(Soft) Chop
Jason notes in his review that the 108 has a significant amount of taper in the shovel and a recommended mount point (-3 from center) that makes it feel like you are set rather far forward on the ski. He found that this translated to “some insecurity when you start cookin’ down the mountain, especially when the snow is firm or punchy.”
Raging around through 5-6” of soft, chopped powder after a storm at Taos this past week, I’ll definitely agree that the 108 didn’t feel like a “a super stable, heavy, wood cored or metal laminated ski.” Jason found that the skis aren’t damp, and I’m not at all surprised that he felt this way, especially given some of the nasty, icy chop we found in Las Leñas. I can’t imagine the 108s will do all that well in firm crud given their softer flex, but I think it’s important to note that they’re far from squirrely noodles across the board. You can ski hard and fast through uneven, soft chopped snow.
Just as Jason “had a difficult time fully trusting the skis as I moved quickly from turn to turn” in “steep, choppy, and exposed terrain,” the only times I felt uncomfortable on the 108 was when the chop and my speed made it hard to stay balanced and centered on the ski. (Obviously that’s going to be more difficult the deeper and/or firmer the chop is.) If this was the case, and I began to pressure the cuffs of my boots more to gain some control of the ski, tilting it more on edge, the softer shovels did get flexed and kicked around to an unsettling degree, and I had to dump some speed.
So no, the 108 definitely isn’t a crud busting machine, but it’ll let you venture off into soft chopped variable snow with some real speed and still have genuinely good time. And the skis are happy to lay down carves or throw butters and spins off catwalks and side-hits. With a nice, soft-but-poppy flex in the tip and tail, the 108 should make for a great backcountry jib ski. I’ll be handing the 108s back to Jason soon, as he has dibs on gathering that data, but I’ve had a TON of fun skiing switch and jibbing around the mountain on this ski (just as I would a much narrower, shorter all-mountain ski like the Nordica Soul Rider).
No all-mountain ski will shine in all disciplines, and the 108 is no different. But the degree to which the 108 does so well in each area, even some real jibbing—and can transition from one to the other so smoothly and easily—is really remarkable. So far, that goes for carved turns and scrubbed turns (short or long); for firmer, smooth groomers to soft chop; and to spins and butters.
What’s Left?
In the little time I’ve had this ski in low, soft bumps, it has done very well. If anywhere, the material length of the 190cm 108, and its 111mm width underfoot, might become most noticeable (and for the first time seem cumbersome) in larger, hardpack moguls. Personally, I think I would rather be buttering off natural lips or carving and smearing around other terrain than skiing bumps on the 108, but this is still something to investigate.
Clearly, we still need to get the Rocker2 108 in some untracked conditions and see how it does there, but I’m expecting to find some pretty good things. The 108s have some generous width in the forebody of the ski and enough taper that they ought to float pretty well. The only thing I’m unsure of is whether the forward mount, the tips’ softer flex, and the low splay in the skis’ rocker profile will lead to any tip dive in fresh snow. We’ll see. So far, even from my more race-oriented background, I haven’t found anything I don’t like about this ski and a lot to be stoked about. And I’m definitely not looking forward to giving the Rocker2 108s back to Jason.
See Will Brown’s Update on the Salomon Rocker2 108
NEXT PAGE: ROCKER PROFILE PICS
Hey,
Just picked up a pair of these and wanted to knowif I should mount them true center or -1 or -2 back? I primarily ski the east coast (60% park and 40% all mountain). I also want to take these skis out west and wasn’t sure if mounting the skis true center or near to true center will decrease their preformance in deeper and lighter snow.
Hi Jim,
I’ve already replied to your post over on my Update, but here it is again in case other folks run across your question here.
Yep, it seems like there’s a good chance that a more forward mount would make it harder to keep the tips planing and tracking well in powder. I think -2 could be ok if you wanted to get an even more balanced feel out of the ski, but I’d worry about going with a full center mount, or even -1. I can’t be sure, but that’s my feeling. For what it’s worth, at -3, the 108 feels nice and balanced, and skis switch very well – better than I initially expected, actually.
Cheers,
Will
I’m looking at the Rocker2 108 and Line SFB. Thoughts on the 2? I’m 6′ 175-180. 44, so not as athletic as back in the day, but still fairly aggressive. East Coast with a a trip out west every year. Am very drawn to the SFB for versatility and playfulness + more edge hold than might be expected. But wonder if it would be too park oriented for a totally non-park skier, such as myself. Like trees, bumps, increasingly like larger turns in steep open spaces, but generally go for more tight stuff.
Hi Dave,
Very sorry I missed your comment earlier this spring. I suspect you’ve already made a decision, but if not, check out Jason Hutchin’s review of the 190cm SFB. He makes some comparisons to the Rocker2 108 on the second page. With a slightly narrower width, the SFB is going to be a bit more versatile and perform better on hard snow, but if you’re really looking for the jibby, playdul side of the Rocker2, its slightly poorer hardpack performance would be worth putting up with.
Cheers,
WB