Snowboard Review: 10-11 Rome Agent Rocker

Location: Mammoth, CA

Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to soft snow in places.

Setup: I rode the Rome Agent Rocker with my Union bastardized bindings and Vans Veil Boots size 8.

Size: 153cm.

First Impression: My first impression with the rome agent rocker wasn’t the best because it was skating off the chairlift and the agent rocker just felt so squirrely with only one foot strapped in.  It was fine with two feet but one footed I felt like a beginner off the chairlift.

Weight: Average

Flex: I had an idea of the flex since I rode the cambered version in 09-10 and the agent rocker definitely offers up that more all mountain freestyle flex but on the stiffer side of freestyle.  Longitudinally it’s a stiffer flex board but with some good torsionally give so you can get quicker response out of it.  The Rome agent rocker has reverse mtnpop which features rocker and camber.  Compared to the camber version, the reverse mtnpop is a good improvement for that do-it all board the agent is meant to be.

Turning: Relatively easy to get onto edge but also a point where I could feel the sidecut flip the switch into carve mode.  It took some adjustment to how it handled and by day two it felt alot more comfortable and easy to engage the edge.  Shorter and longer turns felt fine on the agent rocker.  Once on edge, it felt really stable and no problem holding an edge into hardpacked/icy snow.

Stable: The agent rocker is a very stable board, it definitely suits the all mountain park but offers up stability when you ride outside of the park.  Through some really cruddy bumpy snow conditions it handled without giving me the vibrations through the board.  I did notice the bevel on the agent rocker and it didn’t hold as edge as well in some icy spots but you adapt to it. The rocker felt really good in the leftover pow stashes on the sides of the runs (there was just a couple inches in spots) where I felt it float and could ride centered through it.

Pop: Rome wasn’t bullshitting with the pop talk on the board, it’s certainly not lacking in pop.  It’s easy to pop ollies and gets you higher than you’d expect to go.  I just played around on the slopes with it, over rock patches.  For playfulness it’s not as buttery as you’d expect it to be with the rocker but it will butter just have to put more into it.

Switch: The agent rocker is a almost twin shape so it’s still very capable of riding switch and I felt fine transitioning into switch on the board but it’s not a true twin.

Overall Impression: It’s always interesting to go from the camber board to the reverse camber and figure out which I like better.  The agent felt a lot better as reverse camber with the camber/rocker option because it didn’t lose what the board was meant to be and ride like.  It kept a stable feeling on the slopes but still had some playfulness and good pop to it.  My only gripe was when I skated with it which really means I’d just rather ride two feet strapped in on this board.

Shay’s Honesty Box: For some reason the whole skating thing bothered me, I felt like I was going to fall every time I was with one foot strapped into it.  But as soon as both feet were in, the weight distribution felt fine and dialed.  The agent rocker is definitely that all mountain do everything board and after riding it from the camber version, I think the reverse camber version holds its own and doesn’t let you down.

Ready to buy? Head over to evo for rome agent rocker or shop their full line of Rome Snowboards

On Snow Photo

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Rome Agent Rocker description

Review Disclosure: I borrowed this snowboard from the local rep and will return it to the local rep.