ARBOR SWOON ROCKER
Overview
The Arbor Swoon Rocker is a directional all-mountain twin with a slightly longer nose than tail. The Swoon Rocker comes in at a middle-of-the-road flex, allowing for versatile riding application. Soft enough to press and play in the park, especially the rocker version, but stiff enough to provide stability in uneven terrain and at higher speeds.
The Swoon Rocker also comes with Arbors Grip Tech; these added contact points located right underfoot provide additional edge hold on icy snow. It's the perfect feature to have on a rockered board as it helps to mitigate that overly “squirrely” feel that rocker-dominant boards tend to have. They also help to improve smooth carving transitions as the radial sidecut changes at these points to a tighter radius between the feet. Enabling “straighter” tracking at the nose and tail, with the ability to turn tighter when engaging the midsection portion of the sidecut.
The rocker profile on the Swoon is Arbor’s System Rocker designed with Parabolic Profiling. In short, the rocker profile is the most accentuated between the feet and then mellows out closer to a “flat” profile towards the tip and tail. This design is used to increase stability, reduce the risk of “washing out,” and provide a more responsive tip and tail for ollies, presses, butter, and landings. The System Rocker profile also provides the rider with exceptional powder float, smooth turn initiation, and a more playful/surfy feel overall.
The Swoon Rocker is best suited for low-end intermediates and up. Anyone who is looking for a playful yet stable all-mountain snowboard that they can ride in the park or in powder. And for those who simply want to “surf” the whole mountain and swoon over its natural beauty and majesty.
PROFILE
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Sintered Base – A higher molecular weight, sintered base that provides added durability, wax retention, & speed.
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2x4 Insert Pattern.
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A tri-radial sidecut design broken up by the added heel and toe contact points to provide smoother turn transitions for tight and drawn-out carves.
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Double Barrel II Core – A 1:2 Poplar & Paulownia blend with bamboo stringers for added torsional response & improved board control.
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Mixed Glassing – A triax over biax lay-up, best for versatility: pow, backcountry, groomers, jumps, & more.
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360° Fully Wrapped Sidewalls – Eliminates the need for tip fill and effectively tying the whole snowboard together. A technology that delivers tight fit tolerances for improved board life & durability.
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Grip Tech - Additional contact points or “bumps” added right under each foot on the toe and heel edges to improve edge hold in icy conditions.
Recycled Steel Edges – Durable, recycled steel edges that embody Arbor's key values: quality & sustainability.
Factory Tuned – Arbor detunes the tip & tail contact points on all of their snowboards for a catch-free ride before they leave the factory.
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Hand Dyed Ash Powerply – Sustainably harvested, the majority coming from borer-kill trees, off-white to light brown in color, the main canvas for Arbor’s hand-dyed designs.
R.A.P. Topless Technology – A process where Arbor eliminates the need for their Bio-Plastic Topsheet, delivering a lighter, more eco-friendly ride.
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Fender Tech - A slight lift added at all 4 nose/tail outer contact points. Creating smooth transitions into turns while reducing “hookiness”.
Bio Resin – A replacement for the traditional petroleum-based resin that doesn't affect performance. The ingredients are sourced as co-products or waste products of other industrial processes & are manufactured employing green chemistry techniques that reduce the carbon footprint of the material by up to 40% when compared to the petroleum-based equivalent.
Wend Natural Wax – All Arbor snowboards come ready to ride with Wend Natural Wax.
Thunderhead Tip – Big-mountain versatility & speed for the deepest days.
ARBOR SWOON ROCKER Review by Slash Board Shop
Coming soon!
ARBOR SWOON ROCKER IN ACTION
Watch on Youtube from Slash Board Shop soon.
Rider review
I’ve been riding the 2018 Arbor Swoon Rocker for the past 5 seasons, and it is my go-to board for any resort, condition, or terrain. I’ve ridden this board at various resorts in Colorado and Utah, as well as in slush, powder-patches, and everything in between.
I learned to ride on a no-name, soft-flexing, full camber, directional twin board, that got me through my beginner years. The Arbor Swoon Rocker was my first intermediate-level snowboard, which I mainly picked because of the cat graphic. And while I do love the graphic, this board has so much more to offer. My riding style tends to be a mixture of playful and laid-back, but every once in a while, I like to “carve up” a blue run. In Lamen’s terms, I’m not an aggressive rider.
Because of the Arbor Swoon Rockers' middle-of-the-road flex, it’s a stable board that can hold its own on most groomers. But when I start to gain some speed, it does feel a little loose and chatter-y. So, I would say the flex of the board feels closer to a 4 out of 10. That said, the flexibility of the board makes it great for nose and tail presses. I am easily able to lift the tip or tail of the board off the snow for some playful butters. This softer feel is likely due to the Full Rocker profile. This makes this board fantastic at transitions in and out of turns, floaty in powder, and less hooky than the camber board I learned on. I haven’t ridden this board in a lot of powder (I’m a bit of a groomer-girl), so I’ve only ridden in some fluffy patches. But I’ve never struggled in powder. It’s always been fairly “effortless” to skim across the top.
For those of you who like park, the Arbor Swoon Rocker is a decent option. I’ve ridden over a few boxes and wasn’t worried about the board catching or being too “loose.” Meaning I always felt in control and comfortable. This past season, I have started taking this board off smaller jumps and really enjoy how it handles. I feel confident straight-lining the board and feel comfortable on takeoff. It gets in the air as I let the lip throw me, but nothing mind-blowing. I love how forgiving it is on landings. As long as I land board first (and don’t panic), I can ride off into the sunset (even when I land a little tail-heavy). This board has always supported me and kept me on my feet.
One of my favorite things to do on the mountain is long, drawn-out carves. And with the Arbor Swoon Rocker, this is achievable — to a point. On a steeper blue, black, or icy run, I start feeling “speed wobbles,” and I lose a bit of edge bite. Only at higher speeds do I get this squirrelly feeling. But if you want to carve at moderate speeds on greens and blues, you won’t have any issues. However, if you do want to go a little faster and carve harder, then the Camber version of the Swoon might be right up your alley.
Overall, the Arbor Swoon Rocker is a great board for playful riders who enjoy a good carve but aren’t looking to do anything too aggressive. It would also be a great board for chasing powder and some quick turns through trees. Although it’s not a dedicated freestyle/park board, you can definitely take this for a few laps in the park. I would suggest the Arbor Swoon Rocker for high-level beginners and up. As an intermediate rider, I feel this board has helped me become a better rider every time I take it out. Its forgiving nature, support, and overall versatility allow me to ride the whole mountain and try just about anything.
tREES
8/10
IT CAN WEAVE
DROPS
5/10
AVERAGE
JUMPs
6/10
GETS THE JOB DONE
POW
9/10
A TOP PERFORMER
CARVING
6/10
GETS THE JOB DONE
STABILITY
5/10
AVERAGE
VERSATILITY
8/10
DOES IT ALL WELL WITH A MELLOW ATTITUDE
Similar Boards:
K2 Dreamsicle (more mellow & less rocker), Capita Space Metal Fantasy (more mellow), Bataleon Push Up (more pop), GNU Gloss (more freestyle focused), Lib Tech Cortado (more aggressive), Jones Dream Weaver (more stable).
Wondering if this board is right for you?
Head over to our Gear Advice page for personal assistance!
