realskiers

Been a little quiet here due to lack of time, but since this was started based on a comment I made, I have to chime in.

I really enjoy having plates on my skis. I run Fischer/Head/Elan race plates on all of my Fischer race skis and on my new Blossom all-mountain skis. I also run Marker Piston WC plates on my Harts, and Salomon Race plates on my Stockli DP's. I also have a bunch of Hangl plates, Fischer plates, Nordica/VIST plates, etc - laying around the house from previous setups.

Putting the right plate setup on a skier lets a skier extract the best qualities from the ski - as they suit your skiing style of course. They can dampen the ski, stiffen the ski, create free flex (eliminate the dead spot), and of course add leverage over the edge. Many plates these days are even coming with significant adjust-ability to allow the skier to fine tune the flex of the ski. Take Rossignol for example. They allow the I-bar in the middle of the plate to be removed. They provide spacers to sit between the plate and the ski so that the plate is not in contact with the ski - allowing a more free flex. On top of all that, I think they offer a few different versions of the plate.

My favorite plates currently are the standard Fischer/Head race plates because of their simple [and light] design. They do not have metal in them. They are free floating. They come with washers that lift the plate off the ski, as to not inhibit flex. Best of all - they let the ski perform as opposed to dramatically changing the characteristics of the ski. By next season I will use this setup on almost all of my skis - race and non-race. Due to the plate design, they are really not difficult to flex - making them [for me] a perfect addition to a race ski, an all-mountain carver, or more beefy all-mountain tool.

One important note though is that if you're not bending the ski under any of these plates, they will cause you to feel disconnected from the snow... so depending on how you ski, they may not be the best choice - especially for a soft-snow ski.