Do you want HDPE for your practice field?

Ruth from AndyMark here! It’s important to teams to be able to simulate the actual playing field as easily and inexpensively as possible. We are looking into the possibility of stocking the Orange Peel texture HDPE sheet, as it is not easy to source for the majority of teams. We are looking at carrying 4’x2’ sheets, in either 0.250" or 0.500" thick, and in red, blue, or black.

Do you want this? If so, does color or the thickness of the material matter to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

  • I would buy it for my team
  • I don’t think it’s important to my team

0 voters

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Heck yes!

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We’d buy it depending on pricing and cost of shipping. Color and thickness don’t really matter – I’d take 1/8" and back it with a piece of plywood. Main thing is to see how well the wheels perform on the surface.

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No preference on color. 0.500" thick is preferred.

Actually, you can’t go wrong with yellow :wink:

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Yes. 1/8 inch would be nice. It looks like our local Menards has 1/8" for $55 for a 4’x8’ sheet but of course there is no guarantee that the texture is exactly right.

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I can’t guarantee yellow, haha

I think that without something to grab onto like the bar (2018) and the rope (2017) some climbing systems will rely on friction with the surface on the platform and there for having the correct materials will be critical to the ability to test and design climbing systems.

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Would really like a 4x4 option but yes, please!

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The larger the piece is, the more complicated and expensive it is to ship.

Depends on price, shipping costs, and timing, but definitely yes! We actually talked about trying to source some locally at our meeting last night.

Color doesn’t matter, nor does thickness - although I would definitely take thinner material for a cheaper price! We were planning on trying to find 1/4" thick and backing it with plywood to get the correct final dimensions anyway. And plywood is cheap and easily found!

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We’d be interested, but for us it’s a matter of when it would be available and price

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Is there a specification for the actual material used on competition fields? Some of us live close enought to McMaster that we could save on shipping by doing will call.

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Yup. Color doesn’t matter. If color matches the field that would be nice. Either thickness is fine if price savings are there.

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If thin enough, perhaps it could be rolled?

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We probably wouldn’t buy it because there’s a small ocean between us and the HDPE, but I voted yes because I would buy it if I were any North American team planning on climbing higher than level 1. Being able to test the mechanism before you get to competition is a must, so this would be a great resource for a lot of teams. I think we’re going to try to find some left over pieces from previous years’ fields to piece together a platform.

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If we decided we wanted it, we would source it from McMaster since we are in NJ and they deliver to my location daily. So there is no option for yes I want it but I wouldn’t buy it from AndyMark due to logistics. The option of my team doesn’t think it is important isn’t really true.

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Please sell this

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Same answers as above; can’t say I have any particular preference on color but the same material and texture would be great for us to put on at least some section of our Habs for driving up and off of would be great.

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Have you found textured HDPE on McMaster? I didn’t have any luck.

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Absolute yes here. Having a challenging time sourcing it right now. As others have mentioned, don’t really care about colour (but matching the field colours is always a nice bonus). We’d opt for the thinner option assuming it meant a savings in cost through less material and/or shipping costs. It would also depend on how soon this would be in stock.

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