lowrider Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 The transition is well under way with newest versions of plates. Here's my beef. Much like the interface used in skis the latest compromise seem to be cheep to make but slightly less effective than previous (more complicated construction) designs. Bomber plate hardware and J J's hardware were excellent are excellent and will be for a long time to come. Neither cheap to make nor simple maybe that was the appeal for me you had to have a basic understanding to install and tweak. A slab of plastic with slots to allow it to slide under a shoulder bolt wasn't where I thought it would go because that was the basic starting point for my first plates. The further refinements, lifting the plate off the board higher ( minimally to achieve good results) the actual hinge mechanism as well as a slide component were developed after testing revealed the short comings of the original design. A certain amount of the bling component was a consideration but seems to be totally lacking with some offerings today. The same type of engineering ( I use the term loosely ) as is seen today on plastic tool and fishing boxes isn't what I expect to see on a high end Alpine board ! There I said it ! I expect to be hearing from certain people in the business that I am once again commenting where and when it's not wanted . Too late I've said it. I will repeat my mantra " Try before you buy" it's the only way to know it a plate works for you and your riding style and puts you in your personal comfort zone. If you have already purchased a plate and it now sits as a door stop ( because you know it was a piece of junk when you bought it and you know you can't unload it because people are now smarter about trying something as radical as this I'm sorry for your loss. If its named after a reptile or something else that's politically correct you've probably been had. If any one is offended by my comments It's probably because you were overcharge for what you bought. Bomber equipment isn't cheap and that's because you are getting more than you paid for and it lasts a long long time no matter how old it gets someone still sees value in it and want to buy it. Can you say that about the plate you bought a few years ago ? Foot note to moderators: If enough people find this offensive Too Bad ! If however the moderators feel the subject isn't worthy of discussion it should be removed . (I've reread it a few times and hesitated to press "Post New Topic" what the hell you only live once ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 If the new stuff keeps making things better, who cares how it's made? A quote that I like: "An engineer is someone who can do for a dime what any fool can do for a dollar." From The Graduate: "There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?" Don't get me wrong - I love my Bomber BoilerPlate in certain conditions. But I'm also quite eager to get on the new Donek plate in Aspen. It sounds like it may add some of the board feel back that I find missing in the 2-axle plates. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPablo Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 Trying before you buy is a tough one when most people can't realistically even try on a pair of boots before they buy them in the alpine snowboarding world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 That's a pretty vague pile of criticisms that sounds like it has an underlying agenda. How about instead you post a detailed review of the plates that you have tried yourself? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboarderdude Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 That's a pretty vague pile of criticisms that sounds like it has an underlying agenda. That's exactly what it sounds like. Why does it matter how complex or simple a plate is if it preforms well? If there is a simple plate and a complex plate that preform the same, I'm buying the one with fewer parts because that means fewer things that can go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 The thing is, a plate is mostly unnecessary piece of equipment, for most rec riders. Making it lower and lighter brings it closer to usable form. Next issue is the price. Paying as much as for a high end board is crazy. It should be cheaper then a high end pair of bindings (less parts). Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 The thing is, a plate is mostly unnecessary piece of equipment, for most rec riders. Making it lower and lighter brings it closer to usable form. Next issue is the price. Paying as much as for a high end board is crazy. It should be cheaper then a high end pair of bindings (less parts). Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk I'm guessing we run into economies of scale. Paying for development and tooling has to be amortized over an even smaller number of customers than buy bindings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted September 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 For you conspiracy theorists, my only agenda is to have affordable fun with value based equipment. As far as plates I have tried and or dissected the list includes about 12 different types of hardware and many platforms of varying flexes. I have designed built and tested a lot of plates as well as shared with others. The holy grail of all my work to date is a plate that articulates in the middle with a hinge and slide component. It is impractical to assemble it requires a bit of understanding of the principal characteristics desirable in a plate as well as an appreciation that most people can not recognize the characteristics that it enables one to feel . It would be impractical for most riders or conditions that most riders encounter . When I go snowboarding it is usually for the day and I tend not to go back to my vehicle to change equipment to suit specific conditions for that reason I look for a tool that will last me the day and suit variable conditions. BlueB has nailed the essence of it. A plate is mostly unnecessary and to date way to expensive but if you need one wouldn't it be nice if it worked well and was affordable ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.a Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 Lowrider, I value your opinion as Ive been reading your posts since day one. But please name names as the US/Canadian penchant for vague criticisms is maddening (this is parallel to what Neil wrote). Say what you don't like about the plate X, just be direct. A lot of us have to make their choices on what to buy and try in today's life on what's written on the internet and the last thing we need is "named after a reptile" as some cryptic reference. Because I'm guessing you mean the Gecko plate from Kessler and it was the one plate system I was considering to buy. I want to hear why you think it cant cut the mustard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breeseomatic Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 wouldn't it be nice if it worked well and was affordable ? I think that my Boiler Plate works well and is affordable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big mario Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 (edited) The thing is, a plate is mostly unnecessary piece of equipment, for most rec riders. I have yet to ride a plate, and have never been an early adopter. The cynical side of me has always wondered if those that are in love with them were just fan boys, or looking for the next big bling thing they could buy to improve their riding instead of working on technique. I must say, after seeing Kevin's opinion in Sean's video: https://youtu.be/qaB9o6E6Cx8 I am intrigued mario Edited September 26, 2015 by big mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I think you're fine to vent your views here. Even if your preference is for products other than Bomber's, rabid people aside there's never been heavy moderation here. On plates, I like the sound of lighter plates better than the original stuff. Racers apart, they're ridden mostly by American people using very large/ long boards. That's not really too relevant to me. So I welcome lighter weight fittings. I'm still unconvinced those things have anything to offer me, but perhaps the manufacturers are trying to move a little in a more useful direction on this.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I'd add my view to phil's...I also haven't found the useness of plates in my riding, I already find the gear too heavy and bulky! I think it's also an emphasis on racing in our sports which is a niche that should be widening its audience instead of focusing on racing ( which is fine, but not appealing to common snowboarders)...reminds me of narrow board trend in the late 90's that we did not like when we came out with 23cm wide board ( swoard EC175) for freecarving.. I like the engineriing behind plates and am convinced it works, but still haven't found its hot enough to beat its trade-offs N. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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