A snowboard's flex and how it will handle and perform is directly related to the camber profile it features. Outlined below are the three basic snowboard camber profile classes, along with hybrid variations that blend multiple camber profiles together for versatility in a variety of snow conditions.
What is a Snowboard Profile?
A snowboard or camber profile describes how a snowboard looks when it is laid on a flat surface. This profile will affect how the snowboard performs and feels across various terrain. Traditionally, snowboards have a camber that rises in the middle of the board causing an arch. Over time, this has been adapted and refined to produce a variety of snowboard camber shapes that will help improve board feel and can be matched to riding style.
Learning about snowboard profiles will help you choose a snowboard that matches your riding style or the type of terrain you wish to ride. An example would be the use of rocker in the nose of your snowboard to improve performance in deeper snow or a flat camber profile to make your board stable at speed.
Basic Snowboard Profile Classes
- Camber
- Rocker
- Flat
Types of Camber Profiles
Camber
A full or traditional camber snowboard is the original snowboard profile. At the beginning of the sport, this is how boards were made and that was your choice. Although there have been many developments in snowboard profile there is a hardcore of snowboarders who would still maintain that a traditional camber snowboard is the best snowboard profile. A traditional camber snowboard arc’s up in the middle of the board and returns to the snow at the contact points.
This arc or camber allows the rider to build up pop for jumps and ollies and will increase the snowboards edge hold when carving. Camber snowboards feel stable and reliable and they handle speed with ease. Camber profiles are found in advanced carving or jump focused snowboards as they are stable and have lots of pop.
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Camber profiles can be ridden by beginners and in powder; however, both of these tasks are made harder by using a full camber snowboard. In powder, the camber will not help you to keep the nose of the board above the snow and you may be more prone to back leg burn in deeper conditions. As a beginner learning on a cambered snowboard could set you up as if you can ride a camber you can ride it all… but be wary of catching an edge. Camber snowboards keep the contact points close to the snow so it is more likely you may catch an edge regularly until you are confident.
Rocker
Rocker is the opposite of camber.
How to Choose a Snowboard Camber Profile - Tactics
Rockered snowboards move the contact points inward towards the center of the board resulting very quick and easy turn initiation that virtually eliminates the chance of catching an edge. Rocker also floats insanely well in powder but it can be squirrely at higher speeds due to reduced effective edge; that is, less board edge engaging the snow when on edge.
Flat Camber
Flat profiles are the middle ground between camber and rocker. Generally, flat profiles are found on softer freestyle boards that have a focus on riding non-snow features like rails and boxes. They're also great for newbies who want a board to progress quickly on yet still enjoy riding in the future.
Flat profiles offer some of the stability and edge hold of camber while allowing for a more forgiving all-around ride.
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Hybrid Camber Snowboards
Beyond pure traditional camber, there are hybrid camber profiles. While the dominant profile between the rider’s feet remains cambered, these blended profiles try to incorporate some of the advantages of rocker and flat profiles towards the nose and tail of the board. Camber with rocker produces a more forgiving ride by lifting the board’s contact points off the snow. The rocker also offers better float in powder. Camber mixed with a flat profile will also be less “catchy” than traditional camber.
They may not float quite as well in powder as a camber/rocker hybrid, but they retain more of the lively “pop” of camber for a playful ride that’s popular with freestyle-minded riders.
Rocker hybrid profiles offer the quick, easy turn initiation of rocker but, like camber hybrids seek to also incorporate some of the benefits of camber and flat profiles into the same board. A rocker/camber hybrid typically incorporates rocker between the feet with cambered sections extending from under the rider’s feet towards the board’s contact points to bring back some of the energy and stability that’s lost in pure rocker boards.
Likewise, instead of camber, some rockered hybrids incorporate flatter profiles extending out from the centered rocker section toward the nose and tail. While lacking some of the energy and stability of the rocker/camber hybrids, a rocker/flat hybrid will retain more of the catch-free playfulness of a rocker board.
Just like Rocker and Camber profiles, Flat has a mix of hybrids. Flat with cambered sections toward the nose and tail gives a more camber-like, stable ride at speed but the flatter, typically softer section between the feet makes edge to edge transitions easier. Flat with Rocker on the other hand provides a bit more effective edge than pure Rocker so you get a little more stability at speed while retaining the catch-free, super-float ride quality that Rocker fans love.
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There is what many call S-Rocker that has camber from the tail to around the front binding and then rocker to the nose. Some call this Rocker/Camber/Rocker but we have been calling this Hybrid Camber before people started calling it RCR so we just stuck with it. These are boards with camber between the feet and rocker after that float well in powder but also have similar properties to a camber board when it comes to stability. They are also more catch free than camber.
There is even hybrid camber with a large portion the sides lifted from the tip/tail well into the effective edge. Some call this Camber/Rocker/Camber CRC but we have been calling it hybrid rocker before CRC came about so we are just sticking with it. This is what we call a snowboard that has rocker in the center and then a camber bend at the tip and tail. The end result is the tip and tail are still off the ground and only make contact when it’s weighted.
There are many variations of this shape and they have a design for just about any riding style and shape.
Snowboard Flex
Snowboard flex refers to the board’s torsional and lateral bend under pressure. A “softer” flex requires less pressure to initiate and hold the bend while a “stiff” board requires greater force. Unfortunately, there is no standardized flex rating system for snowboards. The majority of snowboard manufacturers use a 1-10 flex rating system (1=super soft, 10=very stiff) while others will use a proprietary system to convey the same message. We think it’s most helpful to break flex down into three classes: soft, medium, and stiff.
Choosing the right flex in a snowboard depends on the rider’s experience level, size, and preferred use.
Soft Flex Snowboards
Softer flexing boards are ideal for beginners, lighter weight riders, as well as freestylers focused on jibbing and riding terrain park features. Just as the ”loose” power steering on a big old Cadillac makes it easier to navigate a crowded parking lot, for beginners and lighter weight riders, a softer board makes it easier to flex and control the board through turns at slower speed . The ability to more easily flex the board also benefits terrain park riders focused on sliding rails and boxes, or just “buttering the muffin” with sustained nose and tail presses. So why isn’t everyone on a soft board? Softer snowboards fall short during higher-speed, more aggressive riding. When a board isn’t beefed up to at least a medium flex, it will tend to produce excessive board chatter at higher speeds resulting in less edge hold and a loss of control.
Medium Flex Snowboards
The majority of snowboards are built with a medium flex in order to accommodate the widest range of riders and uses. Heavier weight beginners, and dedicated lightweights who aren’t afraid of a few bumps on their first days on this hill, can usually tolerate a medium flexing board right out of the gate. Although not as user-friendly as a soft board on the mellowest slopes at slow speed, a mid-flexing board will provide better stability and control as the rider progresses to steeper terrain and higher speeds.
Stiff Flex Snowboards
If soft boards resemble loose power steering and make for a more forgiving ride at slow speeds, they can make it downright sketchy when the pedal’s to the metal. When the terrain gets steep and gnarly, riders need the tight ride of a stiffer flexing snowboard. At high speeds in variable snow conditions, stiff boards are stable, more responsive to the rider’s slight weight adjustments, and better able to “track” the rider’s intended line. Finally, because riders come in all shapes and sizes, a stiffer board can also be a good choice for the experienced, heavy-set rider whose added weight might turn a medium flexing board into a soft one.
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