Salomon Rocker2 115 - for real?

[sf]

Found these on a norwegian webshop. Apparently there's another variant of the Rocker2 for 12/13.

Rocker 2 122
Rocker 2 115

According to the shop the 115s are ment to be more of a big mountain ski, stiffer tail, better edgehold etc. Only shown in a 188 length, and with a lot of sidecut for a big mountain ski it seems?

Anyhow, it's the first I've seen of it. Found nothing on the Salomon site. Anyone know something about these?

[sqikunst]

12/13 skis. Not supprised they are bringing a 115 twin rockered ski out. They have been missing it in their line up. Strange that they have 12/13 material though.

EDIT: Re-read teh post. ME = Idiot you refered to the fact that they are 12/13 models. Looks pretty cool thoúgh.

[Karl May]

Yeah, have been thinking the same thing. Salomon has a gap there. The new Rocker2 would fill it though.

[D(C)]

Makes me wonder if the Czar is dead...

[skimaxpower]

Makes me wonder if the Czar is dead...

The Czar hasn't changed in four years. I love it, but it's due for a refresh.

It's interesting that they would abandon the name though. That ski has a good reputation. (All speculation for now...?)

[JimLad]

Saw these the other week on Blackcomb. Lots of salomon riders were on them. I had assumed they were just next years colours for the rocker2

[Skidog]

Skied these last week, but the pro version (which is likely what JimLad is seeing around Blackcomb). The production version will be slightly softer and more sidecut.

Anyway. Not optimal conditions for this ski (think hardpack Alta Ut), but they are a very nice ski. Very good grip on hardpack. Rocker2 type tip, much flatter more traditional tail, as well as a much more traditional mounting point (think further back not as centered as a rocker2). To me this made them much nicer. I am not a huge fan of the centered mounting point of the rocker2. Skis were very fast edge to edge, could slide the tails out when needed. Skied a bit of bumps with them and they handled it as well as you'd expect. Didnt feel at all squirrely on the groomers going fast and not as much tip flop as i noticed from the rocker2. Will be interested to see how these perform on the deep UT fluff, but i'd expect they will do swimmingly.

Salomon will be doing an entire "rocker line", matching graphics, etc...gives them a bit more versatility...and seems its a good move and a nice "refresh" of the line. I am not sure what they are doing with the czar, but i am pretty sure that the shogun stays with some "updates" to match the "rocker line".

I did ski these with the guardian as well, but that review is in the spy shot thread.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Alkasquawlik]

Well there is 29" of new up here at Aleyska so I'll make sure to focus on how these final versions truly ski in the deep.

[Skidog]

Well there is 29" of new up here at Aleyska so I'll make sure to focus on how these final versions truly ski in the deep.

Yeah yeah i been seeing your tweets...so not fair...

Im sure they'll handle the deep deep just fine..I just want to actually ski them in it too

Enjoy man...must be SICK up there..

[ecskier7]

Only 1100 dollars right now!
Alkasqauwlik any beta on how they did?
Anyone know what the actual price is gonna be?

[Alkasquawlik]

Without sounding like a broken record of "oh shit, it's amazing, best ski ever", I would like to say, they're probably the best ski I've skied on to date.

To preface the review, the background on building these skis was to take some of the characteristics of the Rocker2 122 and delineate them down to a ski that would ski more powerfully, handle crud and chop better, be narrower and overall be a better all-around fat ski. So while it's a twin rocker, the tail is what I'd call a hybrid twin; it's just more of an early rise tail. The tip shape is similar to the Rocker2 122 because the pushed down wide point makes the ski quick and easy to turn. The waist width is indeed 115 and the tail has a pushed up wide point, but overall it's more tapered and pinned than the Rocker2 122.

From what the wife has been hearing me blab in her ear every chairlift ride, she can confirm I'm absolutely in love with these skis right now. Today was flat light and cut up pow here in AK, and I was able to charge just a little bit harder than I would normally be able to on my 122's. But they're still light, quick and snappy like the 122's because of the overall shape similarities and construction similarities. On the flip side, they take to groomers better than the 122's and because the tail is a tad stiffer, overall ski stronger through mixed conditions and pow. As much as I love the 122's, and I will ski on them this year, the new 115's are gonna be my personal go to ski for the year.

So far so good.

[ecskier7]

I have a pair of czars and cant imagine a czar and rocker 2 having sex and producing the hybrid. I will be getting these for my season next year as an every day ski. The only problem I had with the czars were they were heavy as F$%^ with the 916s but are an awesome ski. Keep us posted with your thoughts in other conditions like Ice. And Pics?!

[D(C)]

Here's a question - how closely involved are Salomon and Atomic when it comes to ski development? I would guess that the Bent Chetler played a role in the design of the Rocker2 122. Have the Rocker2 115 and Atomic Automatic been developed in tandem or is the r&d quite separate?

[sf]

Alkasquawlik; So the radius is shorter than on the 122s? The shop says 21m, but I thought it seemed to be a bit too much sidecut

[Alkasquawlik]

Here's a question - how closely involved are Salomon and Atomic when it comes to ski development? I would guess that the Bent Chetler played a role in the design of the Rocker2 122. Have the Rocker2 115 and Atomic Automatic been developed in tandem or is the r&d quite separate?

Not involved together in the slightest bit. Austria is Atomic's homebase and France is Salomon's homebase, each companies' engineers, R&D departments and athlete meetings are separated by a few countries. Even proto's are hand built in the HQ's. The only chance there would ever be for overlap is when skis go to full production and the factory workers can see what each company is building.

On the other notes:

Radius: Not sure yet, would have to confirm what I think it might be.

Czar: Yeah, it's sort of like that. They're definitely lighter than the czars though because of some of the new construction techniques in the tip and tail.

[monkeywrenchMoose]

This is an interesting thread. I'm actually surprised to hear that Atomic and Salomon don't collaborate more. I was under the impression that they were under the same umbrella. What is the deal with the STH 16 and the Atomic FFG16 binding then? You can't say that those are different.

[/end threadjack]

[skismith]

Any info on the Rocker 2 108's Alka or anyone in the know? Pics and dims info much appreciated.

[Alkasquawlik]

This is an interesting thread. I'm actually surprised to hear that Atomic and Salomon don't collaborate more. I was under the impression that they were under the same umbrella. What is the deal with the STH 16 and the Atomic FFG16 binding then? You can't say that those are different.

[/end threadjack]

So yeah, Salomon and Atomic are under the same corporate umbrella (Amer) but are ultimately independently operating companies. The FFG and STH are indeed the same binding. When Salomon came under Amer's ownership they did a sort of thing where Atomic gets Salomon bindings to rebrand and sell. It's a weird corporate thingy. But in no way to the development of the bindings, skis, boots...whatever, overlap within the companies. It's actually if anything driving some developmental competition between the two.

Anyways, back to the thread, so Rocker2 108's: I've skied on them a few days but don't know enough about them to start blabbing. Douglas actually has skied on them a ton and loves them, so maybe I can get him to chime in.

[hardkorps]

Skied on these the other day as well thought they skied great all around on hard pack and bumps. like the tail and width better for all around resort skiing. Cody The ones I was on were 188 cm any chance of another 192 or longer version love the length on my 192 Rocker 2's I love longer skis the Dictators are perfect!

[Alkasquawlik]

Don't think anything longer than the 188's are going to be made.

[monkeywrenchMoose]

Interesting. Thanks for the replies Cody. Got another question for you: You say that this new Rocker 115 is your favorite ski of all time and it is more of a big mountain schralping tool than the 122mm Rocker. Based on this would you say that the El Dictator will be rendered obsolete? I thought you designed that ski to your exact dream specifications?

[westoxified]

But in no way to the development of the bindings, skis, boots...whatever, overlap within the companies.

This is true except for binders. Salomon/Atomic racers are on the X binding and the Tracker/Guardian are identical, seems to be a joint effort on all the new bindings.

Stoked you are liking this ski. I think the hundredteen waist width is the holy grail for errything.

[Alkasquawlik]

Interesting. Thanks for the replies Cody. Got another question for you: You say that this new Rocker 115 is your favorite ski of all time and it is more of a big mountain schralping tool than the 122mm Rocker. Based on this would you say that the El Dictator will be rendered obsolete? I thought you designed that ski to your exact dream specifications?

Yes, in my opinion the El Dictator has been rendered obsolete. After skiing on the new rocker designs and new shapes, it dawned on me that you can have a ski that will charge (like a Dictator) but still be nimble and quick when need be (not like a Dictator). The 115 is surprisingly easy to ski, which you can't necessarily say with the "Put-Your-Legs-Into-It" El Dictator, yet still has a reliable tail that you can stand on when hauling balls or landing airs. I've been so impressed with that combination of design this past week.

Westoxfied: Yes, you are correct, but they don't collaborate on development or design of the bindings. They just share finished product.

[ZekeWolf]

Don't think anything longer than the 188's are going to be made.

With all your inside info are you really sure about that? All other major brands are going towards longer and longer skis and it would really surprise me if the Amer guys cut it at 188.

[Alkasquawlik]

For right now yes, the longest is 188. And come on man, Amer is a parent company, they have nothing to do with day to day decisions, much less ski design. It's just like Jarden and K2, you think Jarden is making rocker design decisions on the Seth?