Plastic vs.Metal board

[Lalaw9833]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know what are the pros and cons of playing on a metal field versus plastic? I’m assuming that metal has some advantage given that there is only one plastic field available. However, I would think a plastic field would be more durable and not subject to warping and denting like a metal field would be. Thanks in advance for your input!

[TUDOR - Doug]

There are advantages, as you say.  Initially we could not secure metal efficiently so we went with high impact polystyrene (HIPS). The HIPS fields we made in the past are durable with great graphics. They do resist denting and have other advantages, but most people prefer metal because it's the board they grew up with. There has been some sagging of these fields reported, but people have found ways to mitigate that. So, Pros and Cons for each.

[mccaber]

No, they're not magnetic.

[Lalaw9833]

Doug, thanks for the info, and Hero, I didn’t think about the magnetic accessories. Metal it is!!!

Thanks everyone for your input

[RickLM30]

What are some of the ways to mitigate sagging metal boards?  I have a couple old 620s that are sagging and would like to correct that if possible.

[The System]

In the old forum, they had a way to use thin metal poles to widen the field.  The problem back then was the old boards bent up creating a huge mound on the field.

[Bob Davis]

Considering buying a new board. Currently have a model 660 that has some rust that I think affects the performance of the players. My question is how does the HIPS field compare to the metal field in terms of performance and durability?

[zak99b5]

Our league just got a HIPS field.  We used it on our test night.  They guys all ran pretty well on it.  I did notice that the frame will dip a little, so I cut two 1" pieces of wood to use as legs halfway along the side rail (like there were on the "pan" style big tudor/miggle boards).

Our first game on it will be next week, so I can report more after that.

Shipping is almost the price of the board, fwiw.

[Bob Davis]

Thanks for the info Zak. I look forward to hearing your report!