The subject of plates is one I've been very curious about lately. Besides the added stand height and the benefits of that, what are the some of the other benefits? You mentioned stability and flex. Care to elaborate some more?
How about drawbacks? Do all types of plates always make a ski significantly stiffer? Maybe not desirable, depending on the ski and skier match, and the intended use of the ski. Or do certain plates leave the flex pattern unchanged?
There are several different designs of plates -- some rigid from front to back, some with rubber flex joints, some plastic, some aluminum, some even have pistons in them, it seems. Have you experimented with the different designs? Obviously some will influence flex more than others, and affect dampening too, presumably.
This might be fodder for a whole new thread.....lots of details to drill down through. But interesting to me. There is some potential here to really change a ski's character, perhaps for the better, or not.
That's a lot of questions! Might be better to start a new thread for a detailed answer. The short answer is they come in all shapes and sizes these days. Depending on how you want to affect the ski, you can find a plate, or a setup for a plate that will do what you want it to.
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