Rocker is the rage in today's ski design and is widely hyped on the Internet and in the ski press as the new revolution. In reality "rocker" is a broad category name and actually represents many different variations of a ski's baseline design—from shallow early tip rise/low rocker, high-tip rocker, and tip-and-tail rocker all the way to full reverse-camber rocker. This article and the accompanying chart describe the different types of rocker—along with skiing characteristics and related waist widths and turn radius—and offers some general recommendations relative to skier ability terrain preferences, turn shape preferences, and snow conditions. All with the intent of giving you a better idea of what to look for when selecting gear or advising those students who seek your expertise before making their own choices.

EARLY RISE OR TIP ROCKER 

This is a traditional camber ski in which 70—90% of the running surface is traditional camber but the final 10-30% toward the tip rises up slightly. If you place the ski on a flat surface and flatten it you will see the front bit of the ski angle upward, with the tip being about 1 centimeter (early or low rise) 5 to centimeters (high rise) in the air.

The traditional camber of the ski provides power underfoot, precision, rebound, and edge hold.

Traditional cambered skis are the quickest for turn initiation and provide the strongest tip pull into the

turn, but are more demanding and require more effort and accuracy of movement than early rise skis.

Early rise allows easier and more forgiving turn initiation than a traditional ski while providing smooth

transitions between turns. It also offers good turn versatility.

The smaller the early rise the faster and more precise the turn initiation. Conversely, the longer and

higher the rise the slower the initiation. The longer the rise the easier and more forgiving the ski will be.

The longer and higher the rise the more the ski will float in variable and soft snow conditions. It supports

Easy turn initiation but, again, the turn initiation will be slower because the tip will take a little longer to

engage. These types of skis still boast plenty of performance but they represent more ease and

forgiveness for all-day performance.

TIP AND TAIL ROCKER WITH TRADITIONAL CAMBER UNDERFOOT

This ski profile has the same tip characteristics as the early rise models, but the tail also rises up. The all-mountain skis in this category often feature 70% traditional baseline camber with 15% tip and 15% tail rocker, while the more powder-specific skis have 50% camber and 50% tip and tail rocker. Easy turn initiation and turn completion, requiring less energy to drive it. Very forgiving, Transitions easily between turns but lacks the power and rebound that a traditional tail provides. Good flotation in soft snow, powder, and variable snow conditions. Traditional camber provides edge grip, power, energy, and all-mountain versatility.

Small tip and tail rocker can be good for all-mountain skiers, but it foregoes a little short-turn quickness and the
precision and accuracy of a traditional ski. On the plus side, the ride takes less effort. This ski is

good for longer-radius turns and shaped—rather than carved—short turns.

Large tip and tail rocker offers a very surfy feel in soft conditions and powder snow, but on the groomed

your arcs will be less carved. A round, skidded arc is more common.

This is a broad category with ski sidecuts and widths from narrower all-mountain shapes to wide, powder

specific options.

FULL ROCKER

This is a ski with no camber. Its shape resembles a banana or rocking chair.

Very easy to initiate turns. Extremely maneuverable and playful. The most float of any ski shape in softer

conditions.

Different versions—from twin tips to more traditional shapes and sidecuts.

Full-rocker twin tips are good for powder, tricks, park sessions, skiing switch, and just being innovative.

Traditional sidecuts are very good in powder, junk, crud, and variable conditions. Easy to initiate, very

forgiving. Best in bigger arcs.

Best off-piste. Reverse camber makes arcing turns on groomed terrain a challenge, but the design is

capable of making long and stable cruiser turns. The more ski you have up in the air at the tip and tail

the more it will just bounce around.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT WAIST WIDTH

Just as the type and amount of rise/ rocker plays an important role in ski performance, so too does waist width—especially with regard to turn quickness, edge grip and hold, and the ability to float in soft, cruddy, or loose snow conditions. Here's how: The narrower the ski underfoot the less mass (swing weight) it has, which makes for easier and faster turn initiation. The smaller the waist the quicker you can roll the ski from edge to edge. Conversely, as you go wider the weight increases, quickness decreases, and it takes longer to roll from edge to

edge.

•  Narrower waists provide better edge grip since the edge
is under your foot in the middle of the turn. In other
words, the closer the waist width of the ski is to the sole
width of your boot the more the edge is under your foot
in a turn. The wider the ski the longer it takes to roll
onto the edge, and since the edge is farther away from
your boot sole it takes more leverage/energy to keep the
ski on its edge.

•  As the ski width increases there's obviously more surface
area, which allows the ski to float higher on the snow. Skis
in the realm of 102—145 millimeters can be wide enough
to actually let you skid or pivot on top of soft snow just
as you would on the groomed.

   Recognizing the close relationship that exists between waist width, turn radius, and rocker, ski manufacturers have

   come up with some general performance guidelines regarding waist width:

• 68-78 millimeters: These skis are carve-oriented, thanks to the combined edge grip and quickness of a

  narrow ski. Carving-or race-inspired skis usually have a traditional camber or, at most, a small amount

of tip rise to allow the tip to play an active role in pulling the ski into the turn and creating power and energy through turn completion. This category is home to the highest-performance groomed/hard snow carving skis, requiring high performance, high energy, and high mental and muscular output. 80-95 millimeters (mid-fat or all-mountain category): Rocker skis in this category make for easier turn initiation since they are more steered than carved. You give up some edge hold and carving performance for all-mountain versatility. Those who favor these skis can still lay down some tracks but, with a turn radius of 15 to 20 meters, they mostly have a medium to long turn shape. Generally, the wider the waist the longer the turn radius. + 100+ millimeters: The emphasis here is on off-piste skiing, where flotation and smooth turns are the order of the day. The larger and more pronounced the rocker the more the ski floats—at the expense of the tip pulling through the turn. With these skis, turns are more guided and shaped versus carved, except for long-radius turns where you can potentially lay them on edge. The width, combined with reduced edge surface due to rocker, makes for less edge grip in harder snow conditions. Turn radius goes from 21 to 40-plus meters, since in this category you don't really want to make quick turns—or have the ski tip "hook up."

SUMMING UP

Today's skis represent a very good blend of performance, forgiveness, and versatility, so it's hard to make a poor choice. The decision should be based on what terrain and conditions you want the skis for. Are they your main daily ski or are they for more specific conditions? Selecting ski width and rocker profile is as much a matter of function as style and image in many areas.

A general trend I'm starting to see is less emphasis on "wider is better," as rocker has had a big impact on the skis' ability to float, reducing the need to always go wider for good performance in off-piste, variable snow. That said, width is often a matter of the skier's location and preferences for snow type and terrain. In the West, many ski with a waist width of 86 to 100 millimeters as an everyday ski, while on the East Coast the daily go-to ski is usually in the neighborhood of 74 to 86 millimeters. In powder-specific gear, I'm finding skis from 95 to 120 millimeters underfoot are the norm, with specialty skis going all the way up to 145 millimeters underfoot. If you want more float you can either go wider or select a ski with more rocker. The wider the ski the slower the initiation, and the additional weight at tip and tail requires more energy to steer it over the course of the day. Powder-specific and specialty skis are still getting wider but become less versatile and more terrain-specific.

For those favoring more groomed and hard-snow performance, early rise/low rocker provides more forgiving initiation and consistency in transitions between turns while coming close to the performance of a traditional camber ski. Remember, too, that ski design and performance is directly related to how well the skis are maintained and tuned. Traditional skis are usually tuned with 1—2 degrees of base bevel, plus the tips and tails are detuned to minimize the risk of the tips hooking at initiation and the tails catching at the completion of the turn. Rocker skis have this built into the design.

And now for one last bit of advice before you or your student makes that new ski purchase. The best option is to demo some of the models to get a first-hand feel of the ski's performance or talk to someone who has the models you are looking at and read the reviews to see if the traits you are looking for are there. The good news is that ski quality is really good, so it's hard to miss.

As For Women And Kids…

The information in the accompany chart generally applies to women as well as men, except for the fact that women-specific skis have flex profiles, sidecut dimensions, and mounting points that do make a difference for female skiers. Within lines of women's models, skiers have the same options with regard to construction (metal or no metal), ski weight, waist widths, and rocker options.

Skis made for the junior market may feature similar rocker choices, but it depends on the manufacturer. There will be less choice of waist widths relative to the type of rocker. That said, the waist widths in the chart are quite close to the offerings in junior skis, which run from 65 millimeters underfoot to approximately 100 millimeters.

The logic holds true of narrower waist widths being quicker, more responsive, and lighter. The wider you get the better the float and more all-mountain versatile the ski is—with the 100 millimeter waists being more off-piste driven.