It has taken only 13 years for snowboarding to progress to a level where the gear has grown beyond its most basic components. Essentially, it has become harder to know what to buy and what works for you personally. Beyond the normal means of measuring the gnar of your deck, companies have improved upon past ideas and started to develop new technologies that have ultimately altered they way we approach purchasing and categorizing snowboards.

Positive Camber

1n 1988, the only kind of snowboard used the same technology as skis, what is known as a camber. The area between the bindings is raised while the area beneath the bindings is touching the snow with each tip up.

Then, snowboarding started to progress to a riding style that had a smoother feel on the snow, making it harder to catch an edge while snowboarding. The shape and camber of the snowboards is, for the most part, still the same as it has been since snowboarding was invented. The positive camber has been kept alive due to advancements in base technology.

The foremost of these advancements has been the European company Bataleon’s “Triple Base Technology,” noted for giving the board a feel as smooth as that of the reverse camber deck. It has a camber the same as a normal snowboard except the base is raised, rounding out towards the tip and tail where the snowboard is widest and keeping the area between the bindings flat.

When the rider steps on the board, his weight makes the board flat, while the tip and tail become slightly raised above the snow. This makes the board more maneuverable while providing more “give” on the snow, which is helpful on almost all terrains when applied correctly.

Reverse Camber

Another very popular buzz on the market is rocker technology. In 2007, Lib Technologies introduced the Banana rocker system, a three-stage rise in the camber of their snowboards. They implemented a gradual U or “banana” shaped part between the legs and two flat parts beneath the bindings of their snowboards. This system gives the board a stiff yet forgiving feel that performs well in powder as well as park, depending on the model. Other companies such as Capita, Arbor, Signal, K2 and Burton have started to implement rocker technology in their decks.

Rocker/Camber

Lib Tech and Never Summer Snowboards were the first two companies to merge reverse and positive camber snowboard technology. They made the middle section of the board V or U shaped and tapered it off to a positive camber section under the feet and end in the normal tip of the board. They are continuing to push the limits of creativity when it comes to designing snowboards, creating snowboards with vastly different feels for riding on each terrain.

With both reverse and positive camber, a snowboard can maximize its potential in powder without sacrificing the stability at high speed and pop offered by regular camber.