As Promised an Essay on the Different Cambers of a Snowboard: my write whatever I want blog
Ok so snowboard cambers. We should probably start out with the definition of camber. Camber is the portion of the snowboard between the bindings that is curved upwards to give the board flex, pop, and the ability to turn. Flex is how much the board can bend. Pop is the tension created by pushing the camber down, and when released in a jump causes a spring like effect, giving the snowboarder more air. Keeping an edge on a snowboard is how to turn. To keep an edge the camber has to be pressed down, or engaged, to keep the edge of the snowboard in a straight line on the snow. If a cambered board is lying flat on the ground the mid section of the board will not touch the ground.
There are three main types of cambers: camber, reverse camber, and zero camber. Camber is the original, and the one listed above. Reverse camber is, instead of the board being curved upwards between the bindings, it is curved up outside of the bindings, and in some cases, depending on the manufacturer, the entire board is curved up completely curved up. In the case of a reverse camber board lying on the ground, only the very center section would be touching the floor. The benefits of a reverse camber board is that instead of pushing down on the center of a board to keep an edge, the tail and nose are pushed down, making it easier to turn, and have more control. Another benefit is that because the nose is so kicked up riding powder is much easier compared to a cambered board, where the rider has to lean back in powder to stay up. The down side to reverse camber, no pop. Zero camber is the middle ground. If a zero camber is lying on the ground the entire board, except the very tips of the nose and tail, touch the floor. A zero camber board stays up better than a camber in powder, but not as good as a reverse camber, and it has more pop than reverse camber, but not as much as a camber.
The history of cambers. Regular camber has been, and still is, the go to shape of a snowboard for the entire length of snowboarding. All but two manufactures’ entire line consisted of cambered boards up until this season. Last year Lib Tech and Gnu released a revolutionary snowboarding technology, the banana board, or btx, the first reverse camber. Lib Tech and Gnu are owned by the same manufacturer, so they worked together patenting this technology. Now every serious board company has some sort of reverse camber board. They got away with stealing the idea by slightly changing angles and changing the name, calling it names such as: reverse camber, anticamber, or rocker. There are only a few zero cambers on the market right now, seeing as they are the kind of a mediocre mix of the two. Most companies only have one or two reverse cambers on their line, the rest camber.
The debate on camber versus reverse is a pretty hot topic. Companies are getting involved, offering the whys and why nots. Pros are on both sides, some of the best riders sticking to the original camber and others that are equally talented, saying reverse all the way. The conclusion is still really up in the air, because this is only the second season of reverse camber, and most snowboarders have yet to give a different camber a try. My opinion, even though I have yet to try a reverse, I will really like to try one out, but I will probably stick with camber. Because, hey, it works and has worked for the past thirty years, why change it?
There are three main types of cambers: camber, reverse camber, and zero camber. Camber is the original, and the one listed above. Reverse camber is, instead of the board being curved upwards between the bindings, it is curved up outside of the bindings, and in some cases, depending on the manufacturer, the entire board is curved up completely curved up. In the case of a reverse camber board lying on the ground, only the very center section would be touching the floor. The benefits of a reverse camber board is that instead of pushing down on the center of a board to keep an edge, the tail and nose are pushed down, making it easier to turn, and have more control. Another benefit is that because the nose is so kicked up riding powder is much easier compared to a cambered board, where the rider has to lean back in powder to stay up. The down side to reverse camber, no pop. Zero camber is the middle ground. If a zero camber is lying on the ground the entire board, except the very tips of the nose and tail, touch the floor. A zero camber board stays up better than a camber in powder, but not as good as a reverse camber, and it has more pop than reverse camber, but not as much as a camber.
The history of cambers. Regular camber has been, and still is, the go to shape of a snowboard for the entire length of snowboarding. All but two manufactures’ entire line consisted of cambered boards up until this season. Last year Lib Tech and Gnu released a revolutionary snowboarding technology, the banana board, or btx, the first reverse camber. Lib Tech and Gnu are owned by the same manufacturer, so they worked together patenting this technology. Now every serious board company has some sort of reverse camber board. They got away with stealing the idea by slightly changing angles and changing the name, calling it names such as: reverse camber, anticamber, or rocker. There are only a few zero cambers on the market right now, seeing as they are the kind of a mediocre mix of the two. Most companies only have one or two reverse cambers on their line, the rest camber.
The debate on camber versus reverse is a pretty hot topic. Companies are getting involved, offering the whys and why nots. Pros are on both sides, some of the best riders sticking to the original camber and others that are equally talented, saying reverse all the way. The conclusion is still really up in the air, because this is only the second season of reverse camber, and most snowboarders have yet to give a different camber a try. My opinion, even though I have yet to try a reverse, I will really like to try one out, but I will probably stick with camber. Because, hey, it works and has worked for the past thirty years, why change it?
posted by Eric at 7:48 PM
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