Non-UPM plates?

[1xsculler]

Maybe a silly question but are there plates available that don't use the UPM insert pattern and/or don't need any other than standard 4 x 4 inserts?

[michael.a]

Allflex 

[BlueB]

Vist, Kessler, some Donek, some Apex Sports and some Bomber models. 

[SunSurfer]

Bomber has a 4x4 mount for its' Boilerplate. However the interaxle distance you can get depends on the 4x4 max insert spacing, which varies considerably from board to board. Interaxle distance is a crucial variable in getting the best out of a plate. 

I set up my Bomber plate with the maximum gap I can get, in the range 63 to 69cm depending on the board. My binding centre to centre distance runs between 50 to 54cm.

UPM is a standard pattern, and a Bomber plate runs a 63cm max interaxle distance on that pattern.

[1xsculler]

Thanks for the replies.  I should have done my own tiny bit of research to save you the trouble but thanks for responding anyway.

So, it appears there's no need to increase the weight of a board or weaken it by adding a set of UPM inserts.

[frozzen]

SG Plate

[lowrider]

10 hours ago, 1xsculler said:

Thanks for the replies.  I should have done my own tiny bit of research to save you the trouble but thanks for responding anyway.

So, it appears there's no need to increase the weight of a board or weaken it by adding a set of UPM inserts.

 If you desire a specific board to ride in adverse conditions (often) it is advantageous to have the UPM as it gives a slightly more connected feel to the ride. If you are a recreational rider a softer plate (Boiler Lite 4mm ) would be the preference.

[Jack M]

Forgive me if I'm wrong but you are relatively new to hardboot carving, yes?  In that case I'd say forget about plates until you have mastered carving on at least steeper blue square trails.  One step at a time.

[Corey]

5 minutes ago, Jack Michaud said:

Forgive me if I'm wrong but you are relatively new to hardboot carving, yes?  In that case I'd say forget about plates until you have mastered carving on at least steeper blue square trails.  One step at a time.

I absolutely agree!  Plates remove a level of feedback that I think is very useful when learning.  

[BlueB]

I agree too. 

[pow4ever]

Don't get discourage; I believed the community meant well.
If you have the means:  try a plate if you want but here is my cautionary tale:

I am usually the "slow kid" in the class so YMMV :-)

I too was in the "throw money" at the problem camp for a long time.

In my mind:
Time on mountain to me was too precious to waste:  I will procure any "performance enhancer" or try any theory/setup in hoping that it will magically transform my riding ability.

upz, head, deeluxe boots + BTS + all different liners
catek, td2, td3, td3 SW, step in, F2
boards of all different shape and sizes

Looking back:  each experiment (chaotic tinker) hurts my overall progress more than it help.
A scientific/engineering/systematic approach(good tinkering): comes in much later where I finally developed feel for what is "good" and what is "not as good".

The interesting part is that as I progress i start to minimize the moving parts involved.  Standard binding and one board to rule them all.

I still got a long way to go but KISS(keep it stupid simple) seems to work better for me.

[1xsculler]

I  really appreciate all of your comments. They all make great sense and I can relate to every one of them.

Looks like my last day for this season was today and a great one it was, i e. full bluebird with boardable snow on my level of slopes until about 11:00.

I learned a ton this year and linked a few decent turns but I won't consider myself a carver until I can get my board to at least a 45* angle and bend it to bring the carve around faster to slow me down.

It's going to take an ATC to get to that next step, I think.

[Corey]

Listen to the orange Egyptian man above, he was killing it at ATC this year!  

ATC (well, it was called SES then) was a game-changer for me.  So much enthusiasm and knowledge is everywhere you look.  Very fun!  I'll see you there.  :)

[1xsculler]

SES, funny.  I kinda, sorta thought I could carve on my Red Rossi Race board back in 2005  so I went to SES that year...arrived on a Thursday, if I remember correctly, and at the top of the lift Fin said, "follow me" and that was the last I saw of him or anybody else (my fault).  So I got up the next morning drove my rental car back to Grand Junction, hopped my flight back to Salt Lake City, drove up to Alta and spent a day in four feet of bottomless powder on my skis and flew back home to Seattle.  I even had a new Coiler AM on the way and when it arrived I sold it to BOLer and abandoned carving.  I can't even remember why.  

So, I feel like I started from scratch this season and my grandkids are what got me back to the Mt.  They loved watching me do faceplants while they were learning to snowplow.  I did get well beyond faceplants this year after about thirty-five, two and a half hour sessions on the hill but I didn't make as much progress as I wanted to...just another 10,000 turns, I guess.

[SunSurfer]

The clinics that run at ATC/SES are where the gems of knowledge that will transform your riding are to be found. That was my experience. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the skills on show. That was certainly what I felt at SES 2012, my first time.

There are seriously good riders, like Corey, who are willing to ride with newbies and critique and feedback your style. 

The other key factor for me was going back to the green beginner slopes and concentrating on finding, and holding, my edge through slow controlled carved turns. That built a solid foundation to my carving technique.

As I got better, my boards seemed to get better as well. If the board is torsionally stiff enough to hold an edge and has a suitable side cut radius, then technique and binding set-up are more important than the board for making progress through the beginner and intermediate stages of carving.

Hope to meet and ride with you at an ATC one day.

Edited April 22, 2017 by SunSurfer

[Corey]

1 hour ago, 1xsculler said:

... and at the top of the lift Fin said, "follow me" and that was the last I saw of him 

Haha, I had a similar experience! Sometimes Jim C. will wait for me if he's feeling nice. ;) 

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

5 hours ago, corey_dyck said:

Haha, I had a similar experience! Sometimes Jim C. will wait for me if he's feeling nice. ;) 

Fin has no Instructor-type rear-view mirrors,  thus, if you're not really nearby, you just Ain't there!  I teach quite differently, always have, as, at Okemo, the simple slope of the hill would lose you clientele by the 2nd run!