What is camber anyways you might be asking yourself? Camber is what gives your skis the bow shape throughout the middle of the ski. This shape gives you the best edge hold and carving ability on groomed hard pack surfaces. The camber also gives skis the rebound out of your turn, the kick back.
Reverse Camber or Rocker is the exact opposite of that shape (think more like a banana). This provides the obvious benefit of floating in deep snow as the shape naturally will make the ski climb to the top while moving forward. The trade off of course would be holding and edge and carving on a groomed run. To counter that negative there have been many new types of reverse camber created which will blend the benefits of camber and rocker to create a whole new ski experience.
The profile above uses reverse camber in the tip (a.k.a. early rise rocker) and traditional camber under the middle of the ski. The early rise shovel will allow the ski to climb and float in powder and make the ski more maneuverable in bumps and woods. Roll the ski on edge however and you will end up with traditional edge contact and carving ability. This shape is a great choice for a one ski quiver.
This shape uses reverse camber in the shovel and tail while once again using traditional camber underfoot. This will make the ski very quick in the bumps and woods as very little ski will be touching the snow. There is some carving ability as there is camber underfoot but definitely is starting to be a little more shaky at high speeds on groomed trails.
This shape above is full reverse camber. This will perform the best in deep soft snow as it will act like a water ski and surf along the snow. Try to carve this on a hard pack groomed run however and you will be wishing the thought had never crossed your mind.
The choices may seem confusing at first but simply determine what terrain you like and there will be a reverse camber ski to suite your needs!
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