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Gecko Cross


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wow. Edge hold engaged!

conditions: firm east coast loose granular sugar/dust on crust/ice. warm in the 30-40's for two weeks prior, rain for a couple days, froze. gave it a day to get groomed then rode a couple days after the freeze. it started scratchy. day temps started in high teens. riding temps ranged from 25-32 i'd day. partly cloudy start with increasing clouds.

board: donek saber 164 (glass)

plates were set up symmetrically on board. the Cross comes standard with red (hard) bumpers. this test was with all medium (orange) bumpers. will mix/match in future. this is the only day i've ever ridden any gecko plate so it's all initial impressions.

light in weight for sure. as expected, they do exactly what they're intended to do. direct pressure to more of the edge so there's more contact with the surface. can you still bend the board? sure, but it's more work. the plates make you ride more of the sidecut of the board rather than altering the sidecut by using various techniques such as torquing the board torsionally. these plates don't really allow that to happen. maybe the stealth's would? i started on some easier blue's to get a feel. after one run on a blue i had felt enough. took it to the blacks. upper walking boss at loon to be exact. still held an edge great, but with more speed my ability to control the turn radius had decreased dramatically. granted this is run number three. maybe i could use some more practice? i kept to a more controlled speed to feel the reactions of the plates on both blues and black slopes. after a few runs i realized i could relate the board ride and feel to be more torsionally stiff similar to an alpine race board.

 

the dampness of the medium bumpers was one of the first realizations of what the plates can do for your riding. i wasn't ready to take it at high speeds initially, but of course that had to happen at some point. yes, very damp. not everything can be built into a board construction. uh oh. some might disagree with that! when there's a product like this on the market, i'm not so hung up on board construction anymore. a secret weapon if you will. not to get off point here, but board construction is definitely important which can accentuate the experience of snowboarding and making a turn. these plates do exactly that as well. in a competitive environment, it can be splitting hairs a little bit depending on the level of riding, but i might go as far to say that these plates produce an unfair advantage. however, they're game so ride it like you stole it. they definitely improve control while on edge at both medium speed and high speed. low speed doesn't interest me, so i can't provide any feedback there. high speed edge control was a little sketchy initially due to how much more of the edge is engaged. after being used to sliding a little speed check in here and there at high speeds for many years, the plates are helping the board engage more of the edge and therefore hold a grip far better than without or as with bomber power plates. a little more experience riding them for more than one day should help adjusting to how the plates perform at different speeds, conditions, etc but as stated, initial thoughts.

 

power plates vs cross?

lmao. just recycle that metal somewhere. gecko cross blows the power plates away on every level. similar rise of 10mm with cross. unsure of rise on power plates, but similar. say 15mm just eyeballing it. the dampness the cross produces is hands down a much softer ride for many reasons. mainly the disbursement of contact points of all the "fingers". weight? uhm, metal vs carbon fiber. duh. install/removal for tuning and waxing is much easier/quicker. edge to edge control might be close depending on reaction speeds of the rider, but once on edge the control as stated above is phenomenal.

 

i have no affiliation with anything other than giving some feedback to the community here. i've only ridden power plates for comparison. never stepped on an alpine board with any kind of plate, but i intend on using the cross with hard bumpers to test with an alpine board. i just have a hard time getting out of softies now that the board performs like an alpine board with these things.

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