In 2008, reverse camber took the snowboarding world by storm. Up until then, board profiles were just remnants of a half of a century of ski technology. The outside-of-the-box camber phenomenon made waves that rippled to all corners of the industry, with different effects. Most notably, almost any reverse cambered board was easier to learn how to snowboard on, as the contact points of the tip and tail weren’t being pressed in to the snow by the board’s springy camber. This made the yaw action of turn initiation much easier for beginner snowboarders to grapple with. Also, reverse camber was a rail rider’s dream, since once a board’s positive camber had been broken, it was easier to press on.

Immediately, brands hopped on board (no pun intended) and came out with all sorts of interesting ideas of what the side view of a snowboard should and could look like. It was all a balancing act, though, as brands who didn’t retool to compensate for the loss of energy delivered by positive camber were in essence pressing noodles with metal edges.

One brand that hit the nail square on the head straight out of the gate was Never Summer. Their original Rocker Camber, which has reverse camber in the waist of the board and positive camber beneath the bindings, offered a fun, playful feel at lower speeds, but pop similar to a positive cambered board. It was, and still is, really exciting to ride and offers the best of both worlds.

This year, Never Summer has taken things a step further with their Triple Camber Proto FR, which has added another positive/ negative transition in the waist of the board. This provides a similar character to Never Summer’s Rocker Camber, but gives the mid-section of the board a bit more energy, which really comes into play when you’re hauling ass and sending it off of the big stuff.