep bumps) than I am used to, so my postioning gets out of sync & I can land in the back seat. Just not sure if this can be attributed to the tail rocker, since the shovel would be less in contact with the snow, therefore not "helping" as much as it would on a camber ski...OR...Is it more just a product of skiing a more demanding ski (versus a more forgiving ski).
 

BenedictGomez

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^ I'm pretty surprised you feel the skis with "tip & tail rocker" are "more stable holding an edge at speed".
 

steamboat1

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For me it's hard to tell if it's the rocker that makes a difference in the ski. I'm skiing Dynastar Outlander 80XT's which have a rockered tail & tip with traditional camber in the middle. The reason I say I don't know if it's the rocker or not that makes a difference is because both the shovel & tail are much wider than what I'm accustomed to, that could be making a difference. Turn initiation is easier but at the same time not as quick linking turns if that makes sense. They seem to want to carve more. Ski's are good in all kinds of conditions & are very stable at speed. They are also very quiet ski's having a very solid feel as opposed to that tinny fiberglass noise. I'm happy with them but at the same time still enjoy skiing on my old rock ski's
 

skiMEbike

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^ I'm pretty surprised you feel the skis with "tip & tail rocker" are "more stable holding an edge at speed".

As I said, I believe its more attributed to the sidewall constructions & metal and not the rocker, since I am coming off a capped ski (K2 Xplorers).

Turn initiation is easier but at the same time not as quick linking turns if that makes sense. They seem to want to carve more.

Kind of what I was feeling too...Just wasn't sure if it was attributed to the rocker or not. Like you, I am very happy with new ski. Thanks for the feedback.
 

goldsbar

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I've recently switched from a traditional camber ski to a ski with tip & tail rocker. For the most part, the sidecut, turn radius, & the width underfoot are almost identical or very close.

Comparative stiffness can have more of an impact than any of these, but rarely gets mentioned. If the skis are near the same overall length, your new pair will effectively be shorter, bringing all the pluses and minuses.

In general, I've found that rocker skis are more easy to "turn off" when you get into trouble and need to stop in a hurry. They're also great at preventing face plants in cutup snow and of course help with float. The downside is the full tip doesn't connect at turn initiation, so they might not pull you into the turn as much initially. It's rare, but I have lost balance on RR track style carved turns and wound up skidding sideways when traditional camber would have held just fine.
 

jrmagic

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As I said, I believe its more attributed to the sidewall constructions & metal and not the rocker, since I am coming off a capped ski (K2 Xplorers).

It seems counterintuitive that a rockered ski with likely a substantially shorter effective running length than your previous skis would hold better. Possibly it was the new factory edge on the Bhrahmas? Whatever it is, it's food to see you are liking your decision.
 

thetrailboss

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I've recently switched from a traditional camber ski to a ski with tip & tail rocker. For the most part, the sidecut, turn radius, & the width underfoot are almost identical or very close. I am wondering what others have experienced in terms of handling in the bumps and groomers compared to the camber style ski. What are the few things that really stood out in comparison to the camber (either positive or negative)? Did the rocker ski cause you to change your style of skiing in any way?

With only just a few days on the new skis (compared to hundreds of days on the camber style), I am still "adjusting" and formulating an opinion, but would like to hear what others have experienced.

Okay so here is been my experience so far. As you said I've spent several hundred days on traditional camber skis. Like you said I figured that the switchover would be fairly easy besides as you pointed out the width dimensions are relatively the same, right? Well it's not so simple as that. Fact is that the reverse camber actually makes a huge difference in my skiing. More specifically I have to lean back as opposed to lean forward. This goes against about 15 years of my ski experience in which I worked hard to ski aggressively by leaning forward into the ski and attacking the fall line.

It took me several outings in order to realize what my problem really was with the reverse camber skis--I was trying to ski them by leaning forward too much and as a result they did not handle so well on groomed or deep powder. However once I realized that I needed to lean back slightly and ski them completely differently than traditional camberred skis I found them to be quite enjoyable.

It's just a completely different experience than a traditional ski. It really is a whole different style and requires completely different technique then I would've imagined. That said I still use my traditional skis quite often especially on groomed or low snow days and interestingly enough I find that I'm skiing my traditional skis better than before my rockered skis.


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skiMEbike

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Possibly it was the new factory edge on the Bhrahmas?

Sure that played into it.

Okay so here is been my experience so far. As you said I've spent several hundred days on traditional camber skis. Like you said I figured that the switchover would be fairly easy besides as you pointed out the width dimensions are relatively the same, right? Well it's not so simple as that. Fact is that the reverse camber actually makes a huge difference in my skiing. More specifically I have to lean back as opposed to lean forward. This goes against about 15 years of my ski experience in which I worked hard to ski aggressively by leaning forward into the ski and attacking the fall line.

It took me several outings in order to realize what my problem really was with the reverse camber skis--I was trying to ski them by leaning forward too much and as a result they did not handle so well on groomed or deep powder. However once I realized that I needed to lean back slightly and ski them completely differently than traditional camberred skis I found them to be quite enjoyable.

It's just a completely different experience than a traditional ski. It really is a whole different style and requires completely different technique then I would've imagined. That said I still use my traditional skis quite often especially on groomed or low snow days and interestingly enough I find that I'm skiing my traditional skis better than before my rockered skis.


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Interesting...appreciate the perspective. Like any new ski, I am sure it'll take some days to fine tune them. I've wondered if the rocker ski forces you more into a "upright skidding turn style" and away from being more of a "charging forward carving style". We shall see.
 

thetrailboss

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Sure that played into it.



Interesting...appreciate the perspective. Like any new ski, I am sure it'll take some days to fine tune them. I've wondered if the rocker ski forces you more into a "upright skidding turn style" and away from being more of a "charging forward carving style". We shall see.

In a word, yes. You are supposed to "surf" more.
 

kickstand

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I just got the Brahmas (173) and was able to really push them for the first time this weekend. It took a few runs to really figure them out, but I found if you tried to surf them, they'd overpower you. I really had to push them and stay forward. The second I let up the skis would control me. I felt like they really helped me concentrate on technique. I loved them. I was a little worried how the early rise would be in the bumps (since I'm a terrible bump skier) and most of the time I didn't really notice it. Only in tight bumps. Anyhow, I love them. Very excited I went with these.
 

tnt1234

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I went from cambered skis my whole life and specifically the Rossi Bandits to the Bushwackers last season. Bushwhackers and Brahmas are the same sizes and rocker profile I think, the Brahmas just have a steel plate, so are stiffer.

I really had no trouble with the switch. Thought the slightly wider ski would be noticeable - it wasn't.

Definitely notice more agility and quickness in fresh snow, crud and spring snow....I'm loving them.

I will say, they have a speed limit due to the lack of metal. They didn't have the brahma when I bought them, but I think I still would prefer the soft ski for bumps rather than the better cruising performance of metal.

But re: the transition....not really an issue in my experience.
 
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