better boards, anyone use em on a PRO?

[The Fourth Wolf]

Had to reply although I don't own a pro or any of Rob's products.

Snow shoveled on the sled? As in a staged pic? Doubtful.

Let's evaluate shall we, based on what information we can glean from the picture.

Sleeves pushed up, bright sunny day. About 1-1:30 pm.
Looks like spring-ish conditions--good base with 12" to 18" of undisturbed surface snow. The morning started out moderately cold but as the day heated up the surface snow began to stick to metal and melt on plastic.

Look at the way the snow had wind-eddied onto the tunnel and turned to ice. Also look at the way it's collected on the rear flap and bumper, and yes, the boards. The loaded boards but a clean skid, and the light snow in the shock area....

Combined this evidence with the fact that Rob, among other things, is a highly skilled rider, all points to a sled that has been layed over in a near constant carve all morning.

Riding this way deposits snow pretty much the way you see it in this pic but doesn't leave much opportunity to stomp on your boards.

 

[redink420]

I had to do something on my 09 Assault so I went with WRP and things were great. I ride near Mt. Shasta alot and we get changing conditions. I can tell you on my 11 Assault I have had a couple days of heavy build up on the stock boards and my KLIM boots are showing a fair amount of wear for being new this season and 400 miles on them.

I just ordered a set of BB's and will let you know next week how they compare. If it cuts down on my boot wear and tear like the wrp's did and clears more snow out, it will be worth the expense.

 

[Timbre]

"What you said was ^^^^^^^^^. "if you DON'T get these you WILL be buying a new pair of boots every year...."

Yes i did say that, and if i had continued on that course without the Better Boards, that is exactly what would have happened.

"Maybe something a little more honest would be "if you do get better boards you might just save some wear and tear on your boots too." Then you could throw in your experience about how you know. "

Perhaps that could have been worded differently to satisfy you, but to suggest that i am dishonest by writing what i did, is simply NOT true! Maybe you could have substituted the word "appropriate" for the word "honest" in your reply? I think that would have been more accurate.

"Nor do I believe you should blame the lack of better boards for yours."


The lack of better boards combined with my pawing the snow off the stock boards was indeed the reason my boot soles were wearing off so quickly.

"So far my Klim boots are holding up well to the stock boards. I try to be careful on how I clear the snow. The outer rail would probably offer me more hazard than anything else and unless I am mistaken better boards won't do anything to dull or replace that edge??? "

No, but a small file and a little "elbow grease" will. That's what i did on mine to knock off the sharp edges, and it has worked great so far.

 

[icr]

i'd say it's worth something that f-bomb is in here explaining and offering explanations that make sense as to why they work and the reasons and conditions they excel in. and taking a bunch of crap about them, i know he sells them and he wants to make money off us, but i don't see slp in here trying to get me to buy their pipes or cans, or polaris in here selling me the sled,

That's because SLP and polaris's products sell themselves....cleary Robs do not judging by the resistance in this thread to his over hyped sales pitch.

In reference to the pic he posted of the hand packed stock boards...my stock pro boards often pack with snow similar to that, it's easy to stomp through. Do you know where the snow doesn't build up? Where my foot is...those boards were hand packed for the pic. Nice honest sales pitch....

 

[coolx2]

Just curious, are you also producing better bars for the pros. Looking at the sled in your sig they dont look like the alumium bars that come stock.
I do have better boards and bars on my 07 dragon and it was one of the best mods I did to this sled. Disclaiamer. I was in no way compensated for this statement. Jk lol great product.

 

[Arcteryx]

Perhaps that could have been worded differently to satisfy you, but to suggest that i am dishonest by writing what i did, is simply NOT true! Maybe you could have substituted the word "appropriate" for the word "honest" in your reply? I think that would have been more accurate.

No, but a small file and a little "elbow grease" will. That's what i did on mine to knock off the sharp edges, and it has worked great so far.

My apologies, your right. My choice of words could have been better. I'm sure you are an honest person and I didn't mean to say that your not.
Thanks also for the tip. I might have to look into a file for that edge.

 

[B00nd0ck3r4lif]

Guess I shoulda known this would happen....

F-bomb. If I were in the market for new boards I think I would be buying better boards so let me start with that. My issue is your posts about products only show the positive aspects of the products you sell. I know I am only getting half of the story because any possible downside of the product is not brought to light, and as far as my taking professional riders opinions with a grain of salt being a mistake? Well you must buy a lot of stuff or not watch TV because I don't run out and buy everything a "professional" tries to pitch to me. I bet if I dug hard enough I could find a record of a paid snowmobiler giving a 05 900 RMK an awesome review, how many of those are in your garage?

As far as this whole running boards pic being staged nonsense goes. I guarantee that picture was not staged. That is exactly what my PRO would look like if I rode for a while without making any effort at all to clear my boards. So was it kinda staged in the sense that he made no attempt to keep his boards clear? Yes. Did he shovel snow on the boards? No. Its a legit picture. Lets drop it.


Honestly I'm about to just call up and order a set of coated black better boards myself then give you guys down low on them myself. I just want a straight opinion of them that says the ups and downs of the product. The reason I posted the thread is because the only people I have seen raving about them either sell them or get sponsored by them.

 

[snopro_ac]

That's because SLP and polaris's products sell themselves....cleary Robs do not judging by the resistance in this thread to his over hyped sales pitch.

In reference to the pic he posted of the hand packed stock boards...my stock pro boards often pack with snow similar to that, it's easy to stomp through. Do you know where the snow doesn't build up? Where my foot is...those boards were hand packed for the pic. Nice honest sales pitch....

i realize that i was just giving him credit for standing up for his product and explaining his reasoning. i run stock boards and have no problems yet. remember slp started out as a little company pushing their stuff the best they could at one point too.

as for the pic don't include me in anything with that, i didn't comment and have no idea if it's placed there or not, and not my concern.

 

[PalousePoo]

In my experience with 07, 08, and 09 dragons, all with better boards, you still have to "push" the snow down to clear snow, but not kick. The coated ones clear much easier than raw aluminum. My pro is stock, for now, and I felt they stayed pretty clear, until I rode in wet snow, and got very frustrated and slipped several times. Have had the same pair of Klims for about 3 years, and what's chewing up my boots is the stock outer edge on the rail, they are about shot.

 

[m1kflyingtiger]

I have an all stock pro...for the time being. Spent my budget of sled stuff for the month already and the work schedule is crazy so I'm only going to get one 2 day ride in this month, but the last ride was 4'+ of wet heavy mashed potato snow and 2 of the 3 times i got stuck were because i went to step back on the boards just a little to side hill up around a tree and hit so much packed snow on the boards that my foot slid all the way back, sled kicked strait up the hill and I proceeded to slide off the boards. Better Boards are on my wish list for this sled, and my sled looked as bad or worse than Rob's pic. The stock boards are good for stock, but there is room for improvement.

 

[milehighassassin]

Ok, I have to chime in. I am the "friend" boondocker4life is referencing. My better boards SUCK. I have maybe a 10% improvement over the stock boards I had on my Dragon. They also bent up by the footwell on my left side on my second ride out. Tons of ice buildup and I end up kicking out the boards just as much as i did with stock.

So, how does your warranty address my issues?

Thanks

Evan

I have had two set of better boards on two different sleds. I love them. I also have them on a IQ dragon. They hold up great. I would say I air out my sled pretty good and have not had any bending problems.

Get the Better boards! Rob's quality is second to no one!

 

[mike taylor]

I have 5oo miles
on my stock pro. sled flat out rocks. Tired of kicking snow into clutch area !
Better boards now installed.
They are called better boards ! Not The cure to the world boards.

 

[crf118r]

Have had the same pair of Klims for about 3 years, and what's chewing up my boots is the stock outer edge on the rail, they are about shot.

Like these?? I just got the new HMK Team Pro's. I hope the Vibram sole is a little tougher so I don't have to spend this much every 2 years! My other boots are in perfect condition other than the soles!

 

[Arcteryx]

I have had two set of better boards on two different sleds. I love them. I also have them on a IQ dragon. They hold up great. I would say I air out my sled pretty good and have not had any bending problems.

Get the Better boards! Rob's quality is second to no one!

Milehighassassin, are either of the 2 sleds you are referring to Pro's??

 

[Arcteryx]

Like these?? I just got the new HMK Team Pro's. I hope the Vibram sole is a little tougher so I don't have to spend this much every 2 years! My other boots are in perfect condition other than the soles!

I saw your pics and decided to take a closer look at my boots. There definitely is more wear on the outer edge than anywhere else. It's easy to see on your pictures.
I think Timbre was right. A file on that outer edge of the rail might be a great idea for extending boot life.

 

[F-Bomb]

ICR you are absolutely 100% WRONG! That photo was taken on a demo ride right in front of twenty prospective PRO customers and is 100% legit. That sled was just ridden around for about 15 minutes in the conditions you can see. The guy shown is just about to go for a test ride when I stopped him to capture photo evidence of the build up. FYI that guy is from Tahoe and bought a PRO with a turbo from Carl's and guess what. IT HAS BETTER BOARDS AND HE PAID FULL PRICE FOR THEM! You have no right to come on this thread and make a BS statement that you have no idea is authentic.

Overhyped sales pitch? You don't even ride Better Boards so how on earth are you qualified to even COMMENT? There are a bunch of unsolicited TOTALLY POSITIVE statements made by people who actually ride our product and on the model being discussed. GO TROLL SOMEWHERE ELSE!

 

[PalousePoo]

Buy or don't buy better boards, but to get on here and accuse Rob of "staging" a photo, to make more profit, borders on slander! An opinion like that should be kept to yourself, instead of trying to damage someone's reputation. I give Rob props for hanging in here and answering to some of these posts. We all need to think about what we say here, there are ACTUAL humans that we are talking too.

 

[crf118r]

I agree with the last two posts, but I'm unsure how [Rob] should handle people who bash his products. I kinda think you should just let these guys talk their s#!t and let your products speak for themselves. I'm not sure too many on here that actually ride in mountain conditions give these guys too much credebility. I just don't want to see you come off as a crazed hot-head when in reality what is said on here will probably not affect sales negatively in the least bit. People who know are buying your stuff regardless. Just my observation in reading a few retaliatory posts to some ill-willers. That being said, I'm not on here to bash the few who have stated the photos were bogus and that the product actually made your sled perform worse. Everybody has a set-up that works for them and it is what it is. I would personally do the 1 board test given the boards to test and post my honest opinions. It would be completely unbiased as I don't really want to cut my sled to put the boards on at this point, but...

 

[Arcteryx]

Buy or don't buy better boards, but to get on here and accuse Rob of "staging" a photo, to make more profit, borders on slander! An opinion like that should be kept to yourself, instead of trying to damage someone's reputation. I give Rob props for hanging in here and answering to some of these posts. We all need to think about what we say here, there are ACTUAL humans that we are talking too.

OMG!! You have to be kidding right??? People that are looking to purchase a product have a right to know. Buyer beware right. So if someone has a thought, they have a right to ask and find out. Judging from the number of pms I have gotten on the subject I would say there are many people curious on this matter.
BETTER BOARD CHALLENGE!!!!!!! It would answer all these questions. PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!!

No one is saying that Better Boards aren't great products because they are great products. They are saying (at least I am) they aren't sure whether or not they are needed on the PRO.

 

[snopro_ac]

i know one thing, you get a challenge together and run in deep powder for a while with one stock board and one better board and take a bunch of pictures and put them on here and write a review it isn't going to be any different then all the other threads. you'll probably have people telling you that you staged pictures too. i'll be skeptical of any product no matter what the review until my curiousity out weights the cost and i'll get it.