Salomon Rocker 2 108mm

S

SwitchMisty540

Active member
Who rides em? What do you think? How are they on hardpack and firm bumps? How are they in pow? Are they durable or do they fall apart after 30 days like every other Salomon ski I have owned? Thanks!
 
I skied them for a day and thought they absolutely sucked on hardpack - very little grip or power. Taking it easy/jibby in soft snow was pretty fun though.
 
Haha I think the oppsite. They are the same ski as the 122 just smaller underfoot. The camber lets them carve really well so they truly can be your only ski. The symmetrical twin rocker makes them ski very consistently switch. They are generally super versatile. Abma for example was using them as his park ski, as it was less of a change when he rode back country on the 122.

Durability wise we did not have one pair back last season, and it was the ski which sold out the fastest.

Out of interest what salomon skis have you had that broke so fast? I presume you got them warrantied so is this a warranty replacement?

Let me know if you want to know anything else about them.
 
I domoed them at Whistler earlier this year. They were playful, but the rockered tail doesn't let them do super well on hardpack, and when it was a little icy it was almost scary. I tried the atomic rituals a little later that day and loved them
 
I had 2 separate pairs of Shoguns that delamed right under the boot. The 2013s completely fell apart though...delamed tip and tail, under the boot, and the edge on one of the tips separated from the ski.
 
This is what I was afraid of...I need an all mountain ski that is going to hold up well on hardpack and at high speeds....50mph +. Since Salomon owes me a pair of skis, what model do you think would be the best one ski quiver. The mountain I ski offers extremely varied terrain so I need something that can do it all. The Shogun was a perfect ski but they have discontinued it. If Salomon doesn't offer a ski that fits my needs, what ski of theirs would you say is the most desirable? I'll just turn around and sell them and use the money to buy a ski I really want.
 
Have a look at the new q108. It's the small version of the rocker 115 which is the big mountain ski from salomon. It's has only a little early rise in the tail rather then rocker so you can push it harder. There is also a smaller version around 100 mm if you want it more like the shogun but I found the q108 was great at carving on hardpack. It's certainly not as fun as the rocker 108 but I'd you want a ski like the shogun that's the one. Your lucky next season there are a lot of good skis for you to choose from.
 
I have the rocker 2 108's and while they are a fun ski, very symmetrical for an all mountain ski, the durability is not what I would hope. I've only put ~15 days on them but the bases have some pretty deep scratches/gouges in them. Yes I'm spring riding so it's to be expected, but I've also been riding my LIb pipe NAS skis, and my atomic punx and neither seem so prone to base damage. My lib bases for example are damn near pristine and they have ~70 days on them, and I've actively ridden over rocks. I also rode Kung Fujas last spring and they didn't show this kind of damage.

This is why I really wish ski manufacturers would better advertise what base material they use. Lib is known to use one of the densest base materials out there, atomic and k2 also use high weight sintered bases on most of their performance skis.
 
Do a quick ebay search and see what model is selling for the most, then sell that and buy a ski from another brand, (earlier i mentioned the atomic rituals)
 
You can't really claim base damage is a durability issue. Did you maintain all the skis the same in terms if regular waxing? Also unless you rode all skis over exactly the same rocks you can not quantify it. I used my rocker 122 for 3 seasons and rode them over so many rocks and they held up really well. I never had to do any filling on them. Sorry if I sound annoyed it was just a pet peace of ours in the shop having people complain they scratched the base when it's really all down to rider misuse

And the atomic is worth a look. You can't ski it as hard as something like the q98 and its no where near as good in pow as the r108 but for an everyday ski it's pretty good. If I was you though wait till you try the new blog. But that will be the season after the next one, so a bit of a wait
 
Base density definitely determines how durable the base is. A 2k weight sintered base is not going to be nearly as durable as a 7500 weight durasurf base. This is just math. Lib uses a 9k weight base, atomic 7k, K2 uses 4500, I have no idea what Salomon uses on their rocker 2 but I would guess it is sub 4k, the Suspect used 2k and that's all the info I can find.

When I can actively run rocks and stumps over with my lib-techs (because they are 3 years old and I don't really care if I do manage to break them, although thus far they seem unbreakable) and have them come away pristine. Then on the other hand, I baby my rocker 2's taking only well covered terrain and avoiding any low coverage areas only to find mystery giant scratches at the end of the day I think it's safe to say this is a durability issue.

Also with my K2's I would usually know if I did some damage, I would feel the rocks I hit during the day and make a mental note that oh, that probably did some harm. I never saw or felt myself hit any rocks on the Salomon's yet still came away with visible damage.

As far as maintenance goes I'm OCD about waxing everything once, sometimes twice a week (as well as deburring and removing rust). If anything the Lib's haven't gotten waxed as much this season.

There are other factors at play here that we simply don't have the info for, such as the base manufacturer, if they used any additives, etc. I understand anecdotal evidence is not a great thing to rely on, but until manufacturers are more transparent with their ski constructions it's all we have to go on.
 
I put about 15 days on a pair this year and loved them. They are a very versatile ski as long as the surface will let you edge in a but, the deeper it gets, the more fun they are. I found they do get a little squirly on real hardpack at high speed, but thats to be expected of a ski like that.

the Q108 is a nice compromise if you can hold out a season.

also the sub 100 waisted skis might be an option, depending on what you ski.
 
yea i'm actually starting to lean more towards something like the Q 90 or Q 98. i'll most likely be picking up a new pair of powder skis for next season (probably ON3Ps or Icelantics) so having a narrower ski that holds up well in firm conditions seems like the safer bet.

anyone have the opportunity to ride on any of the Quests this year? i know it is a new line for 13/14 but i'm sure there are some shop dudes or reps out there that got on them. also, does anyone know if the Quests have a full twin tip?
 
Take those ski to a dealer and have them looked at if you really think they are getting that damaged. I have a pair of rocker 122 and Punxs and have found no noticeable difference in Durability of the bases. If you find they are that bad there may be an issue with them. For example I have often hit rocks to the extent that I eject with a din of 12 and there has been no damage to the base, so if you are finding that they get damaged Really easy its prob a issue with your pair. If that's the case they will be warrantied.
 
I have ridden all the rockers and q range and the q's are fun. They are much less playful then the rockers and pivot slower but if you are looking for carving they will be for you. The q98 was a fun all round ski. I never liked the shogun much so was interested to try its replacement. It uses the same nose as the rockers but has the same tail as the q115 or the rocker 115 from this year. This makes it carve a lot harder . It's still not a stiff ski but its much better then the shogun. The q90 is the new lord or rocker 90 from last year. It's ok but not by any means a charger.

My fav was the q108 it skis really well for a slightly wider ski, I was using it on the fave Murray downhill and it was one of the most stable skis I tried. That's the one I would get but I skied whistler so wider skis are the flavour there. Generally the 98 is going to sell the beat and it also looks the best.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
Just don't get suspects or sth bindings. I've rode mine for two seasons with 50-60 days each season. They delaminate very quickly and with the sth bindings they are fairly heavy. I took mine to a retailer and they said salomon would just blame it on the skier, the technician speaking from experience, so I had a big let down thinking they would be good park skis.
 
No comment on the suspects, I've never ridden them so I can't give a personal opinion but they do seem to get a lot of hate from guys round here.

As for you comment on the STHs, I must disagree. I've been riding STH16s on my Wrens and they held up really well, I would thoroughly recommend them providing they're an appropriate DIN range for the skier. Also you can pick up STHs for dirt cheap right now, since next year Salomon/Atomic are introducing the STH2
 
If you have suspects and they delamed and it was directly caused by impact tey will get warrantied. Sounds like the guy you spoke to has no idea what he is on about. Take them to the shop you got them from with your original receipt and as long as they are less then a year old they will get sent away for you
 
Well next time if you have an issue take them in straight away. Especially if you get skis from a bigger brand like salomon most things will be warrantied you could have had those skis replaced for free
 
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