The first incarnation of the legendary Rockwell were tested in the Swiss Alps by Ski-Review.com. Here is what tester Dan had to say about the ski. Check-out the link for ski owner's opinions at the bottom of the review.
The Amplid Rockwell is an all mountain directional twin-tipped ski. Rocker in the tips and tail, regular camber underfoot. 96 underfoot, but with a decent sidecut for cranking out carves and overall dimensions that give you a pretty large surface area for float (128-96-118) along with a reverse sidecut in the tips - and what great big stonkers of tips they are! When a ski is made by Amplid you know you’ve got a stack of tech helping you do whatever it is you do on the hill.
I took the 182 over the 175 initially more to do with an availability problem but now I am glad I went longer. The 182 is perfect to get the most out of the Rockwell. I’m 75kgs and 5’10”. I mounted them with Head Mojo 12’s 20mm back from the centre line.
I wasn’t looking for a ski to kill it in the park, but I did want something playful and fairly light that I could take everywhere and not be caught short in all conditions.
Playful is the word. In the trees and variable powder terrain the Rockwell is just perfect – soft tips and tails yet very responsive, easy to maneurve and floats incredibly well considering they are sub 100mm underfoot. They just pop around anywhere, never too tiring and very predictable. I’m not the greatest skier in the world - far from it, but I had these dialed after a day. Even at 182 these are not cumbersome when going slow.
On the piste, lay them on a side and they’ll give you plenty back especially if you really drive through through the boots. They’ll carve just using the edge but to really get them to sing you need to get involved with the turn.
Short, snappy and skidded turns are really easy and the Rockwell’s respond well. I find ensuring a more neutral stance is best here, partially due to the slightly more forward mount point and the softer tips. In general, the tails and tips can be too soft on occasion and wash out a little at speed. Loading them up is great on a kicker but as a park stayaway this is the only thing stopping them being the perfect ski though a little technique tweaking has solved the issue for me. Still, it’s a minor criticism and to be honest, that same softness makes them great in scratched up snow where the terrain dictates your lines. Amplid are trying to please everyone and they do a bang up job with the Rockwell to the extent this is my 9-5 ski and I’d stockpile them if I had the cash.
The bases are good too - sintruded, which is a mash up of sintered and extruded. So the Rockwell’s are not rocket ships, but they’ll pass more than be passed and they are still running well after 10 plus days without a new coat of wax.
All in all the shape is amazing, it skis fantastically and the visuals for the model are spot on.
One thing to note - looking at the image above - the Rockwell seems fatter than they are. They look more powder killer than quiver killer, but the image adds extra girth as you can see the slope of the edge gradient.
If you are looking for something to do everything with and you are always looking for opportunities to get out of bounds and off the piste, go for the Amplid Rockwell.
Read the full article and owner comments here.
