"WHAT? You've got the Rocker2 for testing? You have to give it to me!" a ski colleague hissed at me the other day when he saw the Salomon test ski in the car. Since most of the members of the PG editorial team have more or less left their 20s behind them, and the Salomon Rocker2 is aimed in particular at the "Flippy and Spinny Tailgunner"target group, it was a perfect fit for us that freerider Jan Berger wanted to take a closer look at the Rocker2. The Salomon Rocker2 in the test report:
Features:
- Taper at tip and tail
- nicely pronounced rocker rather early rise at tip and tail
- rather soft flex
- relatively light
Video presentation from the manufacturer
Soft snow: 4/5 points
This is where the Salomon Rocker² feels completely in its element. No matter how deep the snow is, the beautifully pronounced rocker or early rise allows the ski to float easily in any situation and the so-called surfing feeling quickly emerges, even at slow speeds. This makes the ski very easy to turn. The ski is therefore particularly suitable for the forest or for days when it's just really deep again. The taper and tail rocker make the ski feel much shorter than it actually is. (Although the ski is actually 184cm long, measured in Salomon lengths.) Unfortunately, a speed limit is definitely noticeable at harder speeds, because then the ski starts to become unstable. The tip remains quite stable, but I had the feeling that the ski became spongy. I put this down to the flex, which can be seen on the soft side of the ski flex scale.
Experienced/wind-pressed snow: 2/5 points
These types of snow are not the Rocker²'s specialty. However, you can get by with it there too, even if it sometimes doesn't go exactly where you want it to. But what can you expect from a ski with a 122 mm waist width and relatively soft flex? However, the ski benefits from its stiffer shovel: this helps to plow through the snow better and the preload under the binding also proves to be beneficial here. However, it loses its maneuverability here and it takes a lot more effort to turn the ski.
Hard snow (piste): 3/5 points
The ski is very easy to carve on the piste despite its dimensions, although it is crucial here that the snow is soft. This is due to the taper in the tip and tail, which makes the ski easy to turn and the ski does not immediately start to flutter, as is the case with most other skis with a larger rocker. As soon as the snow is hard or icy, it is unfortunately no longer a pleasure to use the ski, as the edge no longer grips properly and it usually ends in sliding or drifting. However, this is bearable with such a ski, as it is not made for this purpose.
Conclusion
In the beginning, I wasn't really convinced by the ski, but that quickly changed with better conditions. My mistake at the beginning was that I pushed the ski over the tail with too much pressure, which is not the right technique for this ski. The ski wants you to stand very centrally and then the turn initiation is already successful with small foot impulses. I particularly liked the ski in soft snow, because that's what it's made for and Salomon's advertising slogan "OUR MOST PLAYFUL POWDER SKI YET" simply applies here. A ski for jumping around and doing tricks.
Unfortunately, what I didn't like was its performance in rutted snow. It was just too unstable for me from medium speed and I didn't have the usual secure feeling when I stepped on the gas.
In my opinion, the ski is more of a ski for deep days, because that's where it can really show off its strengths and is so easy to ski that I would say: if you can't handle this ski in deep snow, you (really) can't ski! Simply a playful, easy to ski, good-natured ski. Personally, however, I would rather buy it as a 3rd ski.
Test length: 184 cm
Dimensions: 142/122/132, 26 m radius
Price (RRP): 699.95 euros
To the manufacturer's website
