OK, I'm going to swim upstream a bit here. (No, this is not a bid for a water game.) So if you don't agree with my opinion, then we are agreed to disagree.
1) I hope bumpers do stay.
They offer really good protection. No, they are not prefect, but when they are implemented properly, they add considerable durability.
I feel it is an utter shame to see a team spend more than $6000 and hundreds of hours building a robot only to see it ruined in seconds because of a lack of protection. I prefer
to
Like the water game, if you want to see a Robot demolition type of competition, there already is a one for that.
My main point is:
2) Bumpers are just another design criteria that needs to be met.
When the Jaguars were introduced, I read literally dozens of complaints about their size. Yet, practically every team found a way to use them. Yes I know, some teams chose to use all Victors. That was a valid design option this year, but it may not be in the future.
If you don't read the rules completely and design a robot and bumper scheme that doesn't comply, don't blame the rules. Every year there a multiple design challenges, bumpers just happens to be one of then.
Now food for thought. How about allowing bumpers to be movable so they could be incorporated into a game piece gathering system?