CAMBER

What does it look like?
When you look at a cambered boards side on, it has four contact points with the snow near the tip and the tail, and it arches up at the centre between the bindings.

What does it do?
Cambered boards feature more pressure on the contact points, allowing more of the effective edge to touch the snow and therefore providing excellent edge grip throughout the turn. Second, there’s increased ollie-power, since the board is essentially pre-tensioned – when you load up the tail, it really wants to snap back like a coiled spring. It might be an older technology, but camber is still the favourite of powerful riders looking for maximum response – these boards are built for charging hard, riding pipes or hitting big booters.

CAMBER-ROCKER COMBO (HYBRID PROFILE)

What does it look like?
Hybrid profiles combine elements from camber, rocker and/or flat boards, in the hope of creating an all-rounder. If you look down the edge, it will appear wavy.

What does it do?
Some brands will put the rocker in the middle with camber beneath the bindings – for looser turns without sacrificing pop – while others will put camber in the middle to maintain carving ability with rocker extending towards the nose and tail in order to increase float and mellow out those twitchy contact points. The options are almost endless! Though hybrid boards get the benefits of both profiles, they obviously don’t have the same uncompromised performance as either extreme.

As a final tip…
It can be confusing when you’re trying to decide what kind of profile you want your board to have. We’d recommend really thinking about what you want to use your board for. Are you going to be hitting big kickers or jibbing most of the time? Or do you just want something that’s an all-rounder? Once you’ve worked that out, then it should be easier to decide which kind of profile will suit your style of riding.

Ready to buy? Check out the latest snowboards at Surfdome.