Stiffy Plates, Need them or not?

[CHiLi DaWg]

Does anybody know of any on-line stores to buy G-Bolts stiffy plates at? Caribe Catalog.com had them, but I can't get on that site anymore. Have they gone out of buisness?

Do I even need stiff plates for my EXO Suctions? Will the screws and washers they came with be plenty? I'd like some input from people who have ridden LF bindings before.

[liquidforce519]

yea carbies down maybe try buywake.com or wakeside.com or glassandpowder.com

[pooser]

stiffys arent nessescary but youll be glad you have them if one screw comes out during a fall. some people have bent their baseplates and needed new bindings.

[Lynsey]

I would recommend stiffners aka bones aka kidneys. I bent my baseplates and after bit_hing and moaning about it on two message boards I got them fixed and new overlays when in fact it was deemed my fault, when it wasn't. Invest in them!

[noneya]

I dont think you need them on the '04s supposedly they stiffened the baseplate

http://www.buywake.com/catalog/detail.lasso?sku=RA_4128

[Jim M]

2003 and earlier LF bindings have pretty thin baseplates, I would use stiffy plates/bones if the bindings have any heel lift off the board when you are on edge- you can lose lots of edging power and leverage if your bindings are lifting off the board. Plus it can bend the baseplates over time or on a hard crash. Stiffy plates are pretty expensive, they are $30+ in shops, you can get identical hardware to go under your bolts for about $4 at a hardware store, just bring the bolt in and talk to them.

[J_DOGG]

Yes, use them.

I don't like the heel lift Jim talks about so I use them on my 02 Belmonts.
Depending on how duck your stance is you might have more or less heel lift.
They don't add that much weight so I think they are must have items.

[CHiLi DaWg]

Thanks for the info everyone! I think I'll do what Jim said and go to the hardware store first. Between them and the machine shop I work at, I should be able to come up with something.